catching up, happy 2010

Is there anything like the holidays to make time just fly by? I'm still recovering from the last few weeks...and yet, here we are, back at school!

So, to catch up....we did set a "brownie trap" of flour (to catch footprints), around a bowl of milk on Friday, and what a mess we walked into on Monday! (I have pics but will post separately). Chairs were piled up on tables, our baskets of weaving fabric strips were strewn all around the room, the daily schedule was crazy, and he left a note!

Many primates arrived late that morning (I think it was snowing), so as each one arrived those who discovered the mess excitedly retold the story--embellishing a bit at every retell! There were many guesses as to why our brownie reacted so negatively...maybe he doesn't like milk? maybe he doesn't like us trying to catch him? maybe he has transformed from a mischievous brownie to an angry, disruptive boggart (much like what happens in The Spiderwick Chronicles). We decided to write the brownie a note (AFTER we cleaned up the big mess).

We asked him to please NOT make such a mess in our room and if he would prefer we left him a snack of honey (which we read in another book is a favorite of brownies). One primate asked if "he" was a boy or girl...this led to a nice discussion of pronouns, and we also reflected on reasons why we assumed the brownie was a "he". We added that question too.

After lunch our brownie left us a written response, asking for honey, but not revealing "it's" gender...so we are left guessing. Honey graham crackers were all we could find, so we left those out at the end of the day.

The next morning there was no mention of the brownie, and only one primate checked to see if he ate the crackers (he did not). I'm sure the impending holiday was too overwhelmingly exciting to think of anything else and since we've been back (is it really one day?....feels like we never left!), no one has mentioned the brownie except to note that the crackers remain uneaten. It will be interesting to see where, if at all, this leads us as the year continues....

So where is the learning?

Clearly this was quite engaging to the students, and took up a moderate amount of class time, so the question is fair--was this a valuable use of learning time? Here are my thoughts:

* valuable informal assessment of the primates' memory from last year's fairy/Spiderwick project

* vocabulary building (mischievous and mysterious)

* spontaneous exercise in imagination (completely child-driven)

* research skill development (the primates poured over all of our fairy/faerie books to find more information on brownies for days)

* experimentation (setting the trap and then trying again with the honey)

* letter writing (whole group instruction/collaborative activity)

* responsibility for class materials (cleaning up)

* discussion of pronoun use (he/she)

* discussion of gender stereotypes (why did we all assume the brownie was a "he"...still pondering that one!)

Wow! I didn't even realize how valuable this divergence from the norm was to our learning. As Raising Z commented, these are the best days--when you let them lead the way and drop everything. These little digressions are so powerful in allowing primates to take ownership over their school day and learning experiences.

Traditional teaching and learning does not allow for the time needed to explore and delve into the unexpected. What a shame, because these often are the most exciting moments in teaching.

Sitting in desks in rows, following prescribed programs strictly, and linking everything that is said or done to a "standard" takes away the exciting, surprising twists and turns along an educational adventure--and these can only come from the primates, not a curriculum guide. Of course, as a teacher, these spontaneous variations are much more fun and move along more smoothly because of experience and flexibility. I can link these experiences to standards...but I'd rather spend my time reflecting on the experience in this way and thinking of what the primates are showing me about their learning as we move through the experience. Personal reflection: it's nice to be at a point in my career where I am comfortable with, and even anticipate these moments!

Final analysis: time well spent, and I can't wait to see where it will take us next!

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010!