Friday's Tattler

Sorry about missing Friday - but a truck came by and took my line down, so I was without Internet service until today.

I hope all of you who are reading have power back and are enjoying some kind of normalcy. It's been a bit wild here. Molly and Rob lost power and came to spend one night. It was wonderful for me, and I enjoyed every minute of it. The boys were absolutely delightful. I've never seen better behaved children. Robbie took a nap in my arms. I was enchanted by his dozing off. He snuggled in with me and passed out for about 1.5 hours. I was in heaven. We had chicken pot pie for dinner, and we ate the whole thing! When it was time to go to bed, the three of them climbed the stairs, got into bed together and were asleep in five minutes. They slept until 7:30 the next morning and they got up to a bowl of cereal and some serious playing. We played down at the school in the snow. They each had a tall pair of boots so we were able to trudge along through the ruts on the road and the kids discovered the long ice sickles hanging from everything. It was fun.

We have fared well here. We were iced in for two days and could not get out. We had a power line down in the drive. We had power, however, and felt really lucky. The cat disappeared during the ice storm and didn't surface until after the snow fell. I would have enjoyed the storm a lot more if the cat had been home. Right now, I'm listening to ice falling from the trees. We lost a good sized tree which landed about three feet from where we were standing. It was a bit daunting, but no real damage done. The 65 foot tree will have to come down. Not sure how I feel about that since I planted it.

Edith took Amy and her family in for several days. Today, Amy has power and I am sure she is pleased to be back to normal, although I think everyone had a good time at Edith's.

I've been making a postage stamp quilt and I was able to work a lot on that this week. I baked a lot and tried to stay warm in my freezing house.

I've also worked on the summer program - (yes, ice or snow, it's that time to start thinking ahead). We will be sending a questionnaire home this week. Please fill it out and return it to a teacher. We need to know how many of our present students will be with us for the summer, how many siblings you want to add, and how you want to pay for it. We need to have a ceiling number to plan field trips and swimming.

Every January the phone begins to ring with people wanting spots at the GS. This year has been no exception. We have enrolled two new children and we expect another new child next week. This all works out in the wash if we enroll one new child a week. But we are nearly at capacity now, so that has to stop someplace along the line. We will be hiring another person to insure a good staff ratio of adults to children.

We hope this week's challenges were not too hard. We will see you all on Monday.

Thursday's Teacher - for the teacher in all of us!

Is It Time for 'Huck Finn' to Go?

A high school English teacher in Ridgefield, Wash., has created a literary firestorm by writing recently that, now that we have an African-American president, it’s time to drop The Adventures of the Huckleberry Finn from the curriculum. In an op-ed piece in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer earlier this month, John Foley said that it was increasingly difficult to downplay or contextualize the novel’s often demeaning racial content. “And,” he added, with what sounds like the voice of experience, “I never want to rationalize Huck Finn to an angry African-American mom again as long as I breathe.”

Foley also said that, because of their dated racial views, Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird and John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men “don't belong on the curriculum, either.”

Foley’s editorial was heavily criticized both in his own school and in a stream of letters-to-the-editor and e-mails to the Post-Intelligencer, according to a follow-up story in the Los Angeles Times. “There’s nothing in American literature that more succinctly and directly attacks racial prejudice than Mark Twain’s The Adventures of the Huckleberry Finn,” wrote one reader. “This is another teacher anxious to pursue political correctness more than seek to understand what is involved in truly ‘reading’ a book.”

But Foley maintains that the classics he wants to drop no longer make sense in contemporary America. “Our new president is this very intelligent, highly articulate guy,” he told the L.A. Times, “and the literature we’re foisting on our children typically depicts black men as ignorant, inarticulate, uneducated. And the contrast just jumped out at me.”

Posted by Anthony Rebora, teachermagazine.org on January 21, 2009 5:52 PM

If ignorance is bliss, then Foley's thought is good thought. If we were to follow such a narrow perspective, then we would certainly remove most of Fine Arts, period music, history, and world cultures from our agenda as well. If we are to look back in history at the injustices that were aimed one another, we'd have very little on our agendas. The whole idea of growth as a nation and as a people is the idea that we can come from very little and achieve great things. If we are to take Foley's advice about this, we could say that achievement is a predestined thing and only a viable possibility if certain conditions are met. Is that what we want to rear our children to believe?

FYI Wednesday

Subject: Who was Hayim Solomon? I thought this was interesting and fun. Didn't get it published on Wednesday, however - too much going on.

On the rear of the One Dollar bill, you will see two circles. Together, they comprise the Great Seal of the United States.

The First Continental Congress requested that Benjamin Franklin and a group of men come up with a Seal. It took them four years to accomplish this task and another two years to get it approved..
If you look at the left-hand circle, you will see a Pyramid.
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Notice the face is lighted, and the western side is dark. This country was just beginning. We had not begun to explore the west or decided what we could do for Western Civilization. The Pyramid is uncapped, again signifying that we were not even close to being finished. Inside the capstone you have the all-seeing eye, an ancient symbol for divinity. It was Franklin's belief that one man couldn't do it alone, but a group of men, with the help of God, could do anything.
'IN GOD WE TRUST' is on this currency.
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The Latin above the pyramid, ANNUIT COEPTIS, means, 'God has favored our undertaking.'
The Latin below the pyramid, NOVUS ORDO SECLORUM, means, 'a new order has begun.'
At the base of the pyramid is the Roman Numeral for 1776. (MDCCLXXVI)
If you look at the right-hand circle, and check it carefully, you will learn that it is on every National Cemetery in the United States It is also on the Parade of Flags Walkway at the Bushnell, Florida National Cemetery , and is the centerpiece of most hero's monuments. Slightly modified, it is the seal of the President of the United States , and it is always visible whenever he speaks, yet very few people know what the symbols mean.
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The Bald Eagle was selected as a symbol for victory for two reasons: First, he is not afraid of a storm; he is strong, and he is smart enough to soar above it. Secondly, he wears no material crown. We had just broken from the King of England Also, notice the shield is unsupported. This country can now stand on its own. At the top of that shield you have a white bar signifying congress, a unifying factor. We were coming together as one nation. In the Eagle's beak you will read, ' E PLURIBUS UNUM' meaning,'one from many.'
Above the Eagle, you have thirteen stars, representing the thirteen original colonies, and any clouds of misunderstanding rolling away.
Again, we were coming together as one.
Notice what the Eagle holds in his talons. He holds an olive branch and arrows. This country wants peace, but we will never be afraid to fight to preserve peace. The Eagle always wants to face the olive branch, but in time of war, his gaze turns toward the arrows.
They say that the number 13 is an unlucky number.
This is almost a worldwide belief. You will usually never see a room numbered 13, or any hotels or motels with a 13th floor. But think about this:

13 original colonies,
13 signers of the Declaration of Independence,
13 stripes on our flag,
13 steps on the Pyramid,
13 letters in, 'Annuit Coeptis,'
13 letters in 'E PluribusUnum,'
13 stars above the Eagle,
13 bars on that shield,
13 leaves on the olive branch,
13 fruits,
and if you look closely,
13 arrows.

And finally, if you notice the arrangement of the 13 stars in the right-hand circle you will see that they are arranged as a Star of David. This was ordered by George Washington who, when he asked Hayim Solomon, a wealthy Philadelphia Jew, what he would like as a personal reward for his services to the Continental Army, Solomon said he wanted nothing for himself but that he would like something for his people. The Star of David was the result. Few people know that it was Solomon who saved the Army through his financial contributions but died a pauper.

I always ask people, 'Why don't you know this?' Your children don't know this, and their history teachers don't know this. Too many veterans have given up too much to ever let the meaning fade. Many veterans remember coming home to an America that didn't care. Too many veterans never came home at all.

Share this page with everyone, so they can learn what is on the back of the UNITED STATES ONE DOLLAR BILL, and what it stands for!

Tuesday's Little Bit of Thought

Dear Mrs. Brooks,

I wish to clarify that I am not now, nor have I ever been, an exotic dancer.
I work at Home Depot and I told my daughter how hectic it was last week before the blizzard hit.
I told her we sold out every single shovel we had, and then I found one more in the back room,
and that several people were fighting over who would get it.
Her picture doesn't show me dancing around a pole. It's supposed to depict me selling the last snow shovel we had at Home Depot.
From now on I will remember to check her homework more thoroughly before she turns it in.

Sincerely,
Jan Richards

I got this from Edith. I laughed when I thought of the idea but not the drawing, because the drawing was done by an adult. Children don't draw stick figures nor do they make things the same size. Children will not draw hair that way nor will they make every child the same. Do you see the length of the mother's hair? it would never be that cut and dry - no pun intended.

And last but not least, no child, except my son, Brendan, would have punctuated the drawing that way.

Children's art is amazing for what it can do, and rarely can adults mimic what a child does. It's the same way in trying to catch a child's personality on paper - in a novel, in dialogue. I have a child named Helen Catrina in a recently published novel, and she says very little. Mostly because children converse simply. It was the hardest dialogue I wrote.

In art, children don't pay attention to a whole lot of detail - like the money in this picture. The dollars would have been much bigger. Also, the body parts would never be the same proportion. Children draw bodies as they see them. The heads are usually much bigger than they need to be, and the bodies are nearly always round. There are arms if the child is a do-er. If the child is a hugger, the arms are proportionately bigger. If the child is a watcher, the body will have very little arm show. Fingers are a later development and usually designate something being done.

Faces are always interesting. A smile on a child's face dentotes a happy child. Some children don't put much face on their drawings. They leave the eyes pupil-less. This can be unnerving for an adult who carries the thought one step further than the child.

Clothes are also a last step like hair. Most clothes are drawn on as an afterthought, so you can see the skeleton underneath. It's hilarious. Then the child tries desperately to cover up the body with the clothes.

Children are their own best interpreters. As we write for kids, as we listen and try to copy what they do, we never get it right. It's the hardest thing to do well because it's so simple and there is no guile.

Monday's Tattler

Good morning! It's another cold one. As I look out at my front street, I see a build up of last night's flurries and tiny snow balls, and I see a white sheet of semi ice. Not a pretty sight for 5:00 a.m.

We are under a storm warning for tonight and it is being said that we will get 4-8 inches of snow. In the event that there is an event, we will be closed if other schools are closed.

In the interim, we will conduct today with prudence. We will be starting Mary Poppins with the kids and we will probably divide the movie into three parts instead of five. The children have really enjoyed this film adventure. They are loving "seeing what happens next." I predict that none of the kids have seen Mary Poppins and will just love this kind of movie. It's a happy movie and filled with those parts the kids will love to laugh at.

Next month, and February calendars will come out this week, we will be trying film again, but we will be weather watching because the nicer days need to be spend outside.

Today we will be having spaghetti and fresh fruit and a new French bread and Parmesan cheese baked bread - there is always something new to try!

We are moving along with our ABCs in the preschool. Miss Kelly is beginning that first run at reading words, and Miss Amy is in hot pursuit of letter sounds and handwriting skills. It's a busy classroom time.

Have a great day.

Wednesday's

Only great minds can read this. This is weird, but interesting!

fi yuo cna
rae d tihs, yuo hvae a sgtrane mnid too

Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe
out of 100 can.

i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg.

The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to arscheearch
at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a
wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the
rghit pclae.

The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm.

Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but
the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was
ipmorantt!

Teaching Art

Teaching a child to draw is a matter of two things - the child's willingness to listen and understand. Not all children grasp the concept of drawing. Personality has a great deal to do with the bend and stretch of art. Personalities that are particularly commanding or distracted or even very very reticent will not always take to the instruction of art. The teacher should be someone the child respects.

Sometimes the best way of teaching is to begin by doing - the adult that is. Whenever an adult is employed at something that seems to amuse the adult, children by instinct gravitate toward the busy adult and want to "do it too." Sitting down with a box of crayons and paper and drawing is the invitation of a lifetime, and kids know it.

But when the child asks to play, the rules must be set. "Yes, you may play with me, and here is your paper and here is one crayon to start."

"But I want all the crayons."

"You may have one. You can only use one at a time, so you may have one."

"But I want two."

"You may have one."

If tears pour, it's time to put the crayons away for another time. If the child accepts the rule of one crayon, the teaching begins. If there is any struggle on the part of the child to dominate the play over the head of the teacher's rules, that is the signal that the child will not take direction from the adult with the crayons.

"Today we are going to draw a face," says the adult.

"I don't want to."

"Today we are going to draw a face," repeats the adult. "And you are going to begin with an oval like this." And the adult draws an oval.

It's at this point the child must make a decision to learn from the adult or refuse. It is ultimately his choice. The child has several options, and pure personality will dictate success or struggle. Some children will flounce off because they will not give over their own personality to learn. Some children will cry and beg off because they will be afraid they can't do it. And most children will eagerly wait to see what's coming next and be excited to do it well.

Children who are eager to learn - which means letting go and taking direction will do a respectable job of accomplishing a drawing of anything if taken one step at a time. Compliant well behaved children are usually remarkable little artists if shown how.

Children who think they know best will botch their exercises until they mature into listeners simply because one must learn to take direction in life. Listening is the whole goal of early childhood - that the child learns to listen and develops an open personality.

Openness is a learned trait and comes from the parent especially the mother. Openness has at its personality root the ability to stop, look, and listen to what is going on in the room. To put away self for the sake of others and to realize that others in the room have a valid point of view that is not only worthy of respect, but worthy of time to listen.

Children mimic adults. It's painfully apparent when children can't listen or follow directions that they have learned this from the instructive parent - usually the mother. Turning a child around often means turning the parent around first.

With the teaching of art, the teacher's point of view is simply one point of view in the room, and the child has another. The gentle meeting of minds is the goal here. "This is how you do this," and the child mimics the example while developing his or her own design. Drawings don't have to look a particular way. The experience of the exercise will teach the child how to, and the next step is to interpret what has been lovingly taught and to experiment with it so that the child learns.

It's the same with painting and clay and colored paper. There are very simple rules that apply to each craft and once the rules are established - "Hold your brush like this. We are not painting a barn."

"Water, paint, paper."

"Clay must be warmed by your hands."

"We cut with our fingers in the larger scissor hole, and our thumb in the smaller hole, and then we make an open shut them motion wrists strait!"

"You must sit with scissors." The production of art can peacefully and intelligently commence.

Children who listen will go a long way quickly. Then art becomes an enormous exploration, a treasured time when the exploration leaves the materials and crawls up the arm to the brain. It is then, when the rules have been absorbed, that we see what is in the child's mind's eye.

Monday's Tattler

Good morning.

We are closed as of 8:00 this morning. Again...when either Warrick or Vanderburgh county are out, delayed, or sent home early, we will follow suit. I'm sorry if this is an inconvenience, but for me it's a lifesaver because I live on a big hill in Newburgh and that hill empties into the river!

We will be back to school bright and early tomorrow morning.

Have a great snow day, and get those kids outside!

From Micheala

This is a little note Michaela wrote for us at the Garden School. Micheala has been one of "our people'' for eight years. She's now a little helper at the school and I treasure her friendship.

The Garden School By Micheala Jayne Higgins Dec. 15 2008

Hello my name is Micheala Jayne Higgins and I am going to tell you why I like the Garden school. First I like the garden school because it is fun. They serve the best food, and the teachers are awesome.

Well, I think the garden school is fun because the teachers always come up with something to do. They have very creative minds.

Their food is like addictive trust me you would say they same thing if you tried it, and I went there when I was two and three so I'm not just telling you to try it I am just saying it is really tasty.

Now lets gets to the best part - the teachers .The teachers are the best part of all because they are the ones that create all the fun and make the delicious food . And they are just the best.

In conclusion, soow you know these things about the school it is fun, the teachers make the best food, and that the teachers are awesome. So check out the garden school I am pretty sure you will love it.

Friday's Tattler

Today it will be freezing. As of right now, it's -3. We will stay indoors again today. The kids are bouncing off the walls and are eager to get out and ask if they can play outdoors. We tell them,"As soon as the temperature rises. " Then I open the door to let them feel how cold it is.

Today is Pokemon day. The kids can bring their cards or games or dolls, and enjoy a day of looking at cards and trading if mom and dad say they can.

We have two new students: Jasmin who started this week, and Justin who starts next Monday.

We have been watching the Wizard of Oz, and the kids are really loving this small increment style movie watching. It's been a wonderful success. Next week we are going to see the Iron Giant. It's a great little movie with a message.

One of the new favorite toys is a Rescue Heroes set, but the pieces are ancient and falling apart. If you have any men or cars or Rescue Hero parts and would like to donate them, we would love to have them. We can no longer find parts in the store.

The International Feast on Wednesday was a huge success. Ten parents came and shared a wonderful spread. The kids were delighted, and enjoyed the Asian foods especially and asked if they could have Asian food next week. I agreed to make something Chinese next week.

Today is a pizza day!

The picture is of Molly's dog and pups. Aren't they cute?

Something for Teachers

A freelance writer and editor based in New York, Natalie Schwartz is the author of The Teacher Chronicles. She is an active volunteer with the Parent Teacher Association in her local school district. She graduated in 1991 from Cornell University with a bachelor’s degree in communication.

Natalie Schwartz wrote: When my son was in 3rd grade, the mother of one of his classmates felt the teacher was not challenging her child. To convey her opinion, she shredded her child’s homework and returned the pieces to the teacher in a plastic bag with a note admonishing the teacher not to assign her child such simple work again.

For the rest of the article go HERE.

Something Special for Wednesday

"Aging" By Catherine Moore

'Watch out! You nearly broad sided that car!' My father yelled at me. 'Can't you do anything right?' Those words hurt worse than blows. I turned my head toward the elderly man in the seat beside me, daring me to challenge him. A lump rose in my throat as I averted my eyes. I wasn't prepared for another battle.

'I saw the car, Dad. Please don't yell at me when I'm driving.' My voice was measured and steady, sounding far calmer than I really felt.

Away and settled back. At home I left Dad in front of the television and went outside to collect my thoughts. Dark, heavy clouds hung in the air with a promise of rain. The rumble Dad glared at me, then turned of distant thunder seemed to echo my inner turmoil.

What could I do about him?

Dad had been a lumberjack in Washington and Oregon . He had enjoyed being outdoors and had reveled in pitting his strength against the forces of nature. He had entered grueling lumberjack competitions, and had placed often. The shelves in his house were filled with trophies that attested to his prowess.

The years marched on relentlessly. The first time he couldn't lift a heavy log, he joked about it; but later that same day I saw him outside alone, straining to lift it. He became irritable whenever anyone teased him about his advancing age, or when he couldn't do something he had done as a younger man.

Four days after his sixty-seventh birthday, he had a heart attack. An ambulance sped him to the hospital while a paramedic administered CPR to keep blood and oxygen flowing. At the hospital, Dad was rushed into an operating room. He was lucky; he survived.

But something inside Dad died. His zest for life was gone. He obstinately refused to follow doctor's orders. Suggestions and offers of help were turned aside with sarcasm and insults. The number of visitors thinned, then finally stopped altogether. Dad was left alone.

My husband, Dick, and I asked Dad to come live with us on our small farm. We hoped the fresh air and rustic atmosphere would help him adjust. Within a week after he moved in, I regretted the invitation. It seemed nothing was satisfactory. He criticized everything I did. I became frustrated and moody. Soon I was taking my pent-up anger out on Dick. We began to bicker and argue. Alarmed, Dick sought out our pastor and explained the situation. The clergyman set up weekly counseling appointments for us. At the close of each session he prayed, asking God to soothe Dad's troubled mind. But the months wore on and God was silent. Something had to be done and it was up to me to do it.

The next day I sat down with the phone book and methodically called each of the mental health clinics listed in the Yellow Pages. I explained my problem to each of the sympathetic voices that answered. In vain. Just when I was giving up hope, one of the voices suddenly exclaimed, 'I just read something that might help you! Let me go get the article.' I listened as she read. The article described a remarkable study done at a nursing home. All of the patients were under treatment for chronic depression. Yet their attitudes had improved dramatically when they were given responsibility for a dog.

I drove to the animal shelter that afternoon. After I filled out a questionnaire, a uniformed officer led me to the kennels. The odor of disinfectant stung my nostrils as I moved down the row of pens. Each contained five to seven dogs. Long-haired dogs, curly-haired dogs, black dogs, spotted dogs all jumped up, trying to reach me. I studied each one but rejected one after the other for various reasons, too big, too small, too much hair. As I neared the last pen a dog in the shadows of the far corner struggled to his feet, walked to the front of the run and sat down. It was a pointer, one of the dog world's aristocrats. But this was a caricature of the breed. Years had etched his face and muzzle with shades of gray. His hipbones jutted out in lopsided triangles. But it was his eyes that caught and held my attention. Calm and clear, they beheld me unwaveringly.

I pointed to the dog. 'Can you tell me about him?' The officer looked, then shook his head in puzzlement.

'He's a funny one. Appeared out of nowhere and sat in front of the gate. We brought him in, figuring someone would be right down to claim him, that was two weeks ago and we've heard nothing. His time is up tomorrow.' He gestured helplessly.

As the words sank in I turned to the man in horror. 'You mean you're going to kill him?'

'Ma'am,' he said gently, 'that's our policy. We don't have room for every unclaimed dog.'

I looked at the pointer again. The calm brown eyes awaited my decision. 'I'll take him,' I said.

I drove home with the dog on the front seat beside me. When I reached the house I honked the horn twice. I was helping my prize out of the car when Dad shuffled onto the front porch.

'Ta-da! Look what I got for you, Dad!' I said excitedly.

Dad looked, then wrinkled his face in disgust. 'If I had wanted a dog I would have gotten one. And I would have picked out a better specimen than that bag of bones. Keep it! I don't want it' Dad waved his arm scornfully and turned back toward the house.

Anger rose inside me. It squeezed together my throat muscles and pounded into my temples.

'You'd better get used to him, Dad. He's staying!' Dad ignored me. 'Did you hear me, Dad?' I screamed. At those words Dad whirled angrily, his hands clenched at his sides, his eyes narrowed and blazing with hate.

We stood glaring at each other like duelists, when suddenly the pointer pulled free from my grasp. He wobbled toward my dad and sat down in front of him. Then slowly, carefully, he raised his paw.

Dad's lower jaw trembled as he stared at the uplifted paw. Confusion replaced the anger in his eyes. The pointer waited patiently. Then Dad was on his knees hugging the animal.

It was the beginning of a warm and intimate friendship. Dad named the pointer Cheyenne . Together he and Cheyenne explored the community. They spent long hours walking down dusty lanes. They spent reflective moments on the banks of streams, angling for tasty trout. They even started to attend Sunday services together, Dad sitting in a pew and Cheyenne lying quietly at his feet.

Dad and Cheyenne were inseparable throughout the next three years. Dad's bitterness faded, and he and Cheyenne made many friends. Then late one night I was startled to feel Cheyenne 's cold nose burrowing through our bed covers. He had never before come into our bedroom at night. I woke Dick, put on my robe and ran into my father's room. Dad lay in his bed, his face serene. But his spirit had left quietly sometime during the night.

Two days later my shock and grief deepened when I discovered Cheyenne lying dead beside Dad's bed. I wrapped his still form in the rag rug he had slept on. As Dick and I buried him near a favorite fishing hole, I silently thanked the dog for the help he had given me in restoring Dad's peace of mind.

The morning of Dad's funeral dawned overcast and dreary. This day looks like the way I feel, I thought, as I walked down the aisle to the pews reserved for family. I was surprised to see the many friends Dad and Cheyenne had made filling the church. The pastor began his eulogy. It was a tribute to both Dad and the dog who had changed his life. And then the pastor turned to Hebrews 13:2. 'Be not forgetful to entertain strangers.'

'I've often thanked God for sending that angel,' he said.

For me, the past dropped into place, completing a puzzle that I had not seen before: the sympathetic voice that had just read the right article.

Cheyenne 's unexpected appearance at the animal shelter. . .his calm acceptance and complete devotion to my father. . and the proximity of their deaths. And suddenly I understood. I knew that God had answered my prayers after all.

Life is too short for drama & petty things, so laugh hard, love truly and forgive quickly.

Live While You Are Alive. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity. Forgive now those who made you cry. You might not get a second time.

Kids and Art

One of the best children's activities in winter is art. Lots of parents regard art with suspicion simply because it makes such a mess. But art is one of the most "teaching" and "learning" experiences there are for kids.

Getting organized about art is not hard, but it does take a little thought and it is important to keep the art flowing. Art can begin with something as common and available as the back of old envelopes and a stray pencil or pen in the back of a car. The only problem with this is if the drawing is worth saving, you can't transfer it to another piece of paper. So establishing a time, a place and some minutes to do this gives the whole project a place in the life of a child.

Establishing a place for art is probably a good idea at home. The kitchen table makes a really great place to do art because most kitchen floors are washable. Paints, crayons, clay and glue seem to have difficulty in the hands of a three year old in the living room. Even an eight year old spills. The other disadvantage to rooms other than the kitchen is the TV. Art should never be done passively in front of TV. Art is not meant to be passive, and TV is. TV creates an immediate conflict of environments to the serious artist and to the child learning.

Keep art supplies close to the art place, and make art times frequent - like telephone time or dinner making time, or work homework for a parent make excellent art times for kids.

A place to put the equipment is another dilemma for many parents. I use a drawer in my kitchen. Outside a drawer, a big shoe box holds most things pretty well - at least for one child.

What to buy? Go slowly at first. Good crayons are the best starting point. Crayons bought at a dollar store are usually weak and don't have as good color as real Crayons. Buy eight crayons to start and let the child explore these colors first. The big boxes are great for older children who have experience. The many colored boxes of crayons only get in the way of the art. Keep it simple to start, and then add more as your child wears out his first set. Let children spill out the crayons into a bowl or a plate. They can't see them tucked into the box. Crayons don't need to be put into the box to keep. They can be rubberbanded together or even have their own disposible kitchen keeper.

When you feel it's time for water colors - good next step - always buy Prang Paints. These are the very best paints available. We've tried just about every kind of paint there is, and Prang Paints are deep colors and easy to use. Find a nice flat bottomed mug fill it half way and sit with your child teaching him, "Water, paint, paper." Sometimes it's good to take out the black paint. Let the child feel the sweep of the paint across the paper. Remember - we are not painting a barn!

Regular copy paper will do for most activities like drawing and painting, but when it's time to cut and paste, a multiple package of construction paper and a bottle of glue make a lot of fun for young children. Colored paper is my favorite medium. Buy a good pair of children's scissors and find a little tiny bowl for glue. Children should learn to glue with their fingers because that's how they learn to work with the paper. Gluing with the end of a nozzle or that dreadful stick glue doesn't teach the real thing. The point is, glue is supposed to work.

Clay is another excellent art experience for kids. There are several kinds of clay available. Play Dough is a commercial product that kids seem to like very much. You can make a home version of play dough by mixing two cups of flour, one cup of salt, two tablespoons of cooking oil and three quarters cup of hot water together either by hand or by machine. It lasts about a week. Keep it in a ziplock or another kitchen keeper.

There is also petroleum based clay available in dollar stores that costs about a dollar. This clay lasts forever. It's best not to mix the colors because the sum of the colors is a nasty gray. This clay keeps any old way, but keeping "stuff" from invading the clay means putting the clay away into a bag or another kitchen keeper.

There is also earth clay which is a treasure and lasts for years. Crayola puts out a product very near earth clay, and some of the art stores sell the real thing. I still have earth clay ornaments my kids made years ago. Earth clay dries hard in the sun, but it is fragile.

There are hundreds of other things that make wonderful art supplies, but this is a good place to start with very young children.

Never give a child materials without supervision. It's best not to mix media because of chaos. Chaos and art never mix well. Decide what you want to do and pull out the materials you will need and begin there. It's nice to have an adult prototype as a model if you are teaching children how to do a particular thing. Yesterday in class, I wanted to teach the children how to draw naked trees on a hill. It was a stick drawing with a few curves. I chose crayons to work with. It went very well because I did the prototype in front of the class. Some of the younger children had trouble starting, but once they had the starting point, each one was able to take off and draw an excellent free art scene on his own.

Art is supposed to be expression, but children will become frustrated if they don't know how to do something and there is no one there to teach them. Keep it simple. Keep the lines and the curves simple, and every child will respond positively. Our Principal, Mrs. St. Louis, teaches what she calls directed drawing to large groups, and the result is amazing. She calmly talks to the children about where the lines come from and why, and then each of them tries to do it, and every child goes away from his artwork thrilled with what he has accomplished.

Next week: teaching the creative child to explore!

Monday's Tattler

Good morning and welcome to another week at the GS. This week we will be watching The Wizard of Oz. ET was a wonderful success, and we are hoping this movie will charm the children as well. They are a wonderful audience, and not one child was sent from the "theatre" in disgrace!

Wednesday is International feast. This is a yearly thing we do at school to celebrate the study of different countries and areas of the world. It's strictly volunteer. If you are interested in joining us, please plan to bring a dish we don't commonly call American. Make it for about 6 people, and bring you and your dish to school on Wednesday about Noon. Please let me, Miss Judy, know if you are going to join us. I am making curried chicken; I think Mrs. St. Louis is making poppy seed chicken - I think Miss Kelly is bringing a fruit pizza, and not sure what Miss Amy is making. It is always fun to see the children pick their lunch. I will have hard boiled eggs and fruit as well for the kids to eat.

It's going to be cold and snowy this week. Please send your child in regular shoes unless it snows. Please watch for school delays and closings. Please send your child in LONG sleeves. Short sleeves are summer wear and children are cold. If you must send your child in summer clothes, please send a winter garment like a sweatshirt along with him so that he won't be cold all day.

This weekend, Miss Molly's dog had puppies. I was fortunate to watch one of the little guys be born, and it was wonderful. I watched Miss Molly give birth to all three of her children, and I can only say it is a breathtaking experience to see new life come into the world. The little puppies are brown, brown and white, and black and white; they have heads like little walnuts. Mother is doing well and seems to love her puppies.

Have a brilliant day!

Friday's Tattler

Good morning!

It's been another fine week. Lots going on. The movie has been a wonderful success. We have watched ET, and the kids have really enjoyed it. They are quiet, they answer questions, and they seem interested in seeing "what happens next." Teachers are delighted with the kids desire to find out the next episode. This is what happens when you stretch out a movie into parts. It might be something to do at home. We divided the movie into 25 minute increments, and it seems to work brilliantly. Not too much time to drift, and just enough time to think about.

Report cards today! The kids are doing so well. We are so proud of them.

We had State inspection yesterday, and we did fine. It's amazing how much paperwork there is to see. Some medical forms are not up to date, and Miss Molly will begin getting those on Monday.

I stopped by the Asian market yesterday and picked up some Asian pears for lunch. They are half apple half pear, and the kids loved them. They are lighter than either apples or pears. We studied Asia yesterday for a bit, and used the picture album about China I made years ago. We also used a book called "The Material World" which is fascinating because the project for the book was to empty houses out around the world to see how people live. The kids loved looking at the world's houses. Their favorite page was the world's toilets. The kids poured over the book for a couple of hours after class. That's a hit!

We have had lots of interviews this week for new children. Not sure how we are going to handle that. We are mostly full.

If you want Girl Scout Cookies, Hadley, one of our graduates is selling them. The sign up sheet is at the front of the school and she will bring them back to the school.

Please note that boot days are days when there is snow outside. Some of us wore boots on Tuesday and by the time it was time to go outside, the snow was gone. But we will try again. Please do not send your child in boots every day.

Please fill out your new emergency card and return it a.s.a.p.

Today we will finish ET. The preschool will be making snowflakes out of coffee filters with the decoration scissors. Not sure what that will produce - probably snow rather than flakes, but we'll have fun with it anyway. Still working on the letters and sounds. Most of our children are getting it. Some are still too young. You know when a child must be re-taught something, it means he was not old enough to understand in the first place. We keep plugging until they remember.

Have a great day!

A Good Morning by Judy Lyden

It's the New Year, and everyone is making those ready to be broken resolutions that are always too big and always too heavy on the conscience. Here's a suggestion for yet another resolution that is so earth shattering it will change the life of your family home.

Years ago I wanted to be one of those mothers who popped out of bed close to dawn and had the world turning before my little guys got up. I wanted to be the kind of mom who had breakfast made, clothes ironed and ready to be worn, homemade lunches packed if that's what they wanted and even some fresh baked cookies to take to school to share.

Fat chance! I stayed up sewing and having alone time until far into the wee hours and getting up in the morning was like dragging Godzilla out of bed. Nasty McNasty slowly placed one body part on the floor until the whole person was painfully separated from the bed. The screeching witch moved down the stairs to the coffee pot and there I attached my morning until my kids dared to mention "A piece of bread, Mom?" Flying after them on my broomstick, I chased them out of the house anyway they could scamper.

It wasn't until my youngest was new born and my oldest was fourteen that I actually accomplished routinely rising before dawn. But even at that late hour, it really did change my life. Today, sleeping to six is a luxury I can easily pass by because rising early means my day belongs to me not the pirate of chaos.

But a good morning routine doesn't begin in the morning. It begins in the evening. It begins with a good bedtime routine for the children in the house. From the time a child has a bedtime, bedtime should be a quick business. This long drawn out read a dozen books, snack, get up fifty times to drink, potty and otherwise drive you crazy is a sucker's routine. And the worst is lying down with the child because he doesn't want to go to sleep alone. Nobody can go to sleep with you- that's a fact. The whole idea that we share bedtime with our children is downright amusing. There are two kinds of people - those who hate giving up the day, and those who can't wait to see what tomorrow will bring because today has been spent - it's done. We want to rear kids who are curious about tomorrow, and holding onto today by drawing out bedtime is like saying we are doubtful about tomorrow - not an encouraging moment.

Parents should look at bedtime as a routine like going to the toilet, eating a meal, getting dressed. There comes a point where the child naturally takes the routine in stride and handles most of it himself. Choosing a bedtime should correspond to the hours you want your child to sleep. Question: will your child nap during the day? If so, the length of hours your child needs to sleep at night is not so many.

Most children need to sleep ten to twelve hours a day. If your child rises at 7:00 a.m. then a good bedtime without a daytime nap is 8:00 p.m. But that doesn't mean starting the long process of bath, reading, snuggling, snack, toilet, teeth, prayers... it means all those things are accomplished before 8:00 p.m.

Now let's discuss Mom's bedtime. If the child is out by 8:10, and he will be without the stimulus of a doting parent's presence, then there is actual alone time and mommy time in the evening without staying up until Midnight or past. If parents get to bed by 10:30, they can get a good night's sleep and still be awake by 5:30 or 6:00. And if children rise at 7:00, there is a whole hour to an hour and a half of more mommy time.

Rising early and getting the day started gives the adult a whole other perspective on the world. It's like taking command of the day. Having a cup of coffee all by yourself in the morning and thinking about the things you want to think about without a crowd of grabby handed bandits is magnificent. For the working mom, taking a quiet bath alone, getting dressed without stress and chaos has got to be a moment from God.

For the domestic mom, popping something into the oven or onto the stove for the kids for breakfast means a certain kind of accomplishment. Ironing a blouse or a dress or just making sure all the socks are found can make a day brilliant. Having time in the morning to pay attention to the details of life, like homework left on the table, like ball practice reminders, like a gift that needs to go to school, like a reminder for the bus driver and the other thousand things we all need to accomplish in the morning before work and school.

And for the working domestic mom, it's got to mean order out of chaos. For me, an hour and a half of alone time meant I could bake, make, to take just about anything, and that meant a lot to my kids.

Starting the day with time is a luxury most of us resist, but it's within our grasp and it begins with bedtimes the night before. If nothing more, think about it. The hardest part is the first day. But after the first day, getting up early makes the 10:30 bedtime a welcomed thing.

Monday's Tattler

Good morning and welcome back after break! So much to do - so little time.

This month, because of the cold and likely snow, we will be learning how to watch a movie. We are trying to start with ET, but it's been hard to locate. If you have a copy, please bring it along.

We were able to watch a docudrama on the discovery of the South Pole during the two days in school during break. The kids received this very well. My hopes for learning to watch are very high.

Please bring your children to school in long sleeves. It's winter and it's chilly in the building. Keeping the temperature down helps keep germs down.

In the preschool class, we are reviewing the alphabet, the phonemes and learning to listen to directions concerning art. Should be a great day - lots of prizes.

We will be sending home new emergency cards. Please return them promptly with current phone numbers. In case of an illness, we need to be able to get in touch with you.

We will be ordering sweatshirts this month. Not sure of the cost, but these are what we will wear on all winter field trips.

No field trips this month in lieu of the sweatshirts.

Miss Judy's book is out. It is available as an e book at Whiskey Creek Press. It will be arriving in paperback in a couple of days. I'm excited.

Mrs. St. Louis had a fabulous time in Australia. She enjoyed her family very much and although her flight was long - 24 hours each way, she said she'd do it again - with some thought.

Miss Molly is expecting puppies from her dog, Sophie. They will arrive in a couple of weeks. If you would like a small poodle pug terrier mix, please talk to her.

Have a great day!

Something Fabulous For Friday

Happy New Year! Here is an excellent website to go to to understand your somatotype. That's your body type and your child's body type. The theory was developed by William Sheldon. The article is amazing and fun. It allows us to understand ourselves, our spouses and our children. It helps in dieting, in understanding eating and it allows us to understand why we have energy and the next person doesn't. It helps us understand why some people can do yoga and some can't. Why some children are lethargic and some are filled with life and energy.

For the website go HERE.