This past week seemed to be one of extremes. First it was so scorching hot that the black top would melt your sneakers. Then the wind whipped in, blowing over -- and breaking ---our canopy tents. Lightened crackled, thundered boomed and it rained, rained, and rained some more.
Through all this, the kids are there. The kids are there. They want something to do. They need something to do. And we are it, folks.
At La Casa, I feel like we've hit our stride. We've managed to meld together our intentions and our teacher's expectations and have a better sense of how much time we're willing to be responsible for and what we're going to do with it. Camille and I have developed a good team-teaching approach., following up one's finance lesson with a read aloud on the same theme and then alternating ideas for songs, dances, and activities. I will say that keeping the little ones corraled is no easy task. Now I truly understand what an amazing feat I was witnessing in almost every observation classroom I was in this past spring where kids carried out classroom rules on their own, quieted when the teacher entered the room, and followed instructions. Classroom management remains the biggest mystery. I can't wait to unlock its secrets in the fall.
My father grew up in Bayside, Queens. This past weekend I was telling him about the NPS program, and he told me that he went to a similar program when he grew up where he learned how to make things out of plastic string. Wow. 50 years later and kids are still entranced by the same thing. Lanyard. We broke out ours at Ridge this past week. Given the extreme heat or the rain, sports were off-the-table for much of this week and so we turned to board games and arts and crafts. While I've been engrossed in remastering the art of the helicopter, the scorpian, and the friendship bracelet, I've also gotten a chance to connect with different kids than those for usually play sports. I've gotten to know some of the quieter kids. The ones who aren't athletes and aren't quite always in the mix, but are sweet, funny, and bright and have lots to say. They want to be active, but needs ways to do so that fit with their strengths. Jump rope competitions, bubble gum blowing competitions, singing competitions, musical chairs, connect four, Uno, foosball... they are thrilled by it all and just as excited to win.
I can't believe this next week is our last week. There were moments that seemed to last for an eternity, but in truth it has flown by.
Sherry, your dad and I must be around the same age. I, too, recall being totally engrossed in the art of intertwining plastic stings. I didn't recall that the name of the process was "Lanyard", but I do remember it being the catalyst for many in depth, adolescent, girl convesations at the Parks and Recreation programs that Montclair used to offer. Not only were the resulting items practical keychains, they often were included in boxes of momentos that remain with some of us, to this day!
ReplyDeleteHopefully, our students will treasure the resulting keychains and everlasting memories, as well!!!
Lanyard is intergenerational. I actually hated it becuase arts and crafts were not my thing (LOL), but my friends loved it and were always making keychains and bracelets and other things. The kids at Abington also love making things out of lanyard. Every day they ask for the "plastic string stuff." Even the boys do it. It will never go out of style and if it ever does, we are in trouble.
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