Why isn't Star Wars a compound word?

For the past two days we have worked on compound words - our curriculum introduced the concept and the kids always have fun with putting little words together to make a bigger word.  I have these cool picture cards that fit together - two piece puzzles.  Each piece has a picture of a small word (cup, cake) and after you put the pieces together you flip over the puzzle and see a picture of the compound word (cupcake).  We went through every pair, identifying the two small words and putting the pieces together - skateboard, sunflower, birdhouse, jellybeans, lighthouse, starfish, etc.  Some of my students could barely contain their enthusiasm and shouted out the compound word before we even put the pieces together.  They loved it!  At the end of the activity I heard a bunch of students say, "That was SO fun!"

Today we reviewed compound words from yesterday and used them as our topic for writing.  I asked the students to think of their favorite compound word and draw their own pictures.  I modeled this for them on the board first.  Most of them could only draw the picture for the compound word and label it.  But I had quite a few who were able to draw the individual small words as well as the compound word and then label the pictures.  It's always so fascinating to see the varying levels of understanding.

I told students that if they wanted to choose their own compound word, not one we did yesterday, they needed to check with me before drawing their pictures.  Here were some "compound" words they wanted to draw:  Star Wars, acrobat, bow & arrow, pumpkin.  I had to explain to one little guy that while his picture was awesome, dragon is not a compound word.  Fortunately, he was equally happy to draw a cowboy.  Our language is very interesting.  Star + fish =  starfish is a compound word, but Star + Wars = Star Wars which is not.  How very confusing for little ones who are just learning what a word is.

Comfort zones

One of the reasons I began writing this blog is to force myself out of my comfort zone.  I'm an avid reader and always have been.  I am comfortable with a book in hand, but I have never felt comfortable writing which I explained in an earlier post, I Hate Writing.

Recently I read a book about teaching writing that mentioned  - if teachers are going to teach writing then they should be writers themselves.  Not published writers per se, but people who are comfortable putting words on paper. So here I am writing!

My goal is to write every day, just like I have my students do, and with few exceptions I have met that goal.   Some days I write a lot and other days just a few sentences.  For a variety of reasons, I don't post everything I write.  I have deleted quite a few entries that never made it to the public, but boy did it feel good to write them!  Then there are those entries that have remained in the draft stage because they require more thought.

Writing every day has been surprisingly easier than I thought it would be.  The experience of putting my thoughts onto paper (or typing them on a screen?) has been very therapeutic and enlightening.  I've discovered that writing about my class allows me to see my class from a different perspective.  Focusing on the words I am writing frees up the problem solving area of my brain to do some creative thinking.  It's similar to my days as a math major.  I would get stuck on a particular problem for hours and it was while I was asleep that I would figure out how to solve it - as soon as I stopped consciously thinking about it.

Lev Vygotsky, a famous psychologist developed the concept called "the zone of proximal development."  This describes the range of tasks that are too difficult for children to complete on their own but with scaffolding from an adult, the child can learn how to complete the task.  Students won't grow and develop unless they venture past their comfort zone and neither will teachers.

Do you teach Kindergarten so you can be taller than your students?

Yes, someone actually asked me that at church today.  No, I am not that short.

I teach Kindergarten because. . .
     I love helping children learn how to read and write.
     Five year olds are hilarious - especially when they are serious
     I'm allowed to be silly at work
     I love reading and sharing great picture books with children
     The joy on a child's face when they learn how to do something is priceless
     We sing lots of songs
     I understand how to help most five year olds learn - in other words, I can think like a five year old
  
I could go on and on, but I think you get the point.  I am a Kindergarten teacher - it's who I am.  At the end of my very first day teaching Kindergarten, a coworker asked how my day went.  My response was, "I was born to be a Kindergarten teacher!"   Three years later, I feel the same way.  I knew I wanted to be a teacher, but now I've found my calling.

No, I do not teach Kindergarten so I can be taller than my students.  In fact, most days you'll find me sitting on the floor  or crouched down next to them.