“Education is not a preparation for life; education is life itself.” ~John Dewey
About the school:
www.communityschoolwestseattle.org
About the classroom:
http://communityschoolwestseattle.org/k2.htm
About Michelle:
Michelle has a B.A. in literature from The Evergreen State College and holds a M.S. Ed from Sarah Lawrence College.
She has taught at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center School for patients and children/siblings of patients undergoing cancer treatment and transplant.
She has taught preschool at the Sarah Lawrence Early Childhood Center.
She has taught in a K/1 classroom as well as in a sixth grade classroom at the Ella Baker School in New York City.
She has taught writing and literature at the Valhalla Penitentiary in New York.
She has taught preschool and currently teaches the K-2 program at The Community School of West Seattle.
Michelle is also a mama and her daughter Autumn-Wilder attends CSWS in the Orcas Island Classroom.
You can contact michelle via email at michelledtaylor@gmail.com
13 comments
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April 16, 2007 at 1:32 am
Cara Rieder
I stumbled upon your website by accident looking for geometry info., but I was so impressed with all of your creative lessons. I wondered how did you make your tree (background painted a light violet?) It looked fabulous. I will be a first year teacher in Gilbert, AZ next fall. If you have any tips, I’m wide open! What a wonderful discovery I made today!
Cara : )
April 18, 2007 at 7:36 am
Michelle
Thank you so much for your wonderful comments. I made the circle tree by painting the wall violet, then I stood against the wall and my husband outlined my body for the trunk, we then painted the trunk and leaves brown. Then we cut a sponge up into a moon/leaf type shape and sponged three different colors of green onto the wall and ceiling. I have hung paper leaves down from the tree and decorated it for the different seasons. It was a great place to have circle and I made up a welcome song called “The Circle Tree” for morning gathering.
October 16, 2007 at 5:53 pm
Kristi
Michelle,
I just LOVE your site and love seeing what you all have been doing in your class! I work/live in Dayton, Ohio, but am a “Washingtonian” at heart, and am from Moses Lake, WA, (the Eastern side of the state
It’s ironic that one of my favorite sites is from a classroom in my home state..
I work with pre-k teachers, (Head Start program)
What a blessing to see what is happening in your classroom!
October 17, 2007 at 8:25 am
Michelle
Please come for a visit. Call, email or just drop by if you are in the area.
October 17, 2007 at 12:09 pm
Kristi
Thank you! Gladly!
May 26, 2008 at 12:31 am
HChristine
Hello Michelle, I posted earlier, however I wanted to ask permission to mention your blog for a master’s assignment. I am supposed to discuss my experience with blogging and mention blogs I may be following or commenting on (for educational advancement) as well as to gain insights into areas I would not normally have access. I hope this is fine with you and I am sorry to hear about the salamanders. Heather
May 28, 2008 at 6:01 am
Michelle
Of course. Thanks for the comments. Good luck.
June 15, 2008 at 12:20 am
HChristine
Michelle, I have questions about the salamanders. I still have the ones my class ened up with and they are doing well. They eat live brine shrimp and love them! How old where your salies when they lost their gills and climbed out of the water? And what did you feed them after they were land animals?
Heather
June 18, 2008 at 4:02 am
Michelle
We had them for about eight or nine months but it was pretty cold in the room. We fed them tadpole food, we didn’t have them for very long as salamanders. Good luck!
November 14, 2008 at 12:57 am
Helen
Hi Michelle, I just came across your blog while searching for inspiration for my pre-k classroom. I teach at a Reggio Emilia-inspired school in NYC and just finished up the last of my parent-teacher conferences today. Your classroom is beautiful, your posts are incredibly motivating, and I am happy to have found a great blog to follow! Thanks!
April 2, 2009 at 6:48 pm
livingclassroom
Hi Michelle!
My friend told me about your site. She found it while looking for my wordpress site which is called “Living Classroom.” What a strange coincidence, since we’re on opposite coasts, to see a similar idea spanning the continent!!! I am so excited to see what you are writing about here & especially love the photos. (shadow puppetry!!! so fun!!!)
Thanks & happy spring,
Rae Brown
April 13, 2009 at 6:44 am
Peripheral Vision
Dear Rae,
Thank you for letting us know about your site. It’s great to see the work you are doing also. So exciting to be walking similar paths from one coast to another. I’ll keep checking in.
Best,
Michelle Taylor
September 24, 2009 at 1:46 am
milissa
so happy i stumbled upon your beautiful site. i was not surprised to see you went to evergreen state college (my husband graduated from there). as an educator and art/expressive arts therapist i find your posts very inspiring and look forward to seeing more of what’s happening in your classroom. those are some lucky kids!!
milissa