Parent Child Education

Another Year of School Begins!

2010-09-07T19:23:00.001-04:00

The first day of school! If only that first rush of new friends, new teachers, new school stuff (shoes, notebooks, backpacks, lunchboxes....) could be bottled up, it would come in handy in my adult life when I'm in need of a pick-me-up. I love seeing the eager faces and looks of anticipation especially when students come by before school starts to drop off their supplies and get a look at the changes we've made in the room! They want to see where their cubbies are and check out their lockers (even though they are the same as the year before, perhaps down the hall a bit).
I am always amazed how much children can grow over the summer. It's like the sun helps them sprout! I watch my students grow and mature as I (at least I would like to think) don't age at all. I'm a constant figure but in reality, I too am growing (unfortunately in the wrong direction) and becoming more mature (sometimes!) - but I still love the thrill of learning what makes each child tick. Every year it changes a bit with each one and finding what makes them soar is exciting and challenging.
Today we had goal setting - where the teachers meet with each student and plan out activities for them to reach their goals for the year. It's always interesting to see how the students assess their abilities and what their strengths and weakness are and what they feel they need to work on. It usually is right on the money. Sometimes students want to do something they aren't ready for, but will guidance I show them the steps they need to take to reach their goal.
Tomorrow the fun really begins - team building and getting-to-know-you activities with gym and our first all school meeting of the year added in to complete the day!

Guardian Angels Come in Many Sizes!

2010-09-01T23:49:00.001-04:00

Today I went to a "Meet the Buyers" conference for the first time. Greg Peters, The Reluctant Networker, would be proud of me. I walked up to people and introduced myself and came away with new contacts and people wanting to help get me to the right people. It was great! But nothing would have prepared me for my meeting with Cory and Caitlin tonight.
Cory and Caitlin offered to do a web site usability test for me a few months ago, so tonight they were going to tell me the outcomes. I was a little nervous about what they were going to tell me. Did people hate the site? Could they find things on the site? Was it user friendly? These two bright and eager University of Michigan students were so kind, professional and honest with me. They told me what needed to be done and how they would like to proceed. To learn that they would like to help revamp the look of the site to make it more professional and to allow me to focus on the content and not to get caught up in the coding. That was music to my ears. I was, and still am, overwhelmed with gratitude. To think 3 months ago I didn't even know these two incredible kids and now I'm partnering up with them. They are like guardian angels making my burden light.
How can I ever repay them?

Going Back!

2010-08-29T16:36:00.000-04:00

I get so excited about school starting; buying new Sharpies and new runners, planning welcoming activities for the kids and changing the room to greet the kids on the first day of school, that I'll probably not sleep well tonight. I think of all the things I want to do or take in to use and my monkey brain just doesn't know how to shut off. But that's okay! I do love all the preparing for the kids returning.
Megan and I are sending out a letter to welcome the kids back to school with a puzzle piece they have to fill in and bring to school on the first day. It will be our school puzzle - where everyone makes a difference. So tomorrow the teachers will draw their puzzle pieces (they don't know it yet!!) In the past, kids have enjoyed getting the welcome letters, so I hope they like this one.
Another year, more fun to follow!
What are you doing to start off the new year?

Gardens are like Kids!

2010-08-23T12:43:00.002-04:00

Taking a walk in my yard last night I realized that my garden has done extremely well this year, even with the heat. My hydrangeas have bloomed beautifully - last year I didn't have one bloom and this year it is totally covered. Breathtaking!

The butterfly bushes have grown to be 10' tall and attract so many butterflies and hummingbirds it's fun just to sit and watch all the activity. Butterflies dancing around each other in circles in the air s they float/drift from bloom to bloom.

As I'm walking I weed a little, trim an errand vine, watch a finch take food to its young that I can hear beckoning, and I realized that gardens are like kids - gardens grow at their own pace. Think about it.

Fertilizing and watering a garden for it to grow is like making sure you give your child has a healthy diet and that they get enough sleep.
Guiding the growth of a tree with supports is what parents and teachers do with gentle instructions and guidance.
Standing back to look over the overall effect of the garden - see if plants are where they grow the best or deciding to move it to a better location is like when parents lovingly watch their child as they learn a new task or ride off on that new bike or change schools because the parents are looking for a better fit for their child.
Watching my goldfish grow and having little ones is very gratifying I know that the pond environment is not stressful and they are thriving, just like watching your kids grow up to have their own little guppies and are successful and happy!

So I'm going to continue looking at my garden as my kids - my summer kids. They have fun playing in the sun, making me smile and bringing me great joy!

What grows in your garden?

Stilling the Mind: An Interview with Linda Lantieri | Edutopia

2010-08-21T12:10:00.000-04:00

Stilling the Mind: An Interview with Linda Lantieri | Edutopia

Interesting article on showing children mindfulness. It helps them focus and attend to their learning. Has anyone done this in their classrooms? Homes? I'd be interested in hearing about it.

If you give a mouse a cookie...

2010-08-10T11:08:00.000-04:00

Have you read, "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie"? It's a classic! A boy befriends a mouse and gives him a cookie, but you have to have a glass of milk with it. And if you have a glass of milk you need... and it goes on and on and leads from one humorous thing after the next. Well, I swear I had a "If you give a mouse a cookie" kind of day.
I have this old chair that I had painted for school years ago. The legs were looked like stockings with different colored stripes. The seat was purple with yellow and red stars and swirls. It was fun to look at and kids liked sitting in it. With anything that is used a lot, it had received some damage. So my husband made the repairs but now there were areas that had the paint chipped. I thought it would be fun to fix the chipped areas and take it up to school. That was my first mistake.
To fix the chips, I had to sand down the areas. Sounds straight forward and it wasn't humid so I figured I could paint it afterward. I went to find some sandpaper and my husband hands me the power sander. I've never worked it before but it made the work easy. It worked well - too well. I went from just sanding the chips to sanding down any area that wasn't smooth to the touch. Which, of course, lead me to sand more and more. I think I got carried away.
My husband walked by and asked if I am going to strip it. Well, I wasn't but I guess I am now.
So time to get out the stripper, brush and putty knife. I've never striped anything before - that stuff burns the skin but looks cool when it is removing the paint. It gets all bubbly. Then it was time to take the putty knife and remove all the paint. It would have been great if all the paint came off the first swipe across, but no. After 3 applications of the stripper, I still have some paint holding on for dear life. How many layers of paint did this chair have on it? I uncovered white, dark green, fern green, turquoise and brown under the purple top layer. It looks a mess right now - nothing that another coat of stripper won't help with. Then I get to paint it.
My hand hurts today from holding the power sander but I feel great that I learned something new and I'm creating a new look for the chair. How did I go from a simple touch up to a full blown project? That mouse gets me every time.
Have you ever had that happen to you?

Lucy Ann Lance Show

2010-08-09T11:08:00.000-04:00

Back in June I was featured on the Lucy Ann Lance Show, a local radio show on June 28. Unfortunately I just found the link so I'm sharing it now.
I was a little nervous about doing it and couldn't sleep the night before (just like a kid!) but Lucy and Dean made me feel comfortable and before I knew it, it was over!

Maker Faire

2010-08-06T18:54:00.000-04:00

We went to the Maker Faire at the Henry Ford over the weekend. So much to see - it was great to see all the energy and ideas! Some of the highlights:

I spoke to a guy with a 3-D printer. It used plastic tubing and created whatever object you had programed into it right in front of you. Very cool!
Live Size Mousetrap - they dropped a safe on a car instead of a mouse - very fun to watch. The crew wore clown noses and mismatches goofy socks.

Bands and entertainers.
Bikes like nothing I've ever seen before - circle bikes that sat over 5 people with everyone pedaling. Another one that was two huge wheels and the seat swung around in the center. It didn't look comfortable. There was a bike powered spinner with electric guitars!

Lots of cars - spacey looking and normal. This one was a time machine that left bubbles behind it.

You could learn how to solder too!
There were also exhibits inside the Henry Ford, which, of course, lead us to look around the museum. This is a working phonograph from Thomas Edison and they played one of the original recordings - amazing! They have changed the lay out - moved some of the pieces to display them in interesting groupings. I'll have to go back to explore it more. I also want to see the Play exhibit - it look like fun! Has anyone been through the Play exhibit? Would you recommend it?

Drowning Doesn't Look Like Drowning!

2010-08-01T16:13:00.001-04:00

I recently received this from my brother and although I hope no one has to worry about a child drowning, unfortunately it does happen. Information is power. With information you can make a difference - so here's some valuable information to help save any child or person from drowning.
Drowning Doesn't Look Like Drowning!

Meeting Great People

2010-07-31T16:00:00.001-04:00

To help grow Parent Child Education, I've gone out and met a lot of people. Some are interesting to talk with but there doesn't seem to be a connection that will help the business grow or help children. This week I met with two wonderful women that would do both: Rachel Kelly of VC Web Design and Dr. Pam McCaskill a fully licensed clinical psychologist.

Rachel is a marketing professional that could really help me reach more people and ultimately help the business grow. She liked what we are offering on the website Parent Child Education and would like to do a web optimization. Since so much of the search engine terminology seems like Greek to me, her help and assistance sounds like a gift from the heavens!

Dr. Pam (how she is referred to) and I share a common link with New Morning School. I found her so easy to talk to I could see how kids like to work with her. I was amazed at how many things we agreed with that makes working with children a joy. I hope to do some work with her in the future.

It's great to meet other liked minded people, everyone wanting the best for children!

Fun Things To Do and Still Stay Cool from Family Fun!

2010-07-26T20:44:00.002-04:00

I hope everyone is finding ways to stay cool in the heat that everyone's experiencing. These are links to Family Fun's latest summer fun -

One of those most make you feel cooler and your kids will love do them!

Cyber Bullying - to scary for words!

2010-07-15T16:44:00.000-04:00

I read this disturbing article in the New York Times on cyber bullying. It's a whole new way to get back at someone that has staying power. It's very scary.
What should parents and schools do? Cellphones are here to stay so how can we insure that they're being used correctly? How can we, as adults, guide teens on acceptable behavior when they text?
Any ideas?

6 Things I Learned from Teaching Kids

2010-07-14T15:24:00.000-04:00

Ever go to a meeting and sat through a presentation from a knowledgeable speaker but they failed to make the information accessible to their audience? That was me yesterday. Boy I have been spoiled! I had an opportunity to attend a conference on the current research on the brain-based learning. I learned so many tricks to help children learn but they also apply to adults. Perhaps it's time to make this kind of information so adults can enjoy their meetings too. These are the 5 things that I learned that really made a difference for my students:

Engage your audience. It doesn't matter if they are small or tall, everyone needs a time to reflect and process the information that is being presented. So give them a chance to apply what you have given them. Make it hands-on or get the audience involved by asking for a response, assistance. All these activities create a dialogue with the audience and gives them a short break.
Keep it Short - children can only sit and listen for short periods of time to be able to give their attention so I tried to make lessons short or include them in an activity. Although adults do have longer attention spans, it is hard for anyone to last longer than 20 - 30 minutes without changing gears to allow them to pause and reflect on the information given. The next step has suggestions of ways to pause.
Get feedback - Watch your audience, are you loosing them? Do you have their eyes and ears? Especially with cellphones. If your audience needs a little break, take one. At school we called them Brain Breaks. When the students were getting wiggly or I could tell they needed a break, we would do any of a number of things - stand up and wiggle. Dance around the room. Do some Brain Gym activities or jumping jacks. All of these things are simple and take less than 3 minutes and the class is ready and eager to go again.
Don't pass out papers until the class needs them. If you are handing out additional papers for the participates information, let them pick them up at the end. Otherwise they will be reading them during your presentation or shuffling papers and distracting others. Trust me, it's much easier for everyone to wait until they need the papers.
Provide whatever tools your students will need for the activity. If I wanted the students to write, I would have them sit at tables. If we were painting, I would have the tables covered and paint shirts available. So to go to a presentation that provided the screen shots of the Power Point (thank you) but nothing to write on made it awkward.
Make the room inviting and intriguing (or inspiring or whatever you are hoping for) using music. My students loved coming in the room to jazz, the Beach Boys or even classical music. Try it the next time you having a meeting, people will enter the room and be pleasantly surprised!

Let me know what you think! If all meetings were more brain-friendly, perhaps people wouldn't dread them so.
For more brain-friendly activities, go to my website: Parent Child Education.

Free Hugs Anyone?

2010-07-12T13:04:00.003-04:00

Does anyone ever get enough hugs in a day? During the school year I would get an abundance of hugs from my students but I'm running low right now, so this video was very refreshing. Thanks Lynn for sending it to me. The music keeps running through my head - it's so inspiring! Now if everyone in the world just had a hug today, perhaps it would be a step towards world peace. Check out this video: Free Hugs
Let me know what you think!

Our Nations Holiday - July 4th!

2010-07-06T15:25:00.001-04:00

What better way to celebrate the 4th of July than with an amazing fireworks display accompanied by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra? I took my mom to The Henry Ford for their annual Salute to America this year and they played many favorites especially the Overture of 1812. She thoroughly enjoyed it and I made lots of brownie points!!
That evening there were over 8,500 people, the largest turn out in ten years - what an amazing crowd of people. Everyone seemed in great spirits and enjoying the summer evening. Prior to the orchestra starting they had games, fife and drum corps, barber shop quartet entertaining the crowd.

What a great evening!

Over the Rainbow There's a Wonderful World

2010-07-01T15:19:00.003-04:00

When I first heard Israel Kakakawiwo'ole's version of Over the Rainbow and What a Wonderful World it brought tears to my eyes. I have had the pleasure of watching many children grow up. And it's more than just my wonderful son, but all the children I have spent the day with teaching. Elementary children seem to grow like bean poles - in height and abilities.
But these two really stand out. Perhaps because I was their first grade teacher and taught them for 5 years, perhaps because they are such great kids, perhaps they were always special to me and always will be or maybe I'm just getting sentimental. Josh and Sydney recently graduated from New Morning's middle school and are off to high school. They are very ready to take on the world!
Josh played Pachelbel on guitar that night so now when I listen to that music, I see Josh sitting there looking so mature and handsome. Josh was always ready to learn something new. We had our own book club one year and I enjoyed sharing the books with him. Josh, I know you're going to do great things - I can see the determination in your eyes.
All the graduates put together a Power Point show of events and people that are important to them. The slides reflect the students interests including the pictures and music they select. These Power Points are shown at the end of the performance for all the other students and parents to see. Sydney honored me by putting a picture of me in her PowerPoint of her life. I was pleasantly surprised! She has always gone out of her way to let me know she cares from poems she has wrote to inviting me to special presentations. She has always been one of my favorite students and I loved the challenge of challenging her! I hope she knows that I have always been her biggest fan! Now she's off to conquer the world! Watch out world - this beauty is a powerhouse of determination, and once she sets her mind on something, it's her's! Sydney, go set the world on fire!
And thanks guys, I really was lucky to have the opportunity to teach you, play all day with you, know you, love you! : )

Imagination Station Fun!

2010-06-23T15:07:00.001-04:00

For our final field trip the students voted to go to the Imagination Station in Toledo, Ohio. I'm so they did. It had been years since I'd been there with my son and it was fun going through the exhibits - new and old.
They have a new exhibit "The Big Dig" to explore dinosaurs. There is a maze with some information about dinosaurs but its really a great area for kids to explore finding their way. They have an area to unearth "bones" with brushes, bone puzzle pieces and an area to don safety glasses to pound on rocks with a hammer to reveal hidden treasures! The students were able to explore the different elements of the exhibit at their own pace. Some sat to watch a video, while others became dinosaurs by wearing dinosaur costumes or made rubbings of various bones or skeletons of dinosaurs.

Then they discovered the bike! It's not just a bike though, it is attached to a wire rope with a counter weight and a seat belt. Never seen a seat belt on a bike before? You're glad it has one because you ride the bike out over an opening between the floors. So there is nothing under you but the wire rope! Our tallest students (you had to be 54" tall) tried it! All did great but you could tell that some were a little apprehensive to do it. There was another activity our older ones enjoyed - the Bo-yo. It's like a yo-yo just you are the yo-yo part going up and down. It seems easy but after watching others on it I discover that you have to pull down on the handle and then just let it pull you up, if you push it up it stops going up! It seemed odd and it took some a while to get the hang of it but when they did, their smiles would go from ear to ear! They would get pulled up 16'!

They also had:

a great water exhibit that they could play with water flow
various magnet, robotic and electrical experiments that the students could do
an area of optical illusions - really was a hit with the students
a show on generating energy and combustion. The students really enjoyed watching how different compounds can ignite.

The students left wanting more, which I always take as a good sign of a successful field trip!

Summer is Here!

2010-06-20T15:57:00.000-04:00

It's taken me a few days to recover from the last ten weeks of school, but I think I'm back! I have lots to share from marathons to great performances but that's tomorrow. To say I had a blast would be an understatement - I guess I didn't realize how much I missed the kids and working with Rita! She is like my other half - we anticipated what each other needed or was about to say and did things in tandem. I loved doing all the crazy, fun projects that we did. I only wish we could have done more but we did pack in a lot of learning in a short time. I think I need to find a way to be in the classroom next year. But today I just feel great! I'm getting my energy back and can focus on what I want to do - its only taken 4 days of laying around like a log!
For the first time in months, I worked on writing out activities to upload. It felt great! I think everyone will like the Free or Creative Thinking (titled undetermined yet) activities for summer fun.
Let me know if there is something you'd like to see for your special kid at home - summer has boundless possibilities! And one of them should be fun!

Log Cabin General Store

2010-06-14T14:20:00.001-04:00

The colonial unit was completed! It was a grand success and I felt great! Now to start working on the next adventure!
I wanted to have the students make change. They are all great doing it on paper but I have found when they have to actually make change they kind of freeze. So I worked with all the students on how to count up when making change. Some, like in all things, caught on quickly, while others had to work a little longer on it. Some of the students played a game to reinforce it, others did worksheets that were appropriate for them. Only when all had made change counting up, then it was time to open the store.

To prepare for the store, I made special play money. My son said it was goofy, but perfect for what I was doing! So I made $1., $5. and a $10. bill with Benjamin Franklin (I changed the quote to fit the bill... Sarah loved the one buckaroo on the back!)

George Washington, changing the text a little...

and Anne Bailey (we learned about her when we studied the colonial era and I thought it was time a female was honored on a bill).

Rita and I decided that in order for the students to actually buy things from the store, they need to earn some cash. We planned to pay them for coming to school and doing their "work". This is how we paid them with our special New Morning School bills:

If they completed their work and could show it, they were paid $5.00.
If they cooperated with each other, the aides and the teachers, they were paid another $5.00.
If they came to work on time, $1.00 extra!

When we first announced it, the students were full of questions, like: What can we buy? Can we keep it? Is it real money? They were eager to start but they soon found we were serious about how we would pay them. During the group decision we had to stop frequently to bring them together again and after the second time we said, "I think this comes under not cooperating." At the end of the day no one was paid for cooperating with the teacher, that set the tone for the next 2 weeks.
After the long holiday weekend, we are opened the Log Cabin General Store - inside, of course, the log cabin the students had built. On Wednesday afternoon I had the oldest students in our multi-age classroom help me set up the store. I had task cards made out so every could help in whatever way they wanted. I needed:

a sign made up
the cash drawer counted out (we started with $50. like in a real store)
merchandise organized, labeled and priced
purchasing slips for buying extra reading, playing a game,
purchasing slips if everyone wanted to buy a picnic lunch or free time
tables set up for the cashier and the merchandise
design a receipt

They worked like little beavers, eager to help set up the store and get a chance to see what there was to buy.
On Thursday the Log Cabin General Store officially opened! The youngest students were the first to go through it and found making change when you have a line up is hard. From then on he students signed up - one as the cashier and one as the shopper. They would switch off after 10 minutes (this gave both a chance to be the cashier and the shopper). I wanted everyone to be a cashier and to work on the skill.
Little would I have guessed that merchandise that has been in the prize box for perhaps years, sold like hotcakes! There were books, McDonald's toys, leftover Halloween trinkets, beaded necklaces, mazes, bubbles and more. We sold most of it over the course of 8 days and everyone had an opportunity to be the cashier and practice making change! I would definitely do this activity again. The kids really enjoyed it and they were practicing their math skills in a real life situation.
Think of ways you can make math real and kids want to do it.

Super Ironmen or Should it be Super Iron Kids?

2010-06-10T15:09:00.001-04:00

Inspire kids and they can do anything! I have seen it for myself. Last year the students from New Morning School's preschool to 8th grade ran the equivalent to 6 marathons together and Runner's World hear about it. This year they added doing laps in the pool and biking miles to make it an Ironman triathlon.
They rode their bikes at home and for a school bike day and did 317 laps or 142 miles that day alone. The total goal was 112 miles on a bike!
On the big day of the run, all the kids were ready! They got a little pep talk from the Director, Elaine Kennedy who has run in Ironman competitions and the youngest ones were off and running. The rest of us cheered them on.
In order to give them a few minutes before the "big kids" joined them on the path, there was a group of bicyclist that shared their stories and how many miles they have traveled this year by bike. Each shared amazing miles but when the last man spoke he took everyone by surprise! He had traveled this year 12,000 miles on his bike! Then they were ready for their turn and they were ready to run.
To say I thought it was amazing to see the preschool kids running, walking with such heart would be an understatement. They were truly warriors of the road - nothing stopped them. They just kept running - and smiling! The middle school and elementary were going for the most laps. Around and around they went smiling, enjoying what they were accomplishing together.
In the end they ran 10 marathons together! The local paper, Observer and Eccentric, wrote about what the students were doing. Pretty cool!
They students were very subdued for the rest of the day but it always feels good when you know you done a job well. Bravo to all!

Bike-a-thon

2010-06-07T20:02:00.000-04:00

The students will be participating in a modified Ironman Triathlon on Thursday. The student body works together to run 26 miles. Last year they made it with the help of preschoolers, kindergartners, elementary students and the middle school students.
So far they have completed the laps while at the YMCA. So today was the day we worked on our bike miles. Everyone brought their bike (thank you parents for hauling them to school!) and helmet and were excited to bike around the park next to the school. We set out cones and explained the traffic pattern so everyone would be safe and - they were off!
After 45 minutes and no collisions and only one injury, the students completed a total of 317 laps at 0.45 mile per lap (which the older students will figure out the math tomorrow). The goal was 112 miles - I think we made it!

Great CAP Kids Fair

2010-06-05T19:13:00.003-04:00

Deanna Norris from Child Abuse Prevention sent out a request for exhibitors to set up in conjunction to the Pinckney Art in the Park. It was the first time it was participating in the art fair and I decided it would be a good match for reaching more parents and children in the area and agreed to be an exhibitor.
Each exhibitor needed to have a craft for kids to do. Fun for all! Some brought mask forms to decorate, visors that were decorated with pom poms or feathers or tracing their hands and having the child come up with something safe they can do with their hands. I decided to have lots of items so the kids could make anything they wanted. I went to the Scrap Box in Ann Arbor and stocked up with foam pieces with adhesive on one side (kids love to build with them and their so easy - no glue or tape) and tubes in various sizes and colors. Next I rummaged through my craft stuff at home and came up with Popsicle sticks, yarn and ribbon. Then I collected empty paper towel rolls, empty boxes from a variety of foods, oatmeal containers and I was all set. Two garbage bags of boxes and 5 boxes of Scrap Box goodies and I was ready.
The fair was set up between the petting farm and the art fair - so it got a lot of traffic. Kids made castles, spaceships, binoculars, cell phones and many free form designs. It was fun to watch the kids build with determination. Some children build freely with no predetermined design in mind but others were single minded.
One parent stepped back and said that just watching and helping when their child needed it, was hard. I couldn't have agreed with her more. As a mom and a teacher, allow a child to struggle and giving them time to explore, is not always comfortable for adults. I found it hard to watch other parents take over their child's project because they have another idea for it - it may or may not have been what their child wanted or thought they were helping but they were determining where everything was going. It's too bad. Children really get a lot of pleasure having control of what they create and they learn so much from doing the creating. From problem solving to balancing to counting to color theory. There is so much more going on then appears on the surface.
It was nice to have an opportunity to talk with kids and their parents one-to-one and tell them a little about the website. I hope they take the time to check it out and let me know what they would like to see next.
Well - the weather was great - (no rain) and I went through all my boxes and 4 1/2 boxes of my Scrap Box stuff! So I think it was a successful day!

A Tune for the 13 Colonies??

2010-06-02T19:11:00.001-04:00

Does anyone have a tune to learn the 13 colonies by? I'm not particularly musical but I'm going to try to come up with something to help the students remember the original colonies.

Time Travelers makes the local paper! Yippee!

2010-06-01T19:10:00.000-04:00

We made the paper with 5 color photos and a tag line over the front page headline. Very exciting! Matt Jackman did a nice job capturing the essence of the day. Check it out! Time Travelers

Becoming a Colonial Kid for a Day!

2010-05-28T14:00:00.001-04:00

Our big day for all the children to spend it like a colonial child is over! I was also grateful that we had a great day - no rain and not humid! It was truly gratifying to see the children taking part in all the activities with enthusiasm and a willingness to try new things and knowing that they will never forget what they did and how they felt today. It is very empowering to go through the experience rather that just read about it.
But let me go back to the beginning of the day... The day started with a discussion of the events of the day so everyone was on the same page but the energy level was electric! Everyone was checking out what each other had worn. The students had been encouraged to wear a colonial outfit to represent a famous person from that period. We had given them lots of ideas but what they came up with were great! Aidan was John Paul Jones so he wore a hat like you think for Napoleon and a jacket that his parents helped paint the shoulders to add the fancy gold fringe you would see on a naval officer. Sarah worn a pink dress with a pink mob cap for Sybil Lydington and said, "This is the only time you'll see me in pink!" She looked great! Corinne wore her mothers suit jacket and breeches for Marquis de Lafayette. Henry had a beige jacket and a fancy ascot sort of tie for Patrick Henry. Everyone looked great and they were ready for the wax museum.

We walked through the school very dignified and announced "Here ye, here ye, Come to our Wax Museum!" They they returned to the classroom and took their places. Each had a display board that they had affixed a sign and a button for people to push for information about their person. When the students had practiced the information, they included the beeps for pushing the buttons. We only had an hour for the wax museum and the other classes came through at staggered times so everyone could be heard. The some of the students had a difficult time staying still, some felt like they were "Melting!" but all did a fabulous job sharing what they knew about the famous person.
Then we celebrated with a lively Virginia Reel. They paired up and took their positions and had fun going through the steps. Each pair had an opportunity to be the head couple and lead the march and make the bridge for all to go through. It was interesting to watch one group started to count the beats like I had done when they were learning the steps. It helped the group move together - so everyone was doing bowing and the steps at the same time.
Then it was time to talk about lunch. Since they made the meal the day before, I expect everyone - except those that are vegetarians, to try it. They can eat their own lunch if they haven't had enough to eat with the stew, cornbread and apple pie.
Earlier in the unit we had read that in colonial times children would stand for lunch and they thought that was unfair. They only person that sat was the father. I had asked another teacher, Molly, if her husband could come in and be the father figure for our lunch. He agreed! We told the children since they were colonial children today, they could not talk or sit during lunch. The uproar, "It's not fair" and "What?" were heard. Then we explained that they could talk if they were spoken to be an adult.
Now we explained that there will be a father figure. For today only, he is everyone's father. "Does that mean we are all brothers and sisters?" came a question with certain incongruity in their voice. The answer caused many moans! Then our "father figure" walks in! He looks like a rock star colonial guy! Imagine a tall man with a bouffant white hair that is pulled back in a pony tail. There are wisps of hair falling down along his face and he has sunglasses on! He is dressed like a well-to colonial business man and he fits the part perfectly!
During lunch the children are quiet almost apprehensive. Was father going to ask me a question? Will I like the stew? I wish I could sit down. Some were a little unsure of what to do but most of the children took it in stride. It was the quietest lunch in a long time!

In the afternoon the children did chores:

tilled the school garden with yard long sticks for tools
wash clothes on rocks (many children said afterwards that this activity made them feel like a colonial child)
prepared yarn for weaving by winding it up
dyed tshirts using onion skins
made tapered candles
did some schoolwork

Then it was time for games to begin:

they made bilbo catchers with a stick and buttons
played marbles in the sand box
played a new version of ring toss called quoits
played scotch hopping which we call hopscotch
nine pins that became bowling with 10 pins
learned to play 9 Men's Morris

Whew! What a day! I appreciated all the extra hands that came and helped with all the activities and those that got dressed up to be part of it. Everyone helped to clean up and return everything to the classroom, where Venee had made more of the molasses cookies that they liked for them!
Let me know if you have any questions!