A week in pictures

Thank you teachers

I want to thank my co-teachers for their willingness to embrace a growth mindset.

Together we strive to create the best environment for the children of The Gan.
We want to provide the children with tools which will help them succeed in life.
A growth mindset is one such tool.

A couple of years ago, Morah Tzivie gave us a gift with a quote which fittingly described the foundation for our team's growth mindset. Over the years I have amended it down to its most actionable aspects to say as I prepare for the day.

I see the good in people

I see the positive in every circumstance 

I see the opportunity in every challenge

  

We choose to see the good.
While a fixed mindset would prevent us from finding good in a challenging situation, a growth mindset opens us to realize that the situation might just need a little adjusting, or that the challenging behavior might just be a child looking for connection.
It allows us to recognize something positive in every moment, the small moments and the big moments. Even though she might be stomping, we are proud that the child had retraced her steps so she can walk across the classroom rather than run. Just as we swell with pride at the child who noticed a friend all alone and said, "I'll kick the ball with you."

When we choose to pause and acknowledge these instances, we know the next challenging moment will be purposeful if we resolve to make it so.

Situations arise in class which can be challenging. Rather than loose hope, our experience has shown us that "those" children want to be heard, listened to, acknowledged and encouraged.
While a fixed mindset would have us stuck and holding to the belief that we can't change the situation, a growth mindset allows us to look for solutions.

I am fortunate to have a team of teachers who see our classroom environment as a fluid tool to be used to the benefit of all the children.
I bring my thoughts to my team, and I listen to theirs. We create a plan which we hope will benefit the child and the whole classroom community.

We evaluate together, then re-evaluate. IF our adjustment has not been a positive improvement, we try again... and again...

We take time to reflect on what we are feeling and why. As I share with the kids, even teachers don't  get what they want all the time.
We ask questions and gather perspectives. I go back to my books and read new articles to share with my team.  The team makes a new plan if needed.

We appreciate the experience.

We are asking the older children in class to model and help the younger children. We need to authentically model growth mindset.
We admit to them when we make mistakes.  We ask for help. We get excited about their success and the our fellow morah's successes.

It is with genuine hearts that we tell our young friends we believe in them and we have faith in their ability.
We often remind my friends, it is not about perfection, it is about getting better.

I believe this is why we have the privilege of witnessing moments such as Emily modeling and encouraging Annabel to climb the caboose.
Emily: I put my foot here then here.
Annabel: I can't do it.
Emily: If you don't try, you won't be able to do it. Try.

It has enabled us to hear Evan tell Zoey, "I have faith in you. If you can climb the caboose, you can put your shoes on."

We see peer teaching occurring. A growth mindset encourages us to look for many of options to achieve our goals. We know our friends (co-teachers) may have different strategies to try, and we are confident enough in ourselves to collaborate with them.

Maintaining a growth mindset takes practice and persistence. 

I am grateful to a team of teachers and a group of young children who inspire me to grow everyday. 

Counting our way to Shavuot

On the Jewish calendar we are counting up to 49 (7 weeks of 7 days) from when the Jewish people left Egypt until they arrived at Mt. Sinai. When we reach 49 we will celebrate the Holiday of Shavuot when we received the Torah. 

We’ve been counting in preschool and every day we add the new number.  We are keeping track of the days with footprints on our floor.

Friday marks day 27.

Some of our friends made counting boards to take home. This involved a lot of counting and fine motor skills. Enjoy the counting process with them and the excitement as we get closer and to our goal of #49. 

 

We know the Torah is full of mitzvahs. The children continue show us examples of mitzvahs throughout our day:

Playing and taking turns.

 Sharing an extra letter so a friend can continue to play.

 Inviting a friend to read a book

 Helping the younger friends

 

We are so excited to celebrate the upcoming holiday. (June 9)
The children are also excited to begin harvesting their mitzvah fruit to create their own torahs to take home in honor of the holiday.
Please let us know if you need more mitzvah fruit to document all the mitzvahs that happen at home over  the next few weeks.