The greatest sign of success for a teacher is to be able to say, “The children are now working as if I did not exist.” -Maria Montessori

For the record:  Heloise does not have a helpful hint for the best way to remove vomit from an iPad.  Being faced with this very dilemma recently, I realized I had no lifestyle guru to turn to for help.  I just had to push up my sleeves and get to cleaning it.  Into every kindergarten teacher’s life, a little vomit (or other body fluid) must fall.

Some days are like that…a lesson bombs on the same day your principal comes to observe, whining and tattling rules the day, no one seems to be listening, and someone vomits on an iPad.  The best part of those days is when they are over.  A recent visitor to my classroom marveled at how well behaved my students were and how they were so independent.  She noticed they do not interrupt me when I am teaching small groups.  She asked if they were like this all the time or just because there are visitors in the room.  I replied that most days they are independent and well behaved.  I work diligently in the beginning to make them as independent as possible.  Personalizing their learning and giving them the voice and choice to make their own decisions about their learning is a big part of creating that independence.  However, we all have days that are not stellar.

Recently, we were having so many problems with kids not getting along we re-visited our Code of Cooperation.  We discussed where we were falling short and what we could do to correct the situation.  We talked about what each of our agreements would look like.  What does it look like when we listen to others?  What does it look like to be nice?  After our discussion, the children made a Pic Collage to demonstrate their understanding of what our Code of Cooperation should look like.  Here is an example:

While this won’t solve all of the world’s problems, it helps from time to time, to re-visit expectations and reconnect with what we are about.  It helps us as teachers to return to our fabulous selves and remember that, while “vomit” happens, tomorrow can be a better day.

Here is a great video for when you have one of those days:

Today, we will do exciting new things.  Let’s get to it!