I think there is something to be said about keeping certain traditions. It has occurred to me that teaching children Thanksgiving traditions is a very important part of what we do in our school. I love telling them about the first Thanksgiving. We have several special books that I read to them to set the stage. They learn that in the days of the Pilgrims there were no stoves and refrigerators and that fire was used to cook and keep warm during the winter months. They are completely fascinated by this information. You should hear the questions! I do wonder sometimes if they can really imagine a world without electricity-no lights for reading, no stove for cooking, and certainly no T.V. or computer games! The children really get interested in this very different life of the Pilgrims. We look at photos of the Mayflower II  and talk about the long, hard journey.  They learn that the Pilgrim children were required to do daily chores in their new home. The children love playing with the old-fashioned “Flying Machine” given to us by a parent after visiting the Mayflower in Plymouth.  Through reading and Scholastic videos they observe the Pilgrims’ clothing and compare their clothes to ours.  I really believe that learning about the first Thanksgiving is their first taste of American history. What an important lesson to be learned!

Learner, Thinker, Writer: Connie Sudlow serves Trinity School as a Pre-K teacher. @MissConniesPreK

A light bulb went off in my head this year! I came to the realization that learning knows no age limit. Many changes came to Trinity in the form of new Technology and it was do or die! So, of course, I started doing. We were given new Apple computers and lots of wonderful ideas and new opportunities. I was hesitant but wanted to get started. I learned that there is an App for my iPad and also a program for my Mac called Evernote and it would make life wonderful in my Pre-K classroom. With Rhonda’s help and guidance, I learned how to use Evernote and found  how useful it could be as a tool for my teaching. Now I’m not sure how I could live without it! It freed me to listen, watch, and interact with my children as they play and learn. More time with children is what I always hope to gain! Documenting wonderful information about how they learn became so easy. Videos and photographs are an exceptional way to bring back the learning experience and to share it with parents and children. My children learned to use the iPad to take photos and tell their stories, which can then be put in their notebooks for safekeeping. When getting ready for my Progress Reports, I felt so organized. My Evernote notebooks had all of the pertinent information for each of my children. Evernote is just one of the new technological tools that I learned to use but it’s a very important one for me.

The big “Ah-ha” moment that I will take away from this year is that you are never too old to learn anything! Surprisingly, the more you use your brain for learning the better you learn!! So keep on learning!

Learner, Thinker, Writer, Observer:  Connie Sudlow serves the Trinity School community as a Pre-K  teacher.