Leaves & Branches, Trunk & Roots

So the children have been very patient in waiting for Miss Pamela to pay her bill…and have been counting down from one hundred and faithfully marking the countdown calendar.

It  seems…too easy…to just pay the bill, at this point.  There is the idea of fair play, and let’s face it, not paying the bill isn’t fair play.  But there are just so many learning opportunities here, and it seems a shame to let them go.  As long as the children get their money by day 100, there is some room for learning…the children have already become adept at counting money, and understand the basic principles of amount and worth.  Impressive, at this age, but they are motivated!

…so, Miss Pamela left a letter and envelope for Mr Pat and the Big Kids this morning:

“Dear Big Kids,

Thank you for being so patient and waiting for me to pay my bill.  I have put THREE CUBAN PESOS in one envelope for you. I have put ONE EURO in one envelope for you.  And I have put ONE AMERICAN DOLLAR in one envelope for you.  And finally, I put ONE LOONIE in one envelope for you.  Is that enough money?

Thank you,

Miss Pamela.”

So, the deadline came and went, without a cent from Ms. Pamela and the 5 dollars that she owes us for the cookies from our bake sale.  How was this going to sit with the kids?  What happens when people don’t pay their bills?  Why doesn’t Miss Pamela have any money?

This morning Pamela came to our group time so we could question discuss why she hadn’t paid us.  We read her the bill we sent to her last week and awaited a response.

I don’t have any money to pay the bill!  My piggy bank is empty!  Are you OK if I don’t pay the money? -Pamela

NOOO!!! -everyone

We always pay when you go to a bake sale or you always pay for that! -Travis

I know that every time I go to the store I have to pay for the things I want. – Mr Pat

Ya, me too! -Travis

Do your mommies and daddies pay for everything too? -Pat

Yah!  -everyone

If you don’t pay for them, you stealed them! -Travis

You go to the bank and you should just go get some money! -Mattias

But remember when we went to the bank asking for money?  They didn’t give us any! -Pat

You could get a job!  My mom works very hard! -Mattias

I have a job but all the money I get from my job goes to buying food for Kazja! -Pamela

So are we OK if i don’t pay?  Can I go? -Pamela

(thinking…)

Could I maybe pay you in 100 days when I get some money? -Pamela

Yah!!! -everyone

So you’re fine waiting for 100 days? -Pamela

Yah! -everyone

How are we going to know when 100 days is up? -Pat

We should count it! -Travis

__

And form that point on we created our “Pay Counter”, which will help us keep track of the 100 days until we get paid.  Each day we are at school we will put another mark on the Pay Counter and when we get to 100 we know Miss Pamela will pay us (or do we know that!??).

The children managed to earn a lot of money at the bake sale, and we are now talking about how much things cost so as to determine how much money we actually need for the graduation party in June.

In the afternoon of the Bake Sale day, Miss Pamela arrived at school and let us know that she had taken some cookies from our Bake Sale the night before, but since she didn’t have any cash on her was in need of a bill from the Big Kids.  Further to this, she finished off the left-overs the next morning without paying!

Mr Pat brought this to the attention of the Big Kids and this is what they came up with:

Dear Ms. Pamela,

This is a bill so you can pay for the cookies from the Bake Sale.

You took 3 cookies, Ms. Pamela, and we’re going to make you pay by giving you a bill today!

You need to pay $5!

Please pay by February 10th, 2012.

The end.  From,

Big Kids (Hey!)

Kai, Jacob and Jayson are working together at the clay station.  The spaghetti machine was introduced today (garlic press) and the three boys are extremely focused on making as much clay “spaghetti” as possible.  I was watching the group carefully, as all three of the boys will often struggle to clearly communicate with each other when wanting to share materials.

I watch Kai as he gets a bit agitated, watching Jacob.  Finally, before I intervene, he notices me watching and runs over to me.

“Jacob says he won’t share.”  Kai tells me.

Jacob is listening, and without looking up, he says “After me is Jayson.”

I repeat to Kai that Jayson is going to have a turn after Jacob.

“Oh.” Kai thinks.  I remain silent, waiting.  It doesn’t seem like I am actually needed to solve the problem – Jacob and Jayson have set up a plan to share the material and Kai seems to be sincerely listening to what Jacob has said.  It is times like this when it can be difficult for me, as a teacher, to not intervene – I know that all three boys are prone to using physical means to solve a problem; I also know that if I offer a solution for Kai, he will simply follow my directions.  So I wait.

“But Jacob, I had it.  Can I get it back?”  Kai asks.  I find this interesting – Kai did have the tool some time ago, but had long abandoned it. When he first picked it up, he was using it backwards, and was unable to squeeze out any spaghetti…but now that he has been watching Jacob use the tool, perhaps he wants to try again. Does he feel he has some prior claim or ownership??

“No, it’s Jacob’s.”  Jayson helpfully looks at Kai and explains.

Kai is silent again, and walks back to his seat.  Again, I wait, but move myself a little bit closer to the table…just in case…

“Jacob, can I have a turn after Jayson?”  Kai addresses Jacob, instead of Jayson.  I wonder why?  Jacob finally looks up from his “spaghetti” making.

“Ok.  Jayson and then Kai.” Jacob announces and passes the tool to Jayson.  Jacob looks at me. “It’s happy!”  he laughs.

Jayson starts making spaghetti.  “It makes me happy!”  he parrots.

“I was sad.  I want a few minutes and didn’t want to ask.  I was sad and now I get a turn so I think I’m happy.”  Kai states.

The boys are picking up the emotion language that the teachers have been calling attention to the last few weeks, and it’s great to see how they are relating their actions to their emotions.  And even greater that they were able to successfully negotiate sharing a tool, despite their history and Kai’s negative feelings at the beginning of this interaction!  I’m glad I waited and didn’t intervene – I knew the three boys could do it on their own!

The vote was for which face (that the children each drew) should be the face of our Body Bank.

How are we going to decide which face goes on the bank? -Pat

We have to vote. -Travis

I lay out the pictures for voting.  As I was doing so, Lillian was able to dictate who had drawn each face (which was amazing because she was late the day we drew them and didn’t see who had drawn each face!!!!!  How did she know?).

This time, I want you to tell me why you are voting for each face! -Pat

Simone votes for Trvais “because the bad guy dies.”

Joel votes for Logan “because the good guy turned into a robot.”

Morgan votes for Travis “because his nose is a triangle.”

Travis votes for Travis “because it…I want to…I like it…it has like funny eyes and nose.”

Logan votes for Travis “because he’s my best friend.”

Mattias votes for Travis “because I want him to win.”

Ilia voted for Travis “because it has a triangle nose and it looks pretty.”

Ryan voted for Travis “because Ilia did.”

Lillian voted for Travis “because I like Travis.”

I voted for Travis “because the face Travis drew looks most like a face.”

The Tally:

Travis-9 votes

Logan-1 vote

Let’s open the vote to everyone at Alderwood. -Pat

Brothers and sisters, mommies and daddies, uncles and aunts, poppas and grammies, teachers, nannies and poppis, grandpas and grandmas. -kids gave the list

YAH! -kids

Pretend your Mommy and Daddy took you to Starbucks for hot chocolate.  How would you feel?  Calm? Joy? Ecstatic?

Calm-Joel, Morgan
Joy-nobody
Ecstatic-Ryan, Mattias, Lillian, Logan, Simone, Travis, Ilia

Do you like the feeling ‘ecstatic’? -Pat

Yes, because I get to…everything I like I write on my ribbon! -Travis
Ya, because when I drink hot chocolate it’s so hot! -Mattias
Ya, because it makes me happy. -Morgan
Ya, cuz it’s…cuz I like the word. -Joel
I like the feeling ‘ecstatic’ cuz it makes me really happy. -Logan
Ya, because I’m ecstatic when my mommy and daddy and Caroline pick me up early. -Lillian
Ya, cuz my mommy picks me up early and when it’s night time I go to bed. -Ilia

You just got woken up from a nice nap and you had a really good dream.  Would you feel: Calm, Joyful, Ecstatic?

Calm-Morgan, Mattias
Joyful-nobody
Ecstatic-Lillian, Simone, Joel, Travis, Logan, Ryan

Do you like the feeling joyful? -Pat

No, because I like all of these emotions. -Lillian
Yes, because it’s happy. -Logan
Ya, because it’s my favorite. -Simone
No, I don’t know. -Ryan
Ya, it’s because it sounds good. -Joel
Ya, because it makes me happy. -Morgan
Ya, because it makes me happy. -Travis
Ya, cuz it’s my favorite. -Mattias

Pretend that it’s your birthday.  Would you feel: Calm, Joyful, Ecstatic?

Calm-Lillian
Joyful-Simone, Mattias
Ecstatic-Logan, Ryan, Joel, Morgan, Travis

Do you like the feeling ‘calm’? -Pat

Ya, because I breathe really slowly in bed. -Simone
Ya, cuz it’s a nice word. -Joel
No, because it’s different than joyful and I like joyful better. -Mattias
No, because it’s different than ecstatic. -Logan
Yes, because I like to relax and stuff like that. -Travis
Ya, because it makes me calm. -Morgan
Ya, because when my mommy and daddy wake me up early I feel relaxed. -Lillian