Inside the Classroom

During the first days of school I observed some fabulous activities.  Your children were learning all about how to be a good team member, found out their individual learning style, got to know their classmates interests and strengths by completing the activity, What’s Your Talent Quotient – based of Gardner’s 7 Intelligences, etc., and practiced collaboration skills.  I observed:  The Cooperation Evaluation - after a team building exercise, students evaluated themselves on how well they cooperated with team mates, students collaborating on designing a Class Quilt, and students completing a survey called the Common Characteristics Scavenger Hunt.  For this activity students were asked to find classmates who shared characteristics such as: Do you have freckles?  Do you wear glasses?  Have you ever traveled outside the US?  Do you have sisters/brothers?, etc.  I saw students working in pairs to get through the Blind and Sighted Obstacle Course - one child had his eyes closed and the other was the guide.


During an enrichment class I observed a brainstorming session on "What do you want to learn about?"  Students offered suggestions like - How is sand made?, How do you teach someone to ride a bike?, How do you make bread?  In another, the students were writing poetry using math terms!  In a kindergarten class students were learning about self-discipline and taking responsibility for our actions by watching parts of The Wizard of Oz!