Kelly Petrin

Kelly Petrin is a preschool teacher in Portland, Oregon. She also teaches as an adjuct instructor at Lewis and Clark College.

All Content
Animal Backpacks and Literacy Joy

Kelly Petrin finds animal backpacks are a wonderful tool for building literacy skills in young learners, as well as the home/school connection.

The Gifts of Literacy

Kelly Petrin reflects on what she values most in the final days with children in her preschool program, and what she shares with parents.

Dandelions, Chinese, and Patience with Our Youngest Learners

Kelly Petrin meditates on the importance of trust and patience when looking for ways to connect with preschoolers.

Pumpkin Time: Provocations and Stories with Preschoolers

Kelly Petrin reinvents a pumpkin decorating project with her preschoolers to help them build storytelling skills.

Are You Excited About Next Year?

Kelly Petrin finds a bare classroom at the end of the year leads her to improvise with stuffed animals and literacy with her preschool students. The mix of play and reading is so successful that it changes her planning for the fall.

SPREAD: Teaching and a Balanced Life

Are you spread too thin? Kelly Petrin uses the acronym SPREAD to remind herself regularly of what she needs to lead a balanced and joyful professional and personal life.

What Can Charlie Do?: The Value of Response Journals in Preschool Classrooms

Kelly Petrin shares the power of response journals with preschoolers.

From Playing to Drawing to Writing in Preschool

Kelly Petrin guides Drew from playing to drawing and finally writing during this conference in her preschool classroom.

Preschool Book Browsing Time

This five-minute video from Kelly Petrin's preschool classroom shows the value of book browsing time. Kelly explains the skills children develop in language, book handling skills, and literacy independence during this time.

Engaged by the World: Maps, Globes, Reading, and Writing with Young Children

Kelly Petrin and Ruth Shagoury connect globes and children's literature with a map theme to inspire young children to write more and include visual representations in their drafts.  While the examples are from a Head Start classroom, the booklist and activities are appropriate for any K-2 students.

On Not Fretting

Kelly Petrin’s meditation phrase for the day—Do not fret; it only leads to evil—guides her through a home visit with a parent who worries about her daughter’s literacy skills. This is a terrific short read for thinking through how to make encounters with parents less stressful.

A Hand to Hold: Crying and Community in Preschool

Sometimes it takes a village to help a preschooler feel a part of the group, especially one who cries almost all the time. Kelly Petrin finds her young students have more empathy and resiliency than she imagined when she enlists their support.

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