Week Seven 11-9-2005
Nuts on the Floor.
One thing I occasionally forget is how physically large we adults must seem to small children. Try this: sit on the floor and have another adult stand right next to you and look up to see their face. Sitting on the floor or otherwise physically bringing ourselves down to their level can make effective communication more productive. One activity Mrs. Koenig had the children do on Wednesday was to take a basket of nuts, put it on the floor with identifiers and have the kids sort them by type. There were walnuts, pecans, brazil nuts, hazelnuts and peanuts and she had an open can of Planters® Mixed Nuts to fish out samples of what the nuts looked like inside. Even though I knew I probably shouldn’t have I started snacking and she caught me! They were tasty. There were only two or three children at a time sorting and they quickly self-organized and split up the tasks to finish quickly. It was good to see them getting along and working together without being told to.
Pardon the Interruption.
Because of the way I am choosing to complete this assignment, it is awkward to say critical things about what I see in my classroom. As a student and new teacher, I am observed or going to be observed many times. What I do in the classroom is always going to be examined, dissected, criticized and talked about in front of me and behind my back…but not maliciously. It is only done in an effort to make the learning experience more efficacious for the children. It’s a part of the landscape for teachers to examine their practice (and have it examined) in an effort to grow and get better and their profession. Should this extend to administrators as well? Seven or eight times on Wednesday the speaker crackled with possibly useful information. It was hard to hear and unwelcome every time. There has to be a better way to communicate with the staff and students during the school day.
Patterns.
Because Thanksgiving is coming, a flurry of turkey-Native American-pilgrim-fall crafts and activities are popping up all over the school. On Wednesday, after reading about Squanto Mrs. Ferrara and Mrs. Koenig distributed some colored macaroni and taped down some cut lengths of string for making pattern necklaces. Despite the taping, several students still managed to dump their carefully (maybe) organized and patterned necklaces all over the floor, but they rallied and picked up the droppings without much complaint. Several students made well conceived and executed designs, while others, well, did not. Once we were all done the students (and teachers) held a little fashion show, displaying their designs and strutting nicely about the classroom to much amusement. I got an uproarious response for my stumbling pirouette while showing my design.