So, today was art day at school. A whole day (pretty much) filled with art. The theme was Australian.....so everything we did was.....yep, Australian! At first, the idea of losing a day when we have so much to do before the CRCT was really upsetting. We didn't really understand why it was scheduled for before the test, rather than after it. However, after going through today, I am soo glad we had it now. It was such an easy-going day. We made necklaces, listened to Australian music, made boomerangs and got to paint (I'm really quite proud of my koala dot painting!) We had a lot of down time, so we got to do a few things in class...
1) We did one of those "how well can you follow directions" tests. If you've never done one, it's a lot of fun. There are all these directions, like screaming out certain words, random math problems, spinning in circles, counting ceilling tiles, etc. The catch is that you are supposed to read all the instructions first. When you get to the end, the last direction tells you to complete only a couple of the directions and then sit back, relax, and watch everyone elsee act silly. This is an enormous amount of fun to give -- the kids were spinning and counting and soo confused :)
2) We read some more of our book, Among the Enemy. It's part of the Shadow Children series by Margaret Peterson Haddix. If you've never read them, they are exceptional. I never expected to read the entire series to my class this year, but we started the first one at the beginning of the year and have been going ever since. The series is about this society ruled by the Population Police, who track down and get rid of third children. Third children are illegal and must hide or get fake ids (hence the name, Shadow Children). The series follows several third children and their attempts to change their society. Anyway, I love them as an adult and highly recommend them to you! Even if you don't like to read and aren't a fan of kids' books. We read some everyday and it has to be one of my favorite parts of the day. I love reading aloud, but especially when the audience is really into the book. The kids love following the characters and beg me to keep reading when I stop. Reading is a passion of mine and I love being able to share it.
and the last thing we did...
3) Watch the Swiss Family Robinson. I haven't seen this movie in a good ten years or so, but I really enjoyed showing it to the kids. We had a lot of movies to choose from and the kids voted on this one. Most of them anyway. The ones that didn't were not into it at all...until the movie started. I like showing old movies and tv shows to them because, at first, most of them are against it (especially when it's in black and white). Eventually they all come around and enjoy it. Today, girls were screaming the whole time because they were so wrapped up in the movie that the surprise attacks by the animals scared them everytime. The boys were engrossed in it becuase of the pirates and the snakes and lizards. At any rate, it's a lot of fun to introduce them to movies and such that they probably would never think of watching.
Days like this remind me what teaching is supposed to be like. Teaching is supposed to be experiential. Fun. Different. Meaningful. Students should want to learn. What most of us do everyday is the opposite of that. We teach to the test. Struggle to fit everything in. Rush through the material in the hope that some of it will be retained when the test comes around. That's not what teaching is about.
I've also been reminded of why I like kids so much (also, I got to play with a toddler at JGroup two weeks ago, and that helped to). I think for awhile I'd forgotten that I really like kids. I just started going through the motions of teaching. Day in, day out. What I was doing is not fun. I like kids because they are fun and free and enjoy life. I like hanging out with them and mentoring them. Kids are just amazing. Period.
I'm glad I remember :)
Other thoughts....
I love gilmore girls. If you know me any at all, you'll know this. I'm a little obsessed. I couldn't get the tv to work this afternoon and just wanted to watch some tv....so I put in some gilmore. They're good for everything. Smiles for gilmore girls.
Last night we had a Passover Seder at Genesis. We're in the middle of a series about the last week of Jesus before Easter. It was really cool to see all the parts of the Passover dinner and what they stand for. Also, really cool to see how the parts of the dinner point to Jesus as the Messiah. There are so many things like this that we don't always get and I'm glad I've been getting to learn about them through this series. God is amazing. But also, I miss Israel. I was reminded of that last night. You should go there.
I want a dog.
Long...sorry.
Love :)
1) We did one of those "how well can you follow directions" tests. If you've never done one, it's a lot of fun. There are all these directions, like screaming out certain words, random math problems, spinning in circles, counting ceilling tiles, etc. The catch is that you are supposed to read all the instructions first. When you get to the end, the last direction tells you to complete only a couple of the directions and then sit back, relax, and watch everyone elsee act silly. This is an enormous amount of fun to give -- the kids were spinning and counting and soo confused :)
2) We read some more of our book, Among the Enemy. It's part of the Shadow Children series by Margaret Peterson Haddix. If you've never read them, they are exceptional. I never expected to read the entire series to my class this year, but we started the first one at the beginning of the year and have been going ever since. The series is about this society ruled by the Population Police, who track down and get rid of third children. Third children are illegal and must hide or get fake ids (hence the name, Shadow Children). The series follows several third children and their attempts to change their society. Anyway, I love them as an adult and highly recommend them to you! Even if you don't like to read and aren't a fan of kids' books. We read some everyday and it has to be one of my favorite parts of the day. I love reading aloud, but especially when the audience is really into the book. The kids love following the characters and beg me to keep reading when I stop. Reading is a passion of mine and I love being able to share it.
and the last thing we did...
3) Watch the Swiss Family Robinson. I haven't seen this movie in a good ten years or so, but I really enjoyed showing it to the kids. We had a lot of movies to choose from and the kids voted on this one. Most of them anyway. The ones that didn't were not into it at all...until the movie started. I like showing old movies and tv shows to them because, at first, most of them are against it (especially when it's in black and white). Eventually they all come around and enjoy it. Today, girls were screaming the whole time because they were so wrapped up in the movie that the surprise attacks by the animals scared them everytime. The boys were engrossed in it becuase of the pirates and the snakes and lizards. At any rate, it's a lot of fun to introduce them to movies and such that they probably would never think of watching.
Days like this remind me what teaching is supposed to be like. Teaching is supposed to be experiential. Fun. Different. Meaningful. Students should want to learn. What most of us do everyday is the opposite of that. We teach to the test. Struggle to fit everything in. Rush through the material in the hope that some of it will be retained when the test comes around. That's not what teaching is about.
I've also been reminded of why I like kids so much (also, I got to play with a toddler at JGroup two weeks ago, and that helped to). I think for awhile I'd forgotten that I really like kids. I just started going through the motions of teaching. Day in, day out. What I was doing is not fun. I like kids because they are fun and free and enjoy life. I like hanging out with them and mentoring them. Kids are just amazing. Period.
I'm glad I remember :)
Other thoughts....
I love gilmore girls. If you know me any at all, you'll know this. I'm a little obsessed. I couldn't get the tv to work this afternoon and just wanted to watch some tv....so I put in some gilmore. They're good for everything. Smiles for gilmore girls.
Last night we had a Passover Seder at Genesis. We're in the middle of a series about the last week of Jesus before Easter. It was really cool to see all the parts of the Passover dinner and what they stand for. Also, really cool to see how the parts of the dinner point to Jesus as the Messiah. There are so many things like this that we don't always get and I'm glad I've been getting to learn about them through this series. God is amazing. But also, I miss Israel. I was reminded of that last night. You should go there.
I want a dog.
Long...sorry.
Love :)
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