It was so nice to be back in Mrs. S’s classroom after the winter break. The class started off with greetings from all the students, and I was able to chat with them about their vacation and what they enjoyed most. They were excited to tell me all about their presents from Santa, and their lovely trips to places like Hawaii and Taiwan. After 15 minutes of morning book-work, we moved straight into calendar/morning meeting session. Mrs. S requested to teach this round, just so she could provide me with another opportunity to observe her style, as she had made some alterations to stimulate the students minds even further. She incorporated more mental math (skip counting by 5’s and 10’s) with the calendar, as well as mad-minute math. Mrs. S got the students to call out answers to a variety of questions such as 4+3, 4+4, 4+5, and so on. I thought this was an important aspect to bring into calendar, as it challenges students in a less-anxiety driven manner. Having the rest of the class blurt out the answer decreases stress for many, rather than being asked on the spot. It also tests their working memory as they do not have rulers or math charts to assist them. I found this morning calendar to be a lot more stimulating as a result of implementing more math concepts. In addition, Mrs. S also incorporated music dynamics, such as forte (loud) and piano (soft)- where the students had a choice to sing the days of the week in rhythm or beat using a dynamic of their choice. I loved how a concept such as morning meeting can tie in a wide variety of subject areas such as math and music. I also believe that the class pledge is extremely essential, as it provides for a great sense of community and social responsibility.

Today I also payed particular attention to how the new fidget toys were working for the students. The toys are small circular-rings that slide easily over the finger. Some of the boys were taking advantage of the fidget toys, and at times was causing too much of a disturbance rather than helping them remain calm and self-regulated throughout the lesson. I do believe that the idea of having something to fidget with is a great way of reducing stress and can help focus the child, but from what I have been noticing in the class, it is creating the opposite effect. There is less attention being focused on learning, and more attention focused on the toy. I’m curious to know more about the concept of fidget toys, and what results are being shown by the use of them to date in the classroom. There has also been some arguments over who is getting the fidget toys, as there are only 3 of the rings available. Some of the students are beginning to get frustrated that they have yet to have a turn. There is definitely some ground rules that still need to be applied.

During math period, Mrs. S started up a “Passion Project” with the students, which allows them to discover more about a particular animal that they are interested in. I thought this was such a wonderful way of incorporating the big idea approach of discovering personal interests and curiosities within that. This project is also working across subject areas, as Mrs. S taught the students how to develop a graph/table. This is a learning outcome that is required of the students this year, and she was able to masterfully incorporate this math component, as well as an ongoing science and socials component of the project. The students will learn about their favorite animals habitat, how it interacts with the landscape, as well as how it compares with two other animals of their choosing. It was interesting to hear the animal choices that the students picked, and some in fact overlapped. There were 3 students with an interest in learning about penguins, while 2 wanted to learn about monkeys, etc. This gave Mrs. S a window of opportunity to teach more about what a graph is, and the different subheadings/categories that you can place within these graphs. It was impressive to hear what variations of subgroups the students came up with. In particular, one was if the animal lived on land, at sea, or in the sky. This was a great way to start of the Passion Project unit!

During the afternoon, I was about to read the students a story called “Bike on Bear,” which they adored. The theme of the story is to persevere through any obstacle that you come across- to keep trying! This moral was specifically helpful for our final art activity of the day, which the students were working on “blotting” techniques with paint brushes. The students were to create a snow scene with a snow man, which required them to use white paint to blot down on their blue pieces of paper. Some students became frustrated at the technique, and quickly started to “paint” in strokes. Both myself and Mrs. S reminded the students that it takes patience and time to really understand how to blot with a paint brush, and to work towards creating a visual that is strictly blotted. It was amazing what they accomplished! They left the images to dry over-night so they could add more details the following day. I am definitely looking forward to how they turned out next week!

At the end of the day we also worked on some outdoor precision jumping called “Parkour.” This is an amazing activity that requires agility and a high level of jumping, running, leaping, and vaulting. Luckily, with my background in volleyball and other sports, I was about to help Mrs. S instruct the students on how to get the best momentum for explosion through a precision jump. Students were also asked to help each other if they were unsure of proper techniques involved (using a great deal of scaffolding). This was a lot of fun, and the kids enjoyed. Mr. J also caught a glimpse of our parkour jumps, and he hopes to participate with us next time!

The day flew by, but I continue to learn so much from Mrs. S. We stayed to chat about my inquiry question, and also about lesson planning for when I start long-practicum. We are both looking forward to working with each other more, and I am so thrilled to have such amazing support from her. The resources she provides are incredibly helpful, and are always so appreciated.

Until next week…