Santa's Letter

I could just see the top of the desk.  I was five years old.  I had to keep rising up on my tipee-toes to get a good look at what my older sister was doing.  It was my first Thanksgiving Break as I was a kindergartner.  The light shone on the paper as my sister wrote the letter.

When she summoned me into her room I hadn’t a clue as to what she was up to.  She was my senior by seven years and in my mind she knew everything.  I caught glimpses of what she was up to and saw that she was intent on her task.  She wrote with what seemed like ease and grace to me…I longed to be able to write someday. 

“What do you want for Christmas?” she asked, “from Santa” she added.

“Santa?” I replied, “You’re writing to Santa?”

Without missing a beat I told her that I wanted an “Oscar the Grouch” puppet.  She obliged and wrote it down.

That’s all I can recall of that time with my sister, writing to Santa. I don’t remember anything else we did that day.  I don’t remember the first Thanksgiving Break other than that select moment.  In fact, I don’t ever recall opening the present on Christmas morning from Santa and finding my wish had come true…a real-life “Oscar the Grouch” puppet.

I still have Oscar.  My kids play with him now.  He’s beat up and is losing one eyebrow; but he’s still with us…after 41 years he’s still with us.

What strikes me the most about this memory is what's always remained in my mind over the years; the few short moments I spent with my sister writing the letter.   As much as I loved “Oscar the Grouch” I do not remember receiving him as a gift…it’s almost as if he was always there.  As much as I loved Thanksgiving and Christmas as a kid, those memories do not seem to hold a candle to the memory of me and my sister, writing the Santa letter.

I told my kids the story of the letter writing.  I then realized that the memory always came to me whenever I saw Oscar.  I realized that my admiration and trust in my sister was most likely cemented that day some 41 years ago. 

My sister has left this world.  She did so in the early summer of 2009.  At 48 years young she lost her 25 year battle with various cancers.  Although she no longer spends time with me she is still right there with me. 

And as the Holiday Season comes upon us the memory of the “Santa Letter” reminds me that it is the relationships that really matter; the people that surround us, making lasting impressions.  Time marches on and things change.  Memories hold a moment as it was, untouched and unfettered, for us to relish in its delight. 

As you go through this Holiday Season I hope that your family will create long-lasting memories that will travel over time with your children.  That these memories will prove be a part of them forever; holding the moments they have with you in their mind’s eye while fueling their heart’s desires.

Mr. Casten

Nov. 26, 2013

Copyrighted material of Michael C. Casten

My daughter, Ava, with Oscar (Nov. 2013)

Dinner & Bathtime

I have three young children (ages 6, 5 and 3).  One first grader and two pre-schoolers.  I look forward to sitting down to dinner with my young family each night, listening to the chatter, enjoying the food.  During the school week my wife and I usually ask our kids what they did in school that day.  From Henry and Ella, our youngest, we usually get the same responses..."recess, play-doh, job of the day"; from Ava we get a bit more but she seems to "forget" what she's done just hours earlier.  We kind of expect these responses but ask nonetheless--if for nothing else than to establish a pattern of expectations.  Expectations for our kids to think about their day at school, share the day's events, and hopefully gain an appreciation of other people's days.

Since we aren't getting a whole lot of information thus far in their formative years, I try and make it a point each night at bath time (I give the baths as my wife gets them ready for bed) to remind them of something.

I remind them to always say their "pleases and thank-you's" while at school...if for no other reason I am trying to set the expectation I have for them while they are in the care of other adults.

In Room 202 we have an "unsolicited compliment" goal each year.  The students set the goal, usually based on the previous year's final number.  Each year the class has "beaten" the previous class.  The goal is really getting up there.  In fact, this year it is set at 102!

The first trimester has come and gone, 1/3 of the school year is over.  To date, my students have acquired 34 unsolicited compliments...exactly 1/3 of their goal!  It's not easy in a room of 25 students and a school of just under 600 to be recognized on a consistent basis.  Temptations are strewn about in various places and situations, peer-pressure finds its way into the everyday lives of kids, and excitement (precipitated for a variety of reasons) usually permeates throughout our day.

My students do shine, however.  They are cognizant of their goal and appreciate themselves when given an unsolicited compliment.  They have their moments of "kid-craziness" yet they also have their moments of focused discipline.  When their attention is directed toward working together, being engaged, and completing a task--they demonstrate the qualities needed for students to be receptive to learning.

They say their "pleases and thank-yous", they follow directions, they aim to please..if not for themselves, then for the adults around them.

Thirty-four unsolicited compliments thus far is an achievement in and of itself...with parent encouragement coupled with teacher encouragement they can easily reach their goal, surpassing it perhaps...and setting the stage for next year's class to rise to the challenge.

Mr. Casten

Nov. 15, 2013

Copyrighted material of Michael C. Casten

"Wordle" Lesson

 

 

The above picture was actually created by the class during math. We're starting a new unit and the concept is "Decimals and their Uses".

Whenever I begin a new unit (especially in math) I try to ascertain how much my students already know about the content. This guides my starting point for teaching, insuring that I am not wasting their time or mine by teaching them something they already know. Those ideas are best left for a quick review rather than a full-blown lesson.

There are several ways to determine the "pulse" of a class in terms of a certain unit of study; you can have them complete a K-W-L chart (what do I "Know", what do I "Want" to know, and what did I "Learn"?), or you can give them a pretest on the concepts that will be taught and learned. You could have an informal discussion, asking them to talk to you or each other about the topic at hand. Or you could "Wordle".

Wordle is a computer program that generates "word art" like the picture above. It's a fascinating program in that it can be used for a variety of applications. I've used it before both professionally and personally. I recently used it on a personal level and so it was in the forefront of my mind.

On Wednesday, as my students were taking their Math Unit 2 Test, I began thinking about this next unit, "Decimals and Their Uses". The first thing I, as the teacher, needed to know was how much about decimals do my students understand. Then it came to me like wind blowing through the trees: ideas flowed in and out, centered around "Wordle". Ways to utilize the program began swirling in my head, interacting with one another in a dance that finally culminated in a lesson.

Each student was given an index card. They were instructed that they would have 2-3 minutes to jot down everything they knew about decimals. I gave them an example using fractions. Then I posed some questions on the board to help guide their thinking: "What do decimals mean? Are they related to other math concepts? Are there special names associated with decimals? How do we use them? Are there special symbols used for decimals? Can we add, subtract, multiply, and divide with them? What are the numbers after the decimal called? How do we say numbers with decimals in them?"

After the students wrote down what they knew about decimals I had one person tell us one thing they had written. Then I asked those who had also written the same thing to raise their hand. We did this same process for a total of 7 people. While responses were being given I had the "Wordle" program open on my computer (the kids could see it too, on the big screen). I would type the word that was given the same number of times people reported jotting it down. For example, if the word "money" was reported 12 times, I typed it into the program 12 times. What this does is tell the program that this word is important. The more important a word, the "bigger" it appears on the final product.

If you look at the picture produced by "Wordle" above, you can see the different "decimal concepts" and how they are different sizes. The bigger the appearance of a word, the higher the number of students there are that "understand" the word to be a part of the world of decimals. Can you see the really, really tiny word in the "Wordle" above??

It was an interesting way to gain a glimpse of what my students understand about decimals. Not to mention it was a creative and fun way for them to be engaged in the process. Hopefully they will be interested enough to use the program for other things as well. It's quite engaging!

Mr. Casten

Nov. 1, 2013

 

Copyrighted material of Michael C. Casten