"Here's Amanda, fighting for the good things." As I watched the inauguration last week, I knew Amanda Gorman's poem would become a critical text in my kindergarten classroom. Seeing her, a young woman who looks like many of my students, a writer, a speaker, an overcomer, a seeker of justice, made me want my students… Continue reading “Fighting for the good things”
Author: Becca Masse
Snowflakes Are Falling
It’s been hard to come up with what to write about in this time we are living in. I have two cohorts of kindergarteners that are in person two days a week and remote the other three. I am responsible for all of them, all 5 days. While I am more than thankful to have… Continue reading Snowflakes Are Falling
Love for Lola
The Lola series by Anna McQuinn is a yearly favorite in my kindergarten classroom. Lola goes on typical five year old adventures and lives a happy little life. Lola loves her little brother and she loves stories. The family models a literacy rich, reading culture. Lola's little brother Leo has his own book series and… Continue reading Love for Lola
I Got the School Spirit- even in these times
As I prepared to start the year in kindergarten in these unprecedented times, I carefully evaluated which of my favorite read alouds I would choose to share with my new students in the first days of school. I always look for new favorites to mix in with my old favorites but this year, I had… Continue reading I Got the School Spirit- even in these times
Hard Things…
"Miss Masse, that's what we say!" Yes my loves it is, we can do hard things! The end of last year was one like none we've seen before. I did nightly read aloud videos for my kindergarteners but they would also ask me to read some favorites again "live" for them on our zoom meetings. I… Continue reading Hard Things…
A Stack That Brings Me Back
What we, as educators, have lived in the last three months has been something we never could have imagined. I, a kindergarten teacher in a highly diverse school in Maine, was shaken to my core and pushed in all new ways. I was teaching in a way I would never have signed up for. Honestly,… Continue reading A Stack That Brings Me Back
From the mouths of babes
I struggled to decide what to write this month knowing that no words can justify what educators and children are feeling as we finish up school and prepare to embark on a summer and eventually a fall filled with unknowns. That got me thinking about what grounds us in our daily life as educators. What… Continue reading From the mouths of babes
Dear Educators,
I hear you. I'm not good enough. I can't do this. This is too much. I hear you. What else can I try? How can I check on __________? Maybe if I... I hear you. What will happen next? How will I keep up? How can this be the best? I hear you. There has… Continue reading Dear Educators,
Connection in the Chaos
As we sit in unprecedented times, teachers everywhere are trying so hard to connect with their kids. Some may say they are our students, but to us, they are our kids. We hold them in our heart and treasure every moment we have with them, so this is incredibly hard. Up here in Maine, I'm… Continue reading Connection in the Chaos
“Yasmin…she be like me!”
My kindergarteners fell in love with Yasmin, the star of an early readers series written by Saasia Faruqi, the moment we started reading. She's a friend, a reader, a writer, a superhero, an artist...and so much more. She's just like my kids. Yasmin is a typical kid who does typical things and she happens to… Continue reading “Yasmin…she be like me!”
Come With Me…Follow Us
I look up at the 30 kids sitting on my rug and think...this is it, the moment I've been waiting for. It's time to read "Come With Me." There are books that are fun to read; books that make you laugh; books that make you sad; books that make you feel big things; books that… Continue reading Come With Me…Follow Us
I Walk With Vanessa by Kerascoët
Kerascoët is a husband and wife team who created this powerful wordless picture book about a topic that can often be hard to discuss with children: bullying. I Walk With Vanessa became a fast favorite in my kindergarten class as soon as we started reading it together. Each illustration is packed with detail. Children notice… Continue reading I Walk With Vanessa by Kerascoët
I Am Enough by Grace Byers
"We listen to Enough again please Miss Masse?" One of my kindergarteners asks with eagerness in her eyes. We have taken to audio recording our read alouds to listen to them during transition times and other times during our day. This idea came at the suggestion of a friend and mentor, Audrey O'Clair, who was… Continue reading I Am Enough by Grace Byers
Mommy’s Khimar by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow
"Miss Masse, in Somali, we say 'Kim-ar'." Anzal directs as I begin talking about today's read aloud, Mommy's Khimar. Books like this are a part of our culture in my small kindergarten class in semi-rural Maine. What's amazing about my class is that 11/14 kids speak English as a second language. There are 7 languages… Continue reading Mommy’s Khimar by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow
Ibtihaj Muhammad’s “The Proudest Blue”
"I'm just glad to know we're not the only ones." Abdirizak looked at me with his deep, contemplative eyes as he started to walk out of my classroom. The Proudest Blue, A Story of Hijab and Family speaks to the exciting first day of hijab for Asiya told through the eyes of her little sister… Continue reading Ibtihaj Muhammad’s “The Proudest Blue”
Under My Hijab by Hena Khan
“It’s her, it’s her!” the twins exclaim upon seeing the cover of Under My Hijab by Hena Khan. The girls make an instant connection to our helping buddy who wears a hijab. A seemingly simple moment, a real-life connection; but in reality, it was so much more. Later, after the twins had the book read… Continue reading Under My Hijab by Hena Khan