What a HUGE surprise for the students when they came to school today! One young man even asked if we were going somewhere because there were parents in the classroom. I believe in giving students experiences to 'hinge' their learning onto. One area of the curriculum that we are currently working on is writing directions or instructions. When they have had the experience of making a root beer float, or blowing bubblegum bubbles, the writing is easier to accomplish!
Tomorrow the students will be writing directions on how to make sock monkeys,
but today they are learning new vocabulary, using their senses to know what stuffing feels like, and experiencing the joy of creating something from (almost) nothing.
There are a great sense of accomplishment as they stuffed, pinned and stitched on tails, and arms, muzzles and ears.
Of course, there were also lots and lots of adults to offer support and encouragement.
An added side benefit was that gender roles were blurred and both boys and girls took this project very seriously, knowing that their efforts would pay off!
Amazing how much thread was used. There was an adult constantly rethreading needles!
Thank you to the grandparents....
and parents....
who came in to ensure....
that every knot ws tied...
every tail stuffed....
every ear attached...
every eye glued...
and every child happy!
WE COULD NOT HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT YOU!
I am positive that when the instructions are written tomorrow,
every child will remember what steps they followed to create their new friend.
It's not very often I get to be on this side of the camera!
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