Bullseye!

The first week of school... well actually last week I started school, but this is the first week with kids. Today I finally got to see my students, most of them at least. It's so interesting to see the kids I worked with last year after summer vacation, they have all grown and seemed excited to be back at school. I also like to meet kids for the first time. I learn a lot about them in a short amount of time.

My opening day activity was kind of cheesy, but I think sets a good tone... I had brought different containers, including a bowl, a cup, a gallon water bottle, etc... and I had the kids try to throw different items into the containers... I had each student stand up, showed them how far back they had to stand, and asked them which container they were aiming for and why... some aimed for the giant bowl because it seemed to be easier and had the greatest chance of meeting with success....some aimed for the cup, saying they wanted a bit more of a challenge... and when directed, one student did try to get a dice into the gallon bottle... in one group, after most of the kids had been given three chances, I had one kid come up and gave him two items to throw, and he looked a little perplexed, but said nothing, then I moved him 2 feet closer to the containers than the other kids had been allowed to get... and the kid smiled... the other kids sighed and said it was unfair. Then one of the kids said, well, he was only given two chances to get it in so it kind of IS fair that he can be closer... that is a cool debate!

This activity leads up to me having each of the kids write a goal for themselves, a personal goal, something they want to accomplish between now and December. Their goals are being written on arrows and will be put on a bulletin board which has two archers and a giant bullseye.... I will have the kids post their goals and as time passes we will check to see if we are getting close to the bullseye... (Partly so that I can keep the same bulletin board until December without having to change it!) I will somehow figure out how to incorporate math into all of their goals as well... they just don't realize it yet!

But the activity also gave us a chance to talk about setting a goal... how to get there... I had each kid explain their strategy to get things into the containers and asked how their strategy changed depending on how successful they were on the previous throw. Which led to talking about how we may not reach our goals easily, that sometimes you have to change how you get there... We talked about fairness... and how sometimes in class I may ask some kids to do more problems or different problems than others, and that it is fair when I do that because I am adjusting things to meet their needs... One girl threw all of her items quickly and returned to her seat... when I asked her about her strategy she was pretty quiet... so I asked her... did you throw them that fast so you could get back to your seat faster... she shrugged... I said... is it hard to be in front of people with everyone watching you, and she said she hated it... so I explained that to reach a goal, sometimes it will be uncomfortable and that it's important to take your time with things... that you will get better results if you don't rush through it or doing something just to do it... and it also provided me with the chance to say that in my class students will be asked to be courageous, take risks, and do some work in front of other kids and that we will work on that confidence... some of the kids were eager to volunteer to jump up and do this activity, that kid raising his hand as high as possible and waving it all around to try to get called on to be the first or next person to try it...

So... I learned a lot about the kids today...which kids seek attention, which kids are self conscious, which kids need a lot of direction, which kids like to challenge themselves....which kids are more comfortable taking the easy route...which kids will stand up for what they believe is fair or unfair... which kids can talk and listen, those who prefer to talk, and those who prefer to listen...I love the psychology this... what makes them tick... I need to know that in order to help them...I am excited to see what goals they set for themselves... and to see how I can help them achieve those goals...

All the political BS that is going on fades into the background when I get to work with these kids... it's still there, still frustrating... but... it's not what is important. The kids are!


On another note... My dad had cataract surgery today...everything went well! I felt really guilty for not being there... I felt like I was there for all of mom's surgeries and felt like I should be there today... and... missing the first day of school was not something I was comfortable with... so I was torn... Dad had made a plan to have his sister transport him back and forth and help him out... and she did, thankfully! (Thank you Donna!) But it was really hard not being there... While I am sure that Dad appreciated his sister being there and helping him... I am sure there was a part of him that felt very alone this morning as he got ready to go... and I am sure he missed mom a lot today... every day... so do I... but... things went well for dad today and I am happy about that!