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Observation Journal Entry #7
Mar. 7th, 2013 09:38 amWednesday:
Even more jump roping on a dreary, drizzly day. Ut. It is, however, interesting for me to see how many students just can't cross that midline with their arms, even in 5th grade. I would of thought that would have been taken care of by this age, but I guess not. I don't know if it was just laziness, that it was the early hour and everyone is cold, but it was just astounding to me how many had to struggle with crossing the midline to twirl the ropes properly. Even after being reminded. Most of them had problems with the non-dominant hand, but one or two had difficulties with both. I can't help but wonder if there's anything beyond practice that could help. Upon pondering a bit, I think that probably is the answer.
There's this HUGE plant outside the 5th grade classroom that is sending up a strobilus. We aren't sure what the plant is, but we are, however, greatly entertained by how much this plant is growing daily. I decided to take a picture from the same spot every couple of days to chart it's growth. When I started last week, it was only a couple of inches above the deck railing...now it's reached over the door.
Up the hill for Morning Lesson. Today's work? Another note-taking sheet. This time on the 3rd paragraph, History. I spent my time helping several students find the information they needed from their books. Let's hear it for the librarian!!! Now this is something I'm comfortable with. Helping fulfill informational needs. "Oh, you need to know, XYZ, lets look in the Table of Contents, or the index, or the appendix" , and sometime all three depending on what they were looking for.
I worked some more on my drawing of John Henry. I find drawing to be difficult, yet strangely satisfying. I'm still not the greatest artist. But I'm starting to feel more comfortable with the process. Like I've FINALLY got a clue on how to start from a picture in a book, to a rough sketch, to a finished product. It's still pretty rough and primitive, but its a HUGE improvement of where I was a year ago. John Henry's head is still a bit wonky, but I got the general image I wanted to convey. I asked Ms. R for help drawing the hands as it was something I couldn't figure out. Still needs a bit of tweaking (I want to put the sun setting in front of his face) and I need to label it with his name. If nowhere else, this is where I'm getting some growth. I'm becoming more comfortable and less critical of my efforts. I just keep saying to myself, I'm learning to draw. This is a picture of a student, not a master and I am learning to draw. In some small way, it must be good for the children to see an adult struggle with something, and then finish the project with a modicum of competence. Rembrant I ain't. But I AM improving.
Today was a rainy, dreary day and no Handwork teacher. Since the children heard the factual story of John Henry and since it focused on the building of the railroads, I asked Ms. R if I could bring in a game about train building. (Trans America) and she agreed. I got the four boys present to play. This is something I love. Introducing games I adore to new people. I did not play, as I wanted the game to be fair (I KNOW how to play this game, I didn't think it fair to wipe the walls with them). The first round was slow, second round much better as they were getting familiar with the game and the third round took 10 minutes (which is about what it's supposed to take) I squashed trash talk, talked strategy, reinforced that "we play games to have fun together, not to win" (something my children hear ALL THE TIME. They can recite it now.). The interaction of the four boys was interesting. One got very emotionally involved and I worked hard to keep him calm. One was working the other 3 like my friend Gangrene, who tells you the best move for you to take, but it also happens to help him as well, and he eventually won the game. The other boys haven't learned the wisdom of the "Gamer" do not take advice from the one who is winning. He is not truly helping you. The other two just had fun, laughed and learned. We talked about why some of the rail lines cost twice a much to build on and what happens to a city if the rail never hits it, and truly seeing the rail system as the connector of the county. I lost track of the time and left 45 minutes late which completely screwed up the rest of my day.
But it was a good day.
Even more jump roping on a dreary, drizzly day. Ut. It is, however, interesting for me to see how many students just can't cross that midline with their arms, even in 5th grade. I would of thought that would have been taken care of by this age, but I guess not. I don't know if it was just laziness, that it was the early hour and everyone is cold, but it was just astounding to me how many had to struggle with crossing the midline to twirl the ropes properly. Even after being reminded. Most of them had problems with the non-dominant hand, but one or two had difficulties with both. I can't help but wonder if there's anything beyond practice that could help. Upon pondering a bit, I think that probably is the answer.
There's this HUGE plant outside the 5th grade classroom that is sending up a strobilus. We aren't sure what the plant is, but we are, however, greatly entertained by how much this plant is growing daily. I decided to take a picture from the same spot every couple of days to chart it's growth. When I started last week, it was only a couple of inches above the deck railing...now it's reached over the door.
Up the hill for Morning Lesson. Today's work? Another note-taking sheet. This time on the 3rd paragraph, History. I spent my time helping several students find the information they needed from their books. Let's hear it for the librarian!!! Now this is something I'm comfortable with. Helping fulfill informational needs. "Oh, you need to know, XYZ, lets look in the Table of Contents, or the index, or the appendix" , and sometime all three depending on what they were looking for.
I worked some more on my drawing of John Henry. I find drawing to be difficult, yet strangely satisfying. I'm still not the greatest artist. But I'm starting to feel more comfortable with the process. Like I've FINALLY got a clue on how to start from a picture in a book, to a rough sketch, to a finished product. It's still pretty rough and primitive, but its a HUGE improvement of where I was a year ago. John Henry's head is still a bit wonky, but I got the general image I wanted to convey. I asked Ms. R for help drawing the hands as it was something I couldn't figure out. Still needs a bit of tweaking (I want to put the sun setting in front of his face) and I need to label it with his name. If nowhere else, this is where I'm getting some growth. I'm becoming more comfortable and less critical of my efforts. I just keep saying to myself, I'm learning to draw. This is a picture of a student, not a master and I am learning to draw. In some small way, it must be good for the children to see an adult struggle with something, and then finish the project with a modicum of competence. Rembrant I ain't. But I AM improving.
Today was a rainy, dreary day and no Handwork teacher. Since the children heard the factual story of John Henry and since it focused on the building of the railroads, I asked Ms. R if I could bring in a game about train building. (Trans America) and she agreed. I got the four boys present to play. This is something I love. Introducing games I adore to new people. I did not play, as I wanted the game to be fair (I KNOW how to play this game, I didn't think it fair to wipe the walls with them). The first round was slow, second round much better as they were getting familiar with the game and the third round took 10 minutes (which is about what it's supposed to take) I squashed trash talk, talked strategy, reinforced that "we play games to have fun together, not to win" (something my children hear ALL THE TIME. They can recite it now.). The interaction of the four boys was interesting. One got very emotionally involved and I worked hard to keep him calm. One was working the other 3 like my friend Gangrene, who tells you the best move for you to take, but it also happens to help him as well, and he eventually won the game. The other boys haven't learned the wisdom of the "Gamer" do not take advice from the one who is winning. He is not truly helping you. The other two just had fun, laughed and learned. We talked about why some of the rail lines cost twice a much to build on and what happens to a city if the rail never hits it, and truly seeing the rail system as the connector of the county. I lost track of the time and left 45 minutes late which completely screwed up the rest of my day.
But it was a good day.