Well, this is it - the last hike of the MAEE program: Amphibians and Reptiles. I haven't had too great of experiences with sixth graders in the past, so today was quite the pleasant surprise. Perhaps it was because they were a smaller group, and the parents only got in the way if it was absolutely necessary. Overall they were inquisitive, bright, responsible, and interested in the things I was showing them. Starting with an overview of herps and a chance to hold the baby water snake, I was able to take the group around the wetland looking for reptiles and amphibians. Considering that there weren't too many around, I also mentioned a few random facts about wild edibles and other plants and animals that we saw. The group seemed to really enjoy our time together.
I was pretty relaxed throughout the hike (perhaps from my lack of sleep?) but I think it worked well with this group. My teaching style is definitely more relaxed, and so I appreciate when my students can go along with it. I was kind of surprised that they could sit and discuss herps without jumping up to see the snake I was holding (I'm used to first graders!). And while there were a couple times I lost their attention, most of the time when I began talking I felt I was being listened to.
The finale around the fire pit in the council house was splendid. We each had a little entertainment for the students. They were such great sports and seemed to really enjoy their time here. It's hard to believe that only a few years ago I had such difficulty talking in front of groups. Slowly, this nervousness and fright has faded away. My words no longer completely vanish in front of large groups. It was nice to play a little game for the kids and be comfortable doing it.
I've learned a lot over the course of the practicum, and I am overjoyed at this final group. While I was quite stressed from lack of sleep, it seemed like today incorporated so much of what I've learned about teaching (inquiry, empowerment, multiple intelligences) and so much of who I've developed as a teacher (setting rules in the beginning, being relaxed with dry humor).
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Exploring Nature
Exploring Nature with second graders was probably my favorite program. What a joy to have such a nice way to begin the final week. I find the complete openness of this program
really valuable - to simply explore nature. One of the girls asked me why every school day wasn't outside. What a perfect question! She explained that she was still learning about stuff, but it was so much more fun. It summarized so much of what we have been learning about the importance of environmental education, and its value in the education system.
I think the biggest challenge for me is still learning names in such a short period of time. I feel that I haven't really improved in this skill since beginning the MAEE program, and I'm sure it will be a long long time until I can. It's just really difficult for me to memorize names to faces in a couple hours. I've tried the tricks and mnemonics and repeating the names, but it still ends up the same - just as it has my entire life.
I have seen improvement in many other areas, however. I am no longer nervous to teach, and I feel that I can confidently go into a program without the fear of forgetting something important. I feel like I have a style and ongoing theme - a great thing to have developed in the last eleven months.
It was a great day teaching, and encouraging that a little girl liked it enough to say she wished every day at school was like it!
I think the biggest challenge for me is still learning names in such a short period of time. I feel that I haven't really improved in this skill since beginning the MAEE program, and I'm sure it will be a long long time until I can. It's just really difficult for me to memorize names to faces in a couple hours. I've tried the tricks and mnemonics and repeating the names, but it still ends up the same - just as it has my entire life.
I have seen improvement in many other areas, however. I am no longer nervous to teach, and I feel that I can confidently go into a program without the fear of forgetting something important. I feel like I have a style and ongoing theme - a great thing to have developed in the last eleven months.
It was a great day teaching, and encouraging that a little girl liked it enough to say she wished every day at school was like it!
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
I'm not rocking this cycle
One more day. I am tired. My feet hurt.
Rock cycle went well today. We operate like a well oiled machine most of the time. We had everything we needed. Busses were close to on-time. We had plenty of pit and bog time. It was a great field trip, I think, for a group that hadn't been to ML before. It went really well. I thought as we waved goodbye to the busses that we had made them feel at home, excited, smart and welcome. What more could you ask.
I'm beat, though. Standing in the sun in the pit was tough for me. It was the first time I'd done it with really concentrating on the keys, though. I thought the students and parents were very happy to be learning in such an exciting place.
I thought today about which of these programs I like the best. I may volunteer once in a while here, and would want it to be really great for me, as well as students. Sugarbush would be the first choice. With first graders. Then maybe any really nice hike day. And farm craft with kindergarden was pretty awesome. Oh, and farm craft mill with dementia patients was very enriching, and fun.
It's been a year. Thats the long and short of it.
Rock Cycle - one more time and done. I have taught this program several times it is very comfortable now. Yesterday I did the intro ppt and today sara did the intro ppt today. She did a good job, keeping the kids engaged. They were getting restless near the end. It was due to a very long bus ride to Merry Lea from Plymouth. They were an excited and excitable group. The were very interested and participated with me very well.
Over the last two Rock Cycle's I did pit, beach and bog. Pit is fun and kids loved finding rocks, many kept asking what type of rock is this. I would point them to the sheet and go through the dicotomomus key to figure out the type of rock. Then we would use the laminated sheet to try an narrow down from type to more specific individual rock names. After a few times, several students started to help classmates use the keys to decide on rock names. Sharing is a great way for the students to show their rock and tell some of its features or info about it.
Beach and bog are a blast. I wish I could do this program all the time. Students seem to develop a good understanding of where the water went and how the bog was formed. They really like to dig into the muck soil and feel the temps and smell the stinky. I like taking a different route back, so students can see the esker from a different view.
Over the last two Rock Cycle's I did pit, beach and bog. Pit is fun and kids loved finding rocks, many kept asking what type of rock is this. I would point them to the sheet and go through the dicotomomus key to figure out the type of rock. Then we would use the laminated sheet to try an narrow down from type to more specific individual rock names. After a few times, several students started to help classmates use the keys to decide on rock names. Sharing is a great way for the students to show their rock and tell some of its features or info about it.
Beach and bog are a blast. I wish I could do this program all the time. Students seem to develop a good understanding of where the water went and how the bog was formed. They really like to dig into the muck soil and feel the temps and smell the stinky. I like taking a different route back, so students can see the esker from a different view.
Explore (and teach)
Yesterday teaching exploring nature was lots of fun. The group was very excited to be here, and had lots of energy and curiosity. The weather cooperated and held off on the rain. I wish that they could have stayed for a full 4 hours, because the hike easily could have lasted at least a half hour longer. One of the students in my group was hearing impaired. Thankfully his interpreter was along, and she did a wonderful job of interpreting his questions and comments. It was interesting to notice that of all the students, he was generally the first one to notice something and point it out.
Since we were headed to the dipping pond first, I didn't want to spend a large quantity of time getting there. I asked the students what they were hearing (bird songs), immediately realizing that for one student this would have no meaning, or be something he could participate in. Realizing my error, I then quickly moved on to something else that focused on something we all could see (the hole in the dead tree that has a nest in it). As a teacher, I desire to adapt and meet my students at their level and facilitate their learning. Maybe that sometimes means I can't control, or plan for every contingency. Hopefully, it means that I continue to learn and adapt to new situations.
Later, I was leading one of the bird hikes with the 5th graders. They were all excited about the prospect of using binoculars. The first 20 minutes went well, most of the students saw a Baltimore Oriole & a Yellow Warbler. I used my new ibird app to play an example of the call, and that was a huge hit. It was a very full and packed day, and towards the end the group seemed rather done with seeing anymore red-wing black birds. I had packed the bird migration game, and I should have used it for the last 5 minutes on the trail. I was a little concerned about the time, and didn't want to start a game and then not be able to finish it, and so tried to occupy them with looking at birds for just a little bit longer.
Since we were headed to the dipping pond first, I didn't want to spend a large quantity of time getting there. I asked the students what they were hearing (bird songs), immediately realizing that for one student this would have no meaning, or be something he could participate in. Realizing my error, I then quickly moved on to something else that focused on something we all could see (the hole in the dead tree that has a nest in it). As a teacher, I desire to adapt and meet my students at their level and facilitate their learning. Maybe that sometimes means I can't control, or plan for every contingency. Hopefully, it means that I continue to learn and adapt to new situations.
Later, I was leading one of the bird hikes with the 5th graders. They were all excited about the prospect of using binoculars. The first 20 minutes went well, most of the students saw a Baltimore Oriole & a Yellow Warbler. I used my new ibird app to play an example of the call, and that was a huge hit. It was a very full and packed day, and towards the end the group seemed rather done with seeing anymore red-wing black birds. I had packed the bird migration game, and I should have used it for the last 5 minutes on the trail. I was a little concerned about the time, and didn't want to start a game and then not be able to finish it, and so tried to occupy them with looking at birds for just a little bit longer.
Exploring Nature is the best program ever
I love exploring nature. It is just such an awesome program where the hike time really feels like an opportunity for inquiry. I wish that more schools would request this program. It is so valuable to have unstructured hike time. Yesterdays group was so unbelievably engaged. I don't think I have ever heard called my name so many times in an hour, as that group of students all dying to show me what they had discovered. If we had been out there to look for something in particular, I might not have been able to give each of their discoveries all of the attention that it deserved. It just felt so good really let them lead the hike.
In the afternoon yesterday I led a flower hike. Though the time did not have quite the inquiry, student led feeling it was still really fun. I second Tom's comment that those were really awesome 5th graders. There was almost nothing blooming which was kind a bummer. Still the students worked had to collect some flower specimens (from our decorative rose bush) for dissection. It was cool to split them open and identify the male and female reproductive parts. I was a little bit surprised that none of them knew what function a flower serves. They could tell me that roots take up water and nutrients from the soil, and even that the leaves make sugar through photosynthesis, but not that flowers are reproductive parts. That feels like a really basic piece of information so I really liked being able to focus on them understanding that. Those basic things are the things that feel like epiphanys or "AHOHhhhhh..." moments for me, and it was great to hear that coming from the students.
In the afternoon yesterday I led a flower hike. Though the time did not have quite the inquiry, student led feeling it was still really fun. I second Tom's comment that those were really awesome 5th graders. There was almost nothing blooming which was kind a bummer. Still the students worked had to collect some flower specimens (from our decorative rose bush) for dissection. It was cool to split them open and identify the male and female reproductive parts. I was a little bit surprised that none of them knew what function a flower serves. They could tell me that roots take up water and nutrients from the soil, and even that the leaves make sugar through photosynthesis, but not that flowers are reproductive parts. That feels like a really basic piece of information so I really liked being able to focus on them understanding that. Those basic things are the things that feel like epiphanys or "AHOHhhhhh..." moments for me, and it was great to hear that coming from the students.
Nature's recyclers
Thursday, May 17, was Nature's Recyclers. This was a small group, only 18 students, and Tom and I were teaching. I was nervous about being unprepared, having a new topic, and not having much in the way of support materials. Carol advised us to use material from exploring nature, and we were forwarded a few additional pieces the day before the program.
Here's what I got - again. The value of this experience, the Merry Lea field trip, is not about the content as much as the nature experience. And, that, very often is the hike. No matter what materials and agenda I put in my hike bag at the LC, a good hike is going to be one that engages us in what nature is providing that moment. Maybe the "being here now" part of the best hikes is as impactful as the wonderful things we see and hear and smell.
As always, it was a pleasure to work with Tom. His calm, intentional demeanor is so helpful in any situation.
Another good day.
Monday, May 21, 2012
Yes!
It's official guys and gals, I love what I do. I think that having a sort of marathon day like today really solidified that for me. Thus far we've certainly been worked hard at times, but we could still generally get home in time for the 3 o'clock showing of Judge Judy. Today I was immersed, from 9 to 7. I was dog-tired by the end of it, but not once did I wish that I was somewhere else doing something else. Admittedly, the group of students has a lot to do with that, and we were blessed with a pretty awesome group of 5th graders, but I can't deny the feeling I have inside right now. It's sort of like when your muscles are on fire and your hands are all blistered as you look at a big pile of split and stacked firewood; it's the feeling of being satisfied by a hard day's work. Thanks to all of you for coming with me on this journey, and for the impact you've all had on shaping the man I've become in these past 11 months.
Ok, enough of that profound, sentimental bologna. (Fun fact: I think the first thing I heard any of the students say today was, "Bologna is spelled really weird"...priceless). Something I think I've done well recently in the programs is giving the students more autonomy over their learning. For example, there were a few times on the hike with the Wolf Lake group that we stopped and took a vote on which way to go, what activity to do, etc. I did the same thing on the bird hike with the Harrison students today. Do you want to go in the forest or the prairie? There are different birds in each ecosystem!
Something I've struggled with has been being more aware of and more sensitive to various disabilities. My awareness of this has really been heightened by the volunteer training I went to last week. Right after that, I had a student on an exploring nature hike who communicated through ASL (American Sign Language), and was unable to run. It was just kind of tough for me know what to do that would make the experience better for him...but at the same time I didn't want to cater to him so much that it reduced the quality of the experience for all the other students. I think I did ok; everyone seemed to have a great time, and the ASL student was still able to be actively involved. I'm sure there were things I could have done better, but as with just about everything, it takes practice and experience to improve.
Ok, enough of that profound, sentimental bologna. (Fun fact: I think the first thing I heard any of the students say today was, "Bologna is spelled really weird"...priceless). Something I think I've done well recently in the programs is giving the students more autonomy over their learning. For example, there were a few times on the hike with the Wolf Lake group that we stopped and took a vote on which way to go, what activity to do, etc. I did the same thing on the bird hike with the Harrison students today. Do you want to go in the forest or the prairie? There are different birds in each ecosystem!
Something I've struggled with has been being more aware of and more sensitive to various disabilities. My awareness of this has really been heightened by the volunteer training I went to last week. Right after that, I had a student on an exploring nature hike who communicated through ASL (American Sign Language), and was unable to run. It was just kind of tough for me know what to do that would make the experience better for him...but at the same time I didn't want to cater to him so much that it reduced the quality of the experience for all the other students. I think I did ok; everyone seemed to have a great time, and the ASL student was still able to be actively involved. I'm sure there were things I could have done better, but as with just about everything, it takes practice and experience to improve.
5th grade fun, yet I missed the Abandon ship call
So today was a really fun day. I taught rock cycle the entire day and it was fun. The morning session we had a lot more behavioral problems but all in all not bad. I let Matt do the intro on the first go around in the morning. He did a fantastic job. I did the pit which was fund and I couldn't believe a the different kinds of rocks the students were finding. All the groups seemed to love looking for rocks.
I did do the intro for the second group that went ok. I had my moments of confusion but it was the first time I did the intro so I think I deserve a little slack. At one point I had most of the parents laughing but the students didn't get the joke but you can't please them all.
I did think canoeing was a little ridiculous. Most of the students had never canoed before and not all of them got to go at once. So when had to do it in shifts which was a pain in the but. Also I don't think that for the time allotted for canoeing it was an appropriate activity.
So one of the last things have to say is related to the second half of the title. I feel that Amy, Tom, Ken and I got left to clean up after we had already done a lot today. Now I realize that everyone had other programing today and did their fair share and that's find but so did the 4 of us. All I am saying is that It would of been nice to a least know most of the other people were leaving and weren't sticking around just an extra 1 1/2 hours to help. I know Tom and I could have used it with the canoeing. I know that we are all getting ready to finish up and don't want to do any more than what we have to, but we still need to all pitch in and share the load.
With that said I'm not trying to be an a** hole or insensitive. I just need everyone else to know that's what happened and I feel it was a little unfair to the 4 of us. At the very least I would have liked to of know that's what was going to happen and not feel like everyone else abandoned ship without telling the others.
I did do the intro for the second group that went ok. I had my moments of confusion but it was the first time I did the intro so I think I deserve a little slack. At one point I had most of the parents laughing but the students didn't get the joke but you can't please them all.
I did think canoeing was a little ridiculous. Most of the students had never canoed before and not all of them got to go at once. So when had to do it in shifts which was a pain in the but. Also I don't think that for the time allotted for canoeing it was an appropriate activity.
So one of the last things have to say is related to the second half of the title. I feel that Amy, Tom, Ken and I got left to clean up after we had already done a lot today. Now I realize that everyone had other programing today and did their fair share and that's find but so did the 4 of us. All I am saying is that It would of been nice to a least know most of the other people were leaving and weren't sticking around just an extra 1 1/2 hours to help. I know Tom and I could have used it with the canoeing. I know that we are all getting ready to finish up and don't want to do any more than what we have to, but we still need to all pitch in and share the load.
With that said I'm not trying to be an a** hole or insensitive. I just need everyone else to know that's what happened and I feel it was a little unfair to the 4 of us. At the very least I would have liked to of know that's what was going to happen and not feel like everyone else abandoned ship without telling the others.
The 3 Letter Duo (officially the last blog)
Tom and Ken ( get it) totally put the wonder in wonderful wetlands today. We both taught WW twice. Each time our groups were in the mid twenties. The students were loving it and the adults were loving that the students were loving it. We split the day differently than originally planned. Since we knew they would be going on hikes later in the day Jane had the idea of not including a hike in the WW rotation. Instead, we had three 35 minute stations of , mayhem, dipping and pti/lab. It was great. Having more time with the mayhem game truly allowed me to convey the importance of restoring and maintaining our water quality. Some adults came up and told me they thought the game had a great message. At least someone learned something, haha.
Last Friday I worked with the Wolf Lake 1st graders for Exploring Nature. Holy smokes, what intelligent well behaved 1st graders. Now I know why Wolf Lake Elementary has such a great record of passing AYP, annual yearly progress, the mandated national testing system. Honestly, when driving through Wolf Lake I would not think, "this is a school that passes AYP." Once again it is reinforced how important it is not to act on prejudgements. The students and teachers of Wolf Lake are extraordinary. They will be back for sure.
Last Friday I worked with the Wolf Lake 1st graders for Exploring Nature. Holy smokes, what intelligent well behaved 1st graders. Now I know why Wolf Lake Elementary has such a great record of passing AYP, annual yearly progress, the mandated national testing system. Honestly, when driving through Wolf Lake I would not think, "this is a school that passes AYP." Once again it is reinforced how important it is not to act on prejudgements. The students and teachers of Wolf Lake are extraordinary. They will be back for sure.
Wow, what a day. A full day of teaching. 2nd grade in the morning and 5th grade in the afternoon. We had large groups this morning - I don't think I even counted but I had lots of parent support. The kids were really into it and we almost could have spent the whole time on one stretch of trail. They were really into finding insects at first, then we took a stretch of path and I showed them where some salamanders had been found in the past and then onto the dipping pond. Not nearly enough time at the dipping pond and it was amazing no one fell in considering how crammed they were. Two strainers fell in because the water was so low. The afternoon had that fifth grade energy and since they had been here since the morning I think they were feeling pretty comfortable with their surroundings. I lead a hike for amphibians and reptiles. We did see one snake but it got away pretty quickly through the cattails and I couldn't even tell what kind it was. When we had a stopping point I thought I'd try to disspell some of they snake fears and myths and ended up with a few of the guys telling stories of cutting off heads, poking in the eyes, burning in fires. They were all trying to outdo each other with gore until the teacher and I put a stop to it. I wasn't sure how to deal with that one exactly other to let them know it was innappropriate and talk about what good snakes do us. All in all, a good day but tiring. I'm glad I didn't have the fifth graders all day cause I'd really be pooped.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
The unhike and WW
Well, my shrub carr hike at Nature Fest was a bust. No one want to go mucking around, they all wanted to canoe. Who can blame them?
Wonderful wetlands today went over pretty good. The homeschool groups always go over well. We stayed to teach at one station, while the different age groups traveled among us. 4 of us and 4 groups, all of decent size. I am glad we got to work with all of the groups. The time length was about perfect. I did the watershed activity from Project Wet and then sorting at my station.
The watershed activity is super. I had it rain, then talk about what we saw. Add topography, rain again then discuss new observations. Then, students added the human features cards. Next, I handed out the pollutants. We went around the circle and added the pollutants (you know chocolate sprinkles for animal poo) to our map one at a time. A final rain storm preceded a discussion of the pollutants. After discussing our observations, I asked how could we improve our human features and pollutants on our map. Many students toyed with the idea of the waste water treatment plant near where the most pollution ended up.
Sorting was fun and exciting for the groups. Although, there were a few screams from a few girls. I am glad that each time we arrived the dipping group had some specimens for is to identify. The younger two groups kept asking, "What's this?" I had to keep handing out the laminated ID sheets. They wanted to be told the creatures name and move on. The older students did great with the ID sheets. They mainly wanted to know where to put them. Swamp gas worked! Yea! Good job collecting Laurina.
Wonderful wetlands today went over pretty good. The homeschool groups always go over well. We stayed to teach at one station, while the different age groups traveled among us. 4 of us and 4 groups, all of decent size. I am glad we got to work with all of the groups. The time length was about perfect. I did the watershed activity from Project Wet and then sorting at my station.
The watershed activity is super. I had it rain, then talk about what we saw. Add topography, rain again then discuss new observations. Then, students added the human features cards. Next, I handed out the pollutants. We went around the circle and added the pollutants (you know chocolate sprinkles for animal poo) to our map one at a time. A final rain storm preceded a discussion of the pollutants. After discussing our observations, I asked how could we improve our human features and pollutants on our map. Many students toyed with the idea of the waste water treatment plant near where the most pollution ended up.
Sorting was fun and exciting for the groups. Although, there were a few screams from a few girls. I am glad that each time we arrived the dipping group had some specimens for is to identify. The younger two groups kept asking, "What's this?" I had to keep handing out the laminated ID sheets. They wanted to be told the creatures name and move on. The older students did great with the ID sheets. They mainly wanted to know where to put them. Swamp gas worked! Yea! Good job collecting Laurina.
Big Snake!
Today we had homeschoolers for the wetlands program. Two of the older boys pulled a two foot water snake out and took it around to show the other kids. It was great. I could tell they'd caught snakes before and were pretty fearless about it. They even knew about the anticoagulant. I led the hikes and for the scavenger hunt I had them in pairs and asked who wanted to be paper and who was pencil. Then I taped the list on one kids back and the partner had to look for things and mark them off. Then they would switch. It was silly and they seemed to enjoy it. Plus it kept them together in pairs and they didn't have to deal with keeping up with a piece of paper. The older kids were too advanced for a scavenger hunt so we pretty much just hiked around and talked about things. I think I taught them a few things they didn't know. Many of them hadn't eaten cattails before or knew how a red winged blackbird builds its nest in the cattails.
What do bird watching, job interviewing, and nature fest have in common?
So as everyone knows I had a job interview today. Meaning that I missed out on the natural history hike and also the program I was originally supposed to help with. And due the fact I haven't taught in a while I will be talking about Nature Fest and a little about the bird watching walk I went on with Lisa's undergrads.
Overall Nature fest wasn't a complete bust for me and my wetlands training. I had one person who was brave enough to come to it. That person was Josiah, who I know and interact with when in Goshen. The session went really well, it helped that he was very familiar already with a lot of the chemical testing methods and knew what the chemicals were and why we were testing for them. So for the most part if was fairly relaxed and informal. It was really nice to teach someone else the procedures of the monitoring and have him actually be able to go out and do the sampling. So overall it was really good and if there is next time I hope to have more people come do the training.
So to make up for the hike that I missed I went out the Lisa and her undergrads to watch for birds. I must say, I didn't have my head on straight and forgot to bring binoculars so that limited me to what I could look at. However, it was really fun and I saw some very interesting birds. I think that her student's really enjoyed looking for birds and were happy to be out, even if it was 7am.
Overall Nature fest wasn't a complete bust for me and my wetlands training. I had one person who was brave enough to come to it. That person was Josiah, who I know and interact with when in Goshen. The session went really well, it helped that he was very familiar already with a lot of the chemical testing methods and knew what the chemicals were and why we were testing for them. So for the most part if was fairly relaxed and informal. It was really nice to teach someone else the procedures of the monitoring and have him actually be able to go out and do the sampling. So overall it was really good and if there is next time I hope to have more people come do the training.
So to make up for the hike that I missed I went out the Lisa and her undergrads to watch for birds. I must say, I didn't have my head on straight and forgot to bring binoculars so that limited me to what I could look at. However, it was really fun and I saw some very interesting birds. I think that her student's really enjoyed looking for birds and were happy to be out, even if it was 7am.
Campfire
Nature Fest was a lot of fun for me. I believe it is important to provide these fun experiences for the entire family. Until I was thinking about trying to blog, it didn't occur to me to think of this through the lens of teaching experience. Campfires are easy in a situation of Nature Fest, because they draw everyone like moths to a flame (young & old alike). The s'mores were a great hit. I am always amazed at the power of story telling. I borrowed the Keepers of the Night book from the library to have at the campfire. Several requested another story after I had finished the first. Paul of course it is an excellent story teller, and his boys were requesting that he then tell more stories.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Fun Under the Sun
Hello again fellow bloggers. I would like to give a shout out to all the bloggers on this site who are seven days from completion.
Saturday morning was a lot of fun. Amy, Sara and I teamed up to deliver a great child adventure. Sara and I started them off with the scavenger hunt and then on our way to the first destination stopped by the Earth House Region and Amy got the children completely enticed to build their own Earth house.
This added a key element for the success of the scavenger hunt. The group went to south Kesling Meadows, Thomas Woods, Reith Village, Kesling Pond, Hayloft, garden, animal barn and finished in the kitchen for some icee pops. The group collected one, two and sometimes three items from first four destinations to later build their Earth houses. It was a good morning.
This afternoon I spent my last day with the YMCA Wolflake group. They had a fantastic time. The day was complete with using the nets to swoop up butterflies for a closer look, snatching tadpoles from the vernal pond and gazing at reptiles and amphibians in front of the observation tower. The father of two sisters, Lexie and Natalie, came to pick them up and commented when he saw the salamanders. He came to pick them up a few weeks back, when Amy taught an amphibian lesson, and saw salamanders for the first time. He said he had never been on the property and looked intrigued. He is hooked.
See you in the manana.
Saturday morning was a lot of fun. Amy, Sara and I teamed up to deliver a great child adventure. Sara and I started them off with the scavenger hunt and then on our way to the first destination stopped by the Earth House Region and Amy got the children completely enticed to build their own Earth house.
This added a key element for the success of the scavenger hunt. The group went to south Kesling Meadows, Thomas Woods, Reith Village, Kesling Pond, Hayloft, garden, animal barn and finished in the kitchen for some icee pops. The group collected one, two and sometimes three items from first four destinations to later build their Earth houses. It was a good morning.
This afternoon I spent my last day with the YMCA Wolflake group. They had a fantastic time. The day was complete with using the nets to swoop up butterflies for a closer look, snatching tadpoles from the vernal pond and gazing at reptiles and amphibians in front of the observation tower. The father of two sisters, Lexie and Natalie, came to pick them up and commented when he saw the salamanders. He came to pick them up a few weeks back, when Amy taught an amphibian lesson, and saw salamanders for the first time. He said he had never been on the property and looked intrigued. He is hooked.
See you in the manana.
The final push!
It seems odd to blog now since we haven't taught in weeks, but I can certainly write about my excitement for this final practicum period! It's pretty hard to believe that just 8 days and 5 school programs stand between me and the end of this program. It's fun to look back on how much I've grown personally in my teaching abilities over the past 10.65ish months. Coming in, I definitely held the idea that teaching was standing in front of a backdrop of some sort (blackboard, projector screen, forest, pond, etc.) and lecturing for 45 minutes or so. Since then I've learned the value of inquiry, student-led learning, Socratic questioning, and other valuable (and far more effective) teaching strategies. Seeing the difference in how the students respond to these other methods has been so exciting! What a great reward for the time and effort we've all put into honing our craft here at Merry Lea.
I also wanted to touch on the volunteer training that was just held in the Barn on Monday. I have very little knowledge about the autism spectrum, and even less experience working with individuals who are on it. This workshop was really valuable to me. I now have a much better idea of what to look for in determining if someone is on the spectrum, and I feel much better-equipped to give those students an effective learning experience. It was also a somewhat painful workshop for me. With this new lens of understanding, I was able to look back on some of the students I've worked with this year, and realized that there were a few who probably were on the spectrum and I should have worked with much differently. Of course, we're learning (at least) as much as we're teaching in our practicum, so I suppose I shouldn't be too hard on myself, but it's hard not to wish I could go back and do some things differently. Oh well, at least now I have a greater sensitivity to the condition and a bigger, better set of tools to work with those individuals: be sensitive, be transparent, be consistent, be literal, and tap into what motivates THEM!
PS-Here's to a strong finish everyone! :)
I also wanted to touch on the volunteer training that was just held in the Barn on Monday. I have very little knowledge about the autism spectrum, and even less experience working with individuals who are on it. This workshop was really valuable to me. I now have a much better idea of what to look for in determining if someone is on the spectrum, and I feel much better-equipped to give those students an effective learning experience. It was also a somewhat painful workshop for me. With this new lens of understanding, I was able to look back on some of the students I've worked with this year, and realized that there were a few who probably were on the spectrum and I should have worked with much differently. Of course, we're learning (at least) as much as we're teaching in our practicum, so I suppose I shouldn't be too hard on myself, but it's hard not to wish I could go back and do some things differently. Oh well, at least now I have a greater sensitivity to the condition and a bigger, better set of tools to work with those individuals: be sensitive, be transparent, be consistent, be literal, and tap into what motivates THEM!
PS-Here's to a strong finish everyone! :)
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