President's Day Training – School Age and Early Childhood Education

Last week, VHFLC staff assembled at Valley Catholic School for our annual President's Day training. For the first time in several years, both school age and Early Childhood Education staff were combined under one big roof for the purpose of bolstering our VHFLC community, and helping to create a diverse melding pot of ideas, experiences, and perspectives.

As teachers trickled into the school cafeteria, they were greeted with their daily agendas and a selection of coffee, tea, and gluten-free/organic snacks to help prep them for the day ahead. Executive Director Brenda Dengo then prompted staff to break into small groups and share funny stories about experiences they'd had with students. Laughs were audible as sleepy faces transformed into smiles, and the playful exercise set the tone for the day.

Brenda continued to rouse the group with some President's Day-themed trivia for the coveted prize of classroom supply goodies. UP Early Childhood Education director Cala Richman then took the opportunity to make a statement of thanks to VHFLC – expressing how grateful she was that staff aren't put into a position to seek out their required training hours on their own time, or to pay for the information out of pocket.

Following this intro, main office staff (who are typically in the office during trainings) were introduced to help teachers put names to faces, and all feeling properly settled, we launched into the subjects for the day.

Instruction and Follow-through – Level 1 versus Level 2 Learning

Brenda began her speech by delivering some words of inspiration about the goals of VHFLC; she said that while our teachers see the immense value in academics, we also see the incredible necessity of teaching life skills – good decision making, critical thinking, environmental awareness, and social intelligence, to name just a few. We want our students to be inquisitive, compassionate, and conscientious because we believe that these qualities will assist them not only as they advance in the classroom, but also throughout the rest of their lives. Part of this life skill development begins with the way we deliver praise.

After making it known that staff could doodle throughout the duration of presentation - noting that simple visual activities like doodling often help us to organize our thoughts and foster out-of-the-box thinking - Brenda delved into the importance of instructing children and then following through with comments tailored to either Level 1 or Level 2 learners (the latter being useful for communicating with adults as well!). She called on Michael from Rieke in order to help illustrate her point.

The two of them stood in front of the group and Michael watched and listened to Brenda as she demonstrated how to tie a square knot. For Level 1 learners, you might say "Great job, you tried your best", Brenda said, whereas with a Level 2 learner, you would call attention to a specific aspect of the child's performance, i.e. "I liked how well you were listening to me", or "I was impressed by how persistent you were."

Brenda also mentioned that prompting children to teach each other (or you!) skills, helps them to solidify the information (repetition and vocalization have this impact on any number of things).

Thoughtful Praise and Commentary on Performance

We then moved along to the three qualities of praise that are necessary to follow when speaking with children:

Fast - vocalize your observation immediately
Frequent - communicate clearly and often
Factual - Be sincere with your comments; it's very easy for children to discern empty praise.

We talked about how people develop their concepts of self, and how things that are told to us in early age often stay with us and impact us throughout the rest of our lives. Brenda asked us to define ourselves as shy or extroverted, athletic or bookish, and a host of other 'this or that' characterizations people often believe their personality must be fixed within. She then provoked us to think about when we began to use these self-description labels, and whether we had developed them by our own volition or because someone else had told us we were this way. She said: "Like glasses, people often look at themselves through lenses that haven't been checked in a long time..."

A number of staff members spoke about childhood memories when they were told that they were 'bad' at an activity like art or singing, and how this encouraged them to never touch the offending activity again. This highlighted the fact that our duty is to remain positive figures in our student's lives, and to encourage them whenever possible.

Joy and Frank from Creation Station

Next we had the honor of hearing some wise words from Joy and Frank over at Creation Station. Though the couple is semi-retired now, they are old friends of VHFLC and made the journey down from Northern Washington in order to come and speak with our staff.

Against a colorful backdrop of odds-and-ends objects and projects, Joy stood up and asked the crowd if we were familiar with the term 'loose parts'. Loose parts, she said, a term coined by architect Simon Nicholson, play a fundamental role in the development of a young mind. In an era of technology-fueled tunnel vision and diminished (or entirely eliminated) recess and art programs, where it's increasingly becoming the unquestioned norm to occupy/"entertain" a young child by handing them a screen, the role of an environment rich in tactile, exploratory, and imagination-sparking objects is especially important.

Joy brought this concept to life by expressing the versatility of a simple object like a cup. "Everyone will use this object to their own developmental level", she said, puncturing a couple cups and placing them over her ears. She then took out a story, called Not a Box, by Antoinette Portis.

All you need is a "strange and unique" object like a box, a nut cracker, a plastic bottle, a sheet of plastic (you name it), and the child will effortlessly transform it into something magical, interactive, and enriching for their growing mind. When introducing a new object to a child, always make open-ended comments that encourage exploration, rather than questions that limit - i.e. "I wonder what this does?", versus "What is this?"

Joy explained that Nicholson formulated a cycle to highlight the process of how loose parts empower creativity: loose parts spark creativity, which leads to exploration, which leads to discovery, which leads to pleasure, which leads to confidence, which leads to the development of new skills, which leads to the mastery of these skills, which leads to the repeated expression of these skills, which facilitates the development of neural connections, which in turn fosters more exploration.

To compound these valuable words, Joy also delved into the necessity of uninterrupted "free time" and access to outdoor play (free is in no way synonymous with uncontrolled or unsupervised). "Children typically have about 15-20 minutes to focus on a subject before their mind begins to wander," she said. "After an entire day of focusing in the classroom, their least productive time for homework is immediately after school when they get home. Unfortunately, this is time when they're most often expected to do their homework."

Joy provided a variety of resources to help VHFLC teachers apply 'loose parts' to their own classrooms in an affordable and sustainable manner, naming printing businesses as a great place to find free items like unwanted paper rolls, and the Dollar Tree as a treasure trove for cheaply priced 'strange and unique' objects (obviously you would need to exercise good judgement when selecting your objects to ensure that they are safe and child friendly).

The other resources she listed before opening up her and Frank's Creation Station to teachers were Beautiful Stuff ! Learning with Found Materials, Montessori Services and Raft.net for a good read and other supply recommendations.


Frank helps staff explore items from Creation Station

Staff Workshops

Next on the agenda was a lovely sack lunch provided by Elephant Delicatessen and Fresh N' Local Foods, before we moved on to our diverse selection of workshops. The workshop subjects varied, and were all led by expert staff members who are trained to pass on their knowledge. Some focused on physical fitness and games, while others explored crafts, science, sewing, music, gardening, and more.

The two of us (Chelsea and Lauren) split up to see as many of the workshops as possible and were able to attend 6 out of the 12. Lauren went to go see Yoga & Kids taught by Vida from Raleigh Hills, The Beat (a drumming workshop) taught by Stone from Astor, and the Science of Loupes by Brenda Dengo. Chelsea went to see Writing & Singing Songs by Jake from Holy Cross, Magic the Game by Scott at Bridlemile, and Sensory with Corn Starch by RS Ashley Kersey.

Yoga & Kids, by Vida
This workshop showed teachers various yoga poses and how best to express them to children ages Pre-K through school age. Vida emphasized that yoga for this age is less about perfecting the pose, and more about getting the children to be aware of their bodies and mental state.

We started with an outdoor ball toss game to help everyone get acquainted with each other, then came inside and worked on our breathing and relaxation. Vita prompted us to think about "all of the people who love and support us", while we took deep breaths and watched her Hoberman sphere expand and contract. One teacher was asked to count aloud as we breathed – a way of not only adding structure to the exercise, but also including a morale-boosting leadership role within the session.

Identifying body parts by greeting them ("Hello knees!") is a great way to get kids in tune with the different parts of their bodies, Vida said. Also, making sounds to go with the poses helps to bring the various motions and stances to life (and to make them more fun).

Next, Vida led a 'back drawing' circle (everyone sits in a circle oriented in one direction and draws with their finger on their neighbor's back) to help everyone simmer down, and then transitioned into stationary poses and a guided relaxation/imagination exercise. People visibly mellowed out as she took us on a mental 'walk' through a rainbow. The session concluded with a compliment circle (people take turns spending time in the center of the circle while those around them share compliments), and everyone expressed what they thought of the workshop - a unanimous hit.

Vida's Yoga Resources:
"Yoga Calm for Children" by Lynea and Jim Gillen
"Ready...Set...R.E.L.A.X" by Jeffrey Allen and Roger Klein
www.yogacalm.org

Magic the Game, by Scott
This workshop was run by VHFLC veteran teacher Scott Gilmore. Scott taught a small number of staff members how to play the incredibly popular card game Magic: The Gathering. This is something that a great number of our students have taken to, so it's a game that many of us (who don't already play!) are eager to understand.

Scott paired off staff members and gave them decks before valiantly attempting to teach them the finer points of the game. This proved to be quite difficult, as it is very detailed and complex. Staff had a great number of questions for Scott, but he answered them well and as succinctly as possible. Though it might take some time to get the hang of it, this is a great game for helping children with perseverance, and exposing them to a competition in a playful and social environment.

The Beat, by Stone
This workshop was designed to show teachers how to present drumming to children in a way that encourages teamwork, memorization techniques, and personal creative expression.

Stone began by explaining the role of drumming in her own life, and how she favors 'junk percussion' when she performs at various parades and festivals around Portland. She chooses to work mainly with buckets and empty water vessels because they are durable, cheap, make great sounds when struck, and can be repurposed easily by filing down sharp rims and attaching a tie as a strap.

Her drums were stacked in the front of the classroom for teachers to select, along with makeshift drumsticks and a variety of other small percussion instruments (tin cans, pans, etc). After they had all found a welcoming pair of hands, Stone explained that if we learned her phrases (with the syllables representing beats), we would have the beats down no problem. For example, she gave us the phrase 'boom boom elevator, boom boom stop' to which everyone practiced before descending into their own emphatic rendition. But, as Stone continued to demonstrate the rhythm with patience and enthusiasm, the group got back on track and everything began to fall in place.

Using phrases to help remember rhythms is very much like making a song to help yourself remember certain words. Stone said that parents were often very impressed by how quickly their kids took to drumming what seemed like a variety of complex beats, since the kids never spoke the phrases aloud in performances. "Don't tell them our special trick!" she said, playfully. She also said to remember that speed comes after precision, and gave us the helpful tip that once kids have a grasp on the phrases you select, you can improve their auditory discernment by getting silly with the language and "messing it up" for the kids to catch.

Writing & Singing Songs, by Jake
Jake, a teacher at Holy Cross, is a musician from Boston who has only been living in Portland for about 6 months. His workshop was also based on the principle that songwriting and free form writing have been proven to help with information retention, in addition to being great exercises in creativity.

Jake first had staff work in groups to take well known songs and then rework them with their own lyrics to make them useful for the classroom. Staff took well to this, and created songs about lining up and cleaning to the beat of "Beat It" and "It's My Party", among other popular tunes. Following this melodic exercise, Jake had staff spend time free writing, and then try to find ideas and motifs within the material in order to turn them into poetry and possibly song lyrics. Staff seemed thrilled to have some guidance in bringing more music and writing into their classrooms.

The Science of Loupes, by Brenda
In this workshop, Brenda expressed the value of fostering natural curiosity in our students, especially when they are often prompted to focus on structured activities that can limit exploration time. Using a tool like a loupe (eye-sized magnifying device) is a great way of encouraging children to examine the world around them in all its intricate glory.

She passed out an incredible assortment of objects: shells, rocks, snake skins, porcupine quills, and even owl pellets, and asked us to examine the patterns and different components - then to think about what they remind us of, what the function might be, and try to generate stories around them.

Everyone had a great time examining the objects from this new micro perspective and letting their imaginations run wild. We saw that merely shifting the lens through which we viewed things could transform something as simple as a rock into cascading mountains or the surface of a planet. Shells became cyclones and waterfalls while skins became spider webs and lace. It's an incredibly easy exercise to replicate, as loupes can be acquired cheaply and can be used with any 'ordinary' assortment of objects – whether that be in the classroom or outdoors.

Sensory with Corn Starch, by Ashley
The final workshop Chelsea attended was run by RS Ashley Kersey. It was science-based and explored the different ways you can use corn starch to make dough - and we're not talking your typical ooblek. To the contrary, by using just a few simple and cheap ingredients, five distinct types of dough can be created.

Ashley broke staff into five groups and set them up at different stations where they could make each of these doughs. Staff seemed to love getting their hands dirty, which is no doubt a mere preview of the wild joy this will unleash within the classroom. The workshop wasn't just about touching the dough though, as most of them featured an element of scent (and were edible, but shouldn't be eaten). The combination of fruity shampoos, coffee, shaving cream and other ingredients managed to create a strong scent, one that was unlike any other that participants carried on them all day. Bright colors can be used as well to make the dough more visually enticing, in addition to being appealing to the nose and the hands. Catering to a multitude of senses like this serves to make the project even more engaging for children.