Friday, April 29, 2011
eNewsletter May
The latest edition of the eNewsletter is out. In the May edition of the eNewsletter I have included some great new links and resources for project based learning with multimedia and creating exciting new lessons to get your students excited, inspired and motivated down this home stretch of the school year. I have also included some great articles on technology integration that you can use your classroom. Please do not hesitate to ask for help too. Cheers!
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Enrichment Day
Each year, our Horizon's teacher (our new PC term for Gifted and Talented), organizes a fun filled afternoon of mini-enrichment courses for the kids in our elementary schools to choose from. Teachers, middle school and high school students, and community members come into our school and offer their expertise and lead a group of elementary students for an hour and a half in their interest areas. This year we had courses that ranged from cooking dog biscuits for your favorite four legged friend, to playing the drums and guitar, to hiking techniques and science experiments at home. There were gardeners, fly fish tiers, golfers, and scrap bookers too. The students got to pick their top 5 choices and were divided into their respective groups for the afternoon.
I can't say enough about events like this one. To see children in a different setting other than in class is truly a special occasion and one that should be shared by all teaching staff all over the world. As a technology integrator, I miss the opportunities that I had had as a classroom teacher to connect with students on a one-to-one level and discuss their social lives as well as just their educational career within the confines of the classroom walls. I miss heading out to the ballpark to watch a student clobber a fastball into the outfield, or play their favorite concerto at their piano recital. A day like enrichment day, although it's only an hour and a half long, offers a quick insight into the true character of each and every child.
There were 20 kids that came out to learn about a golf swing with myself and our school custodian that moonlights at a local golf and ski sports shop. We taught them the basic grip and mechanics of the golf swing, and even let them use the back playground as a driving range. The students then divided up into groups and played a short 9-hole course that I had set up around the back field and even kept score on score cards that were designed in the computer lab. (We had to tie math into the event some how!)
All of the students loved the activity. Some were disappointed, and even frustrated at times, over their lack of confidence and ability to strike the ball with mastery, but that is the actual point of the day. Students that excel in the classroom didn't always master the activity for enrichment day and learned a hard lesson that sometimes extra practice is required to master a skill. Other students, and in my class in particular, that do not always excel in the classroom realized they could succeed in something new and unrelated to typical school activities and found a new love for a hobby that they hadn't tried before.
Learning can come from any where and every where! As educators we need to realize this and strive to think outside of the box and teach from all different angles in order to reach each and every child. I sure learned a lot from the enrichment day and I didn't even get a chance to attend a course. I can only imagine what the rest of the group learned in their choices.
I can't say enough about events like this one. To see children in a different setting other than in class is truly a special occasion and one that should be shared by all teaching staff all over the world. As a technology integrator, I miss the opportunities that I had had as a classroom teacher to connect with students on a one-to-one level and discuss their social lives as well as just their educational career within the confines of the classroom walls. I miss heading out to the ballpark to watch a student clobber a fastball into the outfield, or play their favorite concerto at their piano recital. A day like enrichment day, although it's only an hour and a half long, offers a quick insight into the true character of each and every child.
There were 20 kids that came out to learn about a golf swing with myself and our school custodian that moonlights at a local golf and ski sports shop. We taught them the basic grip and mechanics of the golf swing, and even let them use the back playground as a driving range. The students then divided up into groups and played a short 9-hole course that I had set up around the back field and even kept score on score cards that were designed in the computer lab. (We had to tie math into the event some how!)
All of the students loved the activity. Some were disappointed, and even frustrated at times, over their lack of confidence and ability to strike the ball with mastery, but that is the actual point of the day. Students that excel in the classroom didn't always master the activity for enrichment day and learned a hard lesson that sometimes extra practice is required to master a skill. Other students, and in my class in particular, that do not always excel in the classroom realized they could succeed in something new and unrelated to typical school activities and found a new love for a hobby that they hadn't tried before.
Learning can come from any where and every where! As educators we need to realize this and strive to think outside of the box and teach from all different angles in order to reach each and every child. I sure learned a lot from the enrichment day and I didn't even get a chance to attend a course. I can only imagine what the rest of the group learned in their choices.
Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.
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