7 things I want you to know about me

Picture"Valerie" by Elinor, age 4


​​​​​​I am a preschool teacher.

I first started working full-time with preschool children in 1990, and have been relishing that world ever since.

​In the fall of 2002 I co-founded Corner of the Sky, a progressive, play-based, child-directed preschool in Ithaca, NY. Best. Plan. Ever.

Teacher of Little People is not always the easiest place to be, but it suits my musical, theatrical, introspective and improvisational nature better than any other job title I've had. And like most creative people I've had a long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long list.

I want to inspire your curiosity, as mine is inspired, by my daily dealings with the Little People. I want to spark those sometimes sleepy synapses of wonder.

This is not a "how-to" site. This is a "hmmm... I hadn't thought about it like that before" site. At least that is my hope. You can let me know.

I don't look exactly like this drawing, but I think Elinor did an excellent job of capturing my sideways, colorful self. Oh, and my wild waves of green hair look fantastic, too.

7 phrases you should know before reading 

(AKA the Glossary)

​Lasterday. A day in the not-so-distant, yet indeterminate past.
Sandbox Meeting. A gathering most typically held around the sandbox, used to vote on something, share stories or songs, and sometimes board a bus/airplane/submarine ride.
Sandbox Meeting Bell. Our bell that hangs beside the sandbox, except when it doesn't. Can be rung by children or adults to call a Sandbox Meeting, and will forever be followed by the "Sandbox Meeting Song" written by Isaac, age 4.
Storm Chair. An inside chair, painted with raindrops and lightning bolts, with over-sized, cozy pillows. A solo space to go to when you are feeling 'stormy'.
You Can't Say You Can't Play. One of many brilliant books by Vivian Gussin Paley, and a philosophy we adopted. ​
Water Break. A sometimes solo, sometimes not, trip to our water bottles, inside and outside, but especially popular outside. Great for rehydration and redirection.
Child-directed. Yes, you read that right. But this doesn't mean we let them do anything they want. This means that we trust in their abilities to decide what they are capable of physically, emotionally and socially, and we are close by to assist them in the moments they are not. Certainly not the easiest approach for teaching but the only one for me.