The December Dilemma and the Holidays in the Classroom

Happy Holidays! This time of year can be especially difficult for families who do not celebrate Christmas as part of their family tradition or religion. There are many families that celebrate Christmas because it is an "American" tradition, but this is not true for all families. As teachers, it is important for us to remember that if we choose to include holidays in the classroom we need to include ALL holidays and traditions, regardless of the time of year. 

Dr. Maura Cullen, a well-known diversity and education trainer, suggests that education about religion does not have to wait for the holidays. It can begin in September by teaching students about the Jewish high holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur as well as the Islamic Ramadan festival Eid al-Fitr (when it lands in the fall). 

“By opening our hearts and minds to all religious traditions, we are serving the greater good and our connections with others grow deeper,” Cullen writes."

Below are some articles that I have read about celebrating religious holidays in the classroom and how we can make sure that our classrooms are safe and inclusive for all of our students. 


Teaching Tolerance- Religious Holidays in Schools
CNN Article about The December Dilemma
Webinar for Educators about The December Dilemma

As an Educator, What Do You Stand For?

I am about 1/3 of the way through my second year teaching third grade at Burke's. As we come into the holiday break I have spent a lot of time thinking about what I stand for as a teacher, friend, daughter, sister, ally, etc. I think this graphic and the important question that it asks can spark conversation amongst both adults and children. I try to teach with all of these in mind, but around this time of year I sometimes need a reminder. Maybe you do too.

Also, if you happen to be looking for some information about teaching gratitude, empathy or kindness to your students please check out this article from Edutopia. It has some great resources for lessons and activities. 

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/teaching-kindness-the-kind-campaign-lisa-dabbs

A Reminder to Teachers to Think Before We Speak

I recently read a blog post entitled "The Bully Too Close to Home" by Handsfreemama. While reading the post I was reminded that often when we, as teachers/parents/guardians, are busy, overwhelmed, overscheduled and frustrated we may not appreciate the spirit of the children in our lives. It is easy to snap at a child when your head is someplace else. It is easy to snap at a child when you think they should already know what they are supposed to be doing and how to do it. My challenge to parents and teachers is to take this woman's message to heart and "Only Love." Remember that how we speak to children is how they will speak to themselves.

http://www.handsfreemama.com/2013/12/10/the-bully-too-close-to-home/

Third Graders Study San Francisco Native Plants

San Francisco is at the heart of our social studies curriculum in third grade! The first couple months of the school year are devoted to developing a strong classroom community and then we move on to studying the rich history of San Francisco. We begin by learning more about the native people of San Francisco, the Ohlone. The Ohlone used many of the native plants in San Francisco. Science is integrated with our social studies for this unit. Each girl is assigned the task of studying, observing and becoming an expert on an assigned plant. While learning about their own plant, they also learn about the parts of a plant and how to use and make a dichotomous key. We began by going on a field trip to the San Francisco Botanical Garden, where we had a chance to learn more about our plants. It was a great experience! We are also lucky enough to have a Native Plant Garden at our school which gives the girls the opportunity to study these plants up close and personal. They recently spent some time in the garden drawing and measuring their plants. Check out some of the pictures below!

 

Fall 2013 Explorer's Club Final Slideshow

Check out the video below to see what the Explorer's Club has been up to this Fall. We are taking a break this Winter but will be back on the trails in Spring!

Nature Explorer's Club Finally Makes it to the Labyrinth!

This year I am teaching an afterschool nature exploration class called "Explorer's Club." I am fortunate to work at a school that is steps away from one of the most beautiful outdoor spaces in all of San Francisco. Walking around in the area that surrounds Burke's you would never know that it is a school in one of the most populated cities in the United States. The girls who signed up for the Explorer's Club are those girls who seek adventure in the outdoors. Our goal this semester was to make it to the labyrinth at Land's End. We eventually did it, but it was quite a feat. We almost made it the week before last but didn't have enough time to make it all the way there. We timed ourselves on the hike back and knew that if we left school a little early we could make it to the labyrinth and back by 4:30pm. Everyone was so excited, and then we noticed that our usual trail was closed for restoration! This threw us for a loop, but we figured out a different route. After weeks of hiking around Land's End, writing in field journals, making leaf rubbings, drawing scenery and finding the ultimate walking sticks, we finally made it to...the labyrinth at Land's End! Check out the pictures!

 

 

 

Our Trip to Recology in San Francisco

Each year students participate in service learning at our school. The third grade service learning project and much of the science curriculum is focused on environmental awareness and education. Students learn about recycling, composting and landfill. By the end of third grade they are our resident experts. They are in charge of the recycling for the entire school community. The girls provide information about reducing, reusing and recycling to teachers, staff and students. This year we were lucky enough to go on a field trip to the San Francisco dump and visit the recycling facility. The girls learned so much about recology from the folks at Recology. We visited "the pit," had a great time sorting waste, talking to the artist-in-residence and exploring the garden. Recology runs an incredible operation, which is being studied and imitated all over the world. Check out some of the pictures from our day of learning and adventure!

Recology (n): The science and practice of resource recovery.

Resource recovery is the reclaiming of "garbage" materials for a new use. It includes collecting, sorting, and processing materials that are traditionally viewed as waste and transforming them into the raw inputs used to create new products. Recycling and composting are among the best known resource recovery practices.

Happy Diwali!

On Friday, November 1st two of my students, Simran and Reyna, gave a presentation to the class about the Hindi celebration called Diwali, which means “Festival of Lights.” The girls worked together to teach us about Diwali and had some activities planned! One of the activities is called rangoli. Rangoli is a folk art from India. Typically consisting of bright colors, rangoli is a decorative design made in living rooms and courtyard floors during Hindu festivals . They are meant to be sacred welcoming areas for the Hindu deities.^[1] The ancient symbols have been passed down through the ages, from each generation to the next, keeping both the art form and the tradition alive. The patterns are typically created with materials including colored rice, dry flour, colored sand or even flower petals. The rangoli turned out beautifully and the experience of learning about Diwali was extremely meaningful and exciting. Check out some of the pictures below!