Skating Field Trip
Today my day at Sunnyside was fantastic! This morning our class took a field-trip to the Centennial Ice Arena so that we could all go skating. Since this was my first experience as a teacher on a field trip with an entire class, I didn’t really know what to expect; however, I was pleasantly surprised to discover how enjoyable the experience was.
Once we arrived at the arena it was a frenzy of excitement, as many of the students had never been skating before. Since many of the students had never been skating before a lot of them needed help lacing-up their skates, so I jumped right into action. After I had finished lacing up probably about 10 pairs of skates I noticed that one student was sitting in the corner looking slightly upset, so I walked over to him to ask if everything was okay. He told me that his mom had wasted her money paying for the field trip because he was not going to skate and that he was just going to sit in the lobby and wait. Over the course of the past few months at Sunnyside I have noticed that this particular student can be quite hard on himself at times and often needs a little bit of extra encouragement when trying new things. As I sat down to talk to him about how fun skating would be I learned that he had never skated before and was nervous about embarrassing himself in front of his classmates. Once I found out this information I tried to support him by validating his fears, but also encouraging him to give skating a try. I told him that it was also the first time for many students in the class and that he didn’t need to worry about being embarrassed. I also told him that I was a little nervous about skating too and suggested that we both go try it out together. After briefly chatting with him, I was able to get him to put some skates on, and before I knew it he was flying around the rink having the time of his life. This transformation was so amazing for me to witness because I know how much this particular student can get down on himself in moments of self-doubt.
Overall the skating trip was a huge success. While I was on the ice skating with the class I had so many opportunities to talk to the kids and get to know them all better. I really feel as if this experience helped me connect with my students and vice-versa.
This afternoon, once we were back from the field-trip, the small lesson that I taught the class was DPA. Rather then preparing an organized game for the class I decided that I was going to let all of the students have free time outside to play whatever they wanted – and it worked out great! Once we got outside all of the students played together with footballs, soccer balls, and basketballs and I was even lucky enough to join in on the fun as well. It really was the perfect afternoon. During the lesson the sun came out, the class vibe was super relaxed, and every single student was happy, laughing, and enjoying themselves. It really was an image of perfection. This was one of the first times in a lesson that I as a teacher could really just step back and enjoy the ‘lesson’. This was a really special moment for me.
One thing that I found myself wondering about after teaching my DPA lesson today was: why did my lesson run so smoothly today verses other days? Was it because I was able to establish stronger connections with the students on the field-trip in the morning? Was it because the students had been active for so much of the day? Was it because the field trip brought the class closer together? Personally, I think it is a combination of all of these things. I really think that field-trips and moments of experimental learning like skating are so important for a multitude of reasons. I think that field trips and experiential learning bring classes closer together, help students foster new friendships, improve student behaviour, and make learning fun. Over the course of my extended practicum I will definitely continue to observe the positive impacts that field trips and experiential learning can have on a class.
What a wonderful day.
Below are some of the great pictures I managed to take on the field trip today:
