A note to my readers, old and new:  I retired from teaching in May 2018 and I thought my concerns about public education would retire with me. That has not been the case as recent trends in education have rekindled my passion.  I hope this letter speaks to other educators hearts and minds. Please share with like-minded friends. ​​ As a retired public-school teacher, I enjoyed a long, rewarding career.  For 31 years, I was privileged to teach in suburban Chicago schools.  Throughout my career, I was fortunate to work with supportive administrators and open-minde ..read more

I wanted to give them the world. I wanted to show them the rainforest animals and the Cirque du Soleil.  I wanted them to hear African drummers and folktales from the German Brothers Grimm. I wanted them to taste chocolate from Belgium and mostaccioli from Italy, and smell cardamom from Sweden and soy sauce from Japan.  I wanted them to run their fingers through salt like they could in the salt mines of Poland. I wanted them to know how it felt to walk in someone else's shoes.   Before I ever taught even one day of kindergarten, I knew I wanted to teach my students about different places arou ..read more

It's spring and so the wedding season is just around the corner!  For many years, the wedding of Q and U was the highlight of the year for my kindergartners and me. Q and U belong together, as everyone knows.  After all, it's an important spelling rule:   Whenever you write a Q, you must write a U. Now, the idea of having a wedding to help children learn this spelling rule is not original to me.  I'm not sure who dreamed up this marvelous idea although I have heard of an old kindergarten reading readiness curriculum called The Letter People which may lay claim to it.  I overheard some othe ..read more

This July 20, 2019 will mark the 50th anniversary of the first moon walk.  I remember it well!  I was 14 years old.  My dad read in the Minneapolis Star Tribune that there would be giant TV screens set up that evening in a downtown Minneapolis park.  Since our own TV set at the time was the standard 23 inch or 25 inch console model, we all set off for the park to watch that first moon walk.  It will always be one of the most thrilling memories of my life! I hope that teachers everywhere are finding ways to talk about this historic event!  Kids of all ages love to learn about space travel and ..read more

The calendar says it is April 15 but when the school bus pulled up to my neighbor's house this morning, it looked like December 15! Luckily, my windowsill garden doesn't know the difference! Leaning eagerly towards the light are sprouting peas, lettuce, spinach, beets, and carrots. Each spring in kindergarten, many teachers choose to grow things with their students.  Maybe it is part of the science curriculum or maybe it's presents for Mother's Day but, whatever the reason, planting seeds is a perennial favorite in many a kinder-garden! Haha! "Remember the little seed in the styrofoam cup ..read more

It's been almost a year now since I retired from teaching kindergarten.  When my mind goes back to those happy days, mostly I think of the adorable kids whose lives intersected with mine.  It really was a delight to look into bright eyes and I did enjoy those cute baby-toothed smiles.  I loved when the light bulbs went off in their heads and they were able to show when they understood something.  I was always excited when someone learned to read and I knew their world was about to expand because of it. When I began this blog, Goodbye Kindergarten, I decided to subtitle it, "A Retiring Kinder ..read more