Courtney's Thoughts on Education

Momma Always said . . .

2008-11-19T17:35:00.000-08:00

(my hero, Forrest Gump, and Forrest and I on a wonderful day out.)

So, Forrest Gump is seriously my favorite movie character in the world. I've taken my picture on his actual bench, but that's not a picture in this blog. I have however taken my picture with him. Oh yes, the actual Forrest Gump. Jealous?

Ok, so what does Forrest Gump, a fictional character who was in the right place at the right time every time, have to do with teaching? Well, look at how he lived his life. He did what his Mother said. And his mother is the reason I'm writing this anyway. She says, "You have to do the best with what God gave you." This, my friends, is the most relevant part of the whole movie. Forrest knows that he's not the smartest, or the bravest, or the best at anything (except running, maybe) but he knows that he's the best him there is, which is cheesy, but relevant.

I mean, think about it. What if everyone in the world did the best with what they were given? They didn't try to be someone else or do something they aren't able to do? What if everyone in the world was satisfied with being themselves, no matter what kind of self it was? What if the man who knew the cure for some awful disease didn't tell anyone because he didn't think it was good enough, and everyone would just make fun of him? This is never going to happen, because of the media and the celebritites who make everyone want to be like them. The media teaches you that you'll never be skinny enough, smart enough, strong enough, pretty enough, and there's really no point in trying. I'm not saying that Hollywood is full of evil, monsterous little bald men who push the up and coming generations to swallow pills or starve themselves, but they make it seem that no matter how hard you work, you aren't going to get anywhere. You will never be good enough.

I hate that. I know I'm not the skinniest, the most attractive, the smartest, the most talented, or anything else that millions of people beat me at everyday, but I'm the best me I can be, and it took me a long time to actually understand that. I use to strive to be like everyone else until I realized that those actions will only lead to self destruction and self hatred. It happens all the time, and no one seems to do anything about it. Forrest was the best Forrest he could be, and look where it got him. He got a scholarship, graduated, got a congressional metal of honor, met 3 presidents, reported the Watergate scandal, met John Lennon, played ping pong all over China, started a shrimp company, became a Gazillionare, ran for 3 years, and became a happily married father of a very smart boy. All because he listened to his mother.

As a teacher, I want my children to be themselves, and the best themselves the world has ever seen. No one else can do what they can do, and I want to make sure they know that before they move on into the world. Children are very delicate, and now it seems that commercials and advertisements are targeting younger and younger generations. With the world moving the way it is, children need to learn at an early age that no two people are the same, and there's no way they can be, but they can be the best individual they world has ever seen. A child's self image can be damaged at a very early age, and it may never be repaired. I want my students to know that they're a very special individual, and shouldn't strive to be anything else.

"Power Rangers Jungle Fury, transform into a Robot!"

2008-11-19T16:57:00.000-08:00

These are pictures of the Power Rangers: Jungle Fury and Transformers. And don't even pretend that you didn't watch the power rangers when you were a kid.

At work today, two children had the dollhouse, so toy people, and some animals out. The people (who really came from a leggo set or something) were power rangers. The animals were what the rangers became when you fed them pumpkin pie. The lived in the hotel, and hid in the hotel, and the fought each other. Every time they died, they just got back up and started fighting again. This was really fun to watch. A child's imagination is a crazy place, but the stuff that they come up with just amazes me. I know it's all pretend, and they know it's all pretend, but they were serious when they said that pumpkin pie turns them into evil cheetahs. I thought pumpkin pie just made me fat, but if I'm going to turn into a cheetah, you guys better watch out!

But seriously, I was intrigued with how children could just take all this stuff and make their own reality. I would never think about pumpkin pie creating evil cheetahs, but when you're wrapped up in a world or power rangers, anything could happen. Children have a knack for making the ordinary seem extraordinary, and that's something I've always appreciated. As a teacher, I want my children to feel free to make the ordinary extraordinary in my classroom. I believe that a classroom should be a place where anything can happen and it's safe to do so. Children need to be comfortable being themselves, and they should be able to do that, whether they like power rangers, ninja turtles or barbie dolls. That's what this experience taught me.

It's the blue pumpkin, Charlie Brown!

2008-11-12T17:20:00.000-08:00

This is a real, 100% no color added blue pumpkin. It was a for real blue pumpkin. And I was more excited about it than the children.

I had never seen a blue pumpkin before. It was something new and exciting. Every pumpkin I've ever scene has been orange, or green if it wasn't ready yet. But never a blue pumpkin. Ever. When I saw it, about 5,763,324 questions popped into my head. Why was it blue? Was it a pigment issue? Was it dyed that color? Was the inside blue, too? Did it taste different? How often do these grow? Are they really popular? Or is it something really rare? Where did they find a blue pumpkin? This is extreme inquiry. I mean, a blue pumpkin? I always thought pumpkins were just orange.

With children, they have basic knowledge of lots of stuff, and as teachers, we are supposed to help build on this knowledge. Obviously, I would not be much help, because I don't know anything about blue pumpkins, but if I were teaching about pumpkins, I would be sure to know a lot about them, and even blue pumpkins. It's important to be prepared for questions, because children have them. And they really have questions about unusual things. Like blue pumpkins.

Inquiry is important because without it, children don't build knowledge, and they don't learn. In my classroom, we will question everything in every unit, because without questions, nothing gets answered. And if nothing gets answered, what's the point in the first place?

"The production of too many useful things results in too many useless people."

2008-11-12T16:17:00.000-08:00

This, my friends. Is technology. It's a video entitled "cooties" and it's hilarious.

Technology is a very powerful tool in the classroom, but a lot of teachers abuse that. I remember in elementary school, we would watch Reading Rainbow instead of actually reading the book. That was something we did once a week. For real. The teacher spent that time grading papers or something else just as ridiculous. Instead of actually reading us the stories in the show, she would have the show read the stories to us. Instead of actually teaching us something, teachers expect a computer program or a television show to do it. Teachers rely on technology to do all the work and leave nothing for the teacher to do.

Technology is an amazing tool, when used in the right way. When technology is used in the wrong way, it become nothing more than a time filler. Movies and television shows are amazing resources for teachers, but a movie can't be expected to teach a child everything they need to know, and a movie won't hold a child's attention for that long, which is why they're always talking! If you just put moving pictures in front of a child with nothing meaningful behind it, they'll get bored. You can't expect a child to learn everything from technology. Now, some children are very visual learners a something like that is a great way for the children to get a grasp on the content, but teachers need to do the majority of the work.

I think a big problem is that teachers don't know how to make good transitions or link different materials together, so they have the computer or the television do it for them. I mean, what better way to link reading and math than to get a computer game that has them both? See. Teachers get concerned with how to handle their class and mixing curriculum and content areas, so they put it on technology. It's become a scape goat.

As a teacher, I won't rely on technology to do everything. I believe that teacher involvement is way more important. A teacher isn't involved with a computer or a television, but a teacher can be involved with active learning, or with any number of other things. Teaching isn't just about making sure the students understand the content, although that's huge. Teaching is built of different life skills, social skills, content knowledge, and basic technology. Technology should be a friend to the classroom, nit a hindrance or a growth-stunter. Technology should be a friend and not a foe.

*the quote in the title is by Karl Marx*

I like coloring books.

2008-11-12T12:20:00.000-08:00

This is a picture of a coloring sheet. A perfectly good coloring sheet.

I may sound like the worst future teacher in the world, but I have no problem with coloring sheets. They, when used in the right way, can be a very resourceful tool. When a teacher gives children the same worksheet and tells them to color, of course it's not good. But when they're there with things like labels (so the children know what the picture is) or pictures that go along with the lesson plans, they become a resource. Sometimes children need something to go off. When they're expected to know the difference between a crocodile and an alligator, how are they supposed to learn? By the teacher showing them pictures and telling them the differences? No. When the children get a sheet that has a picture of a crocodile and a picture of an alligator, they can color and learn at the same time. In a classroom, especially with younger children, when you ask them to draw you a house, you get scribbles, which is a house for them, but it doesn't accomplish the purpose. It's easier to have different coloring sheets of houses and let the children decorate it how they want. It's still their work and their creativity, but it also serves the purpose of the assignment.

Coloring sheets also help show development. When a child starts to color inside the lines, they've reached a new stage of development. They can't do that if there aren't any lines. So, coloring sheets are a good thing, even if I am the only person in the world that thinks so.

Even Pumpkins have a little Character

2008-11-10T19:37:00.000-08:00

These are all pictures from our trip to the pumpkin patch.

None of these pumpkins are perfect, and they all have some kind of flaw, but that's what makes them special and unique. Every Child as an imperfection, but that's what makes them special. As a teacher, it's important to embrace each child for who they are, and not try to make them something they're not. Because if we do that, then we have children who will always try to blend into society instead of breaking free from it.

Learning- anytime, anywhere

2008-11-10T18:51:00.000-08:00

Student:"RAWR! I'm a dinosaur! I eat other animals!!"
Me: "So, you're a carnivore?"
Student: *blank stare*
Me: "A carnivore eats meat."
Student: "yes, I'm a carnivore."
AHHHHH, LEARNING!!

Student: "I like to play in the sand"
Me: "Look what I have. I have a tablespoon. You have a teaspoon. Which one is bigger?"
Student: "The tablespoon."
Me: " I wonder how many teaspoons fit in a tablespoon. Let's find out. You get a spoonful of sand and put it in the tablespoon. How many was that?"
Student: "three"
Me: "So, there are three teaspoons in a tablespoon."
AHHHHH, LEARNING!!

I love how with children, anything can become a learning experience. These are both events that happened with children at work, and they both were learning experience. With children, they have basic knowledge, and it's the teacher's job to help them build onto that. It's part of Inquiry, but not the main focus of this blog.

A child came up to me with a toy dinosaur, and he left learning what the word carnivore meant without a textbook or worksheet. A child and I were playing in the sand and she learned about measurements without a word problem. Every opportunity is a learning opportunity.

As a teacher, it's important to turn every opportunity into a learning opportunity. You just have to keep your eyes open for them. With children, they're naturally curious and want to soak up everything they see. As a teacher, it's important to constantly be on the lookout for moments of education or insight. There are all kinds out there.

I don't wanna grow up!

2008-11-10T18:18:00.000-08:00

This is me a little over a year ago. I had long hair, it was brown, I weighed more than I do know, and I didn't want any kind of change to happen. Ever.

My senior year. Was I ready to get out of high school? Duh. Did I really want any kind of change to take place. Heck no! I was happy in my little bubble of a world with all my friends. I just didn't want to be in high school anymore. The girl in this picture feared change in every sense of the word. She didn't like the tiniest little thing to change. It was unfamiliar then. This is very different from the picture of me now. She jumped straight into college, with a room mate she didn't know anything about and was prepared to face the worst. Fortunately, this was not my experience.

I had developed from my high school bubble to say the least. And I want to make sure my students know that change isn't always bad, and some change is good. I want my students to know that it's ok to be afraid, but it's not ok to let those fears take control and prevent them from being fantastic. I want my students to learn that it's ok to not have all the answers. Those were all things that held me back, and I'm a better person now for breaking free from all those things and embracing the changes as they happened.

I still may not act like an adult sometimes, but I promise that I'm much more mature that I was. Growing up doesn't mean you have to become boring. That's something else I've learned.

Fun: Coming to a classroom near you

2008-11-10T17:05:00.000-08:00

This was my bed, until I took two cardboard boxes from my learning center, a hanger, a picture, some paper, a little time and effort. It is now my pirate ship, sans the water, and it's free to sail the open seas.

Ok, so it's not really the most sea worthy vessel, but it can hold its own. I am the kind of person who likes to create. When I get an idea, I run with it and see how far it takes me. I decided to turn my bed into a pirate ship, and, although it would never make it in the ocean, my bed is a pirate ship. So, what does this have to do with teaching? And who let me out of the Psych ward?

As a teacher, it's important that everything you do in the classroom has a lesson to it, whether the children know it or not. If I sat down and told all of my children the history of piracy, no one would pay any attention. That's why tests are such a bad idea- all students do is memorize instead of learn, but that besides the point.

If I get my children up moving around and building a pirate ship, and then talk about pirates, they're going to gain so much more than if I just put it on the History Channel. This has been proven time and time again, with many different situations. At work, a child will be playing with something, like a toy dinosaur, and I teach them things they didn't know, like what a carnivore is. Learning can happen at any time with any actvity. It doesn't all have to be book work.

I think I would just much rather not even have desks in my room, and no T.V. Just a lot of random materials and willing students. Fun and learning can go hand in hand if you're a good teacher, and learning doesn't have to be boring. The most memorable learning experiences I have had all occurred when I was doing something fun. I want to make sure that the fun and random experiences are also learning experiences, because every opportunity counts.

COW!!!!!!!!!!

2008-11-10T16:41:00.000-08:00

This is a picture of a cow. On our trip to the pumpkin patch, we had to count how many cows we saw. Our driver, Lisa, had no idea what was coming. Every time we (meaning Amanda, Olivia, and I) saw a cow, we screamed it.

So, I need to relate this to diversity some how . . . let me see. Well, children react differently to different situations. For instance, I think we were the only car that almost had an accident because the students were screaming. The other cars didn't do that. That's diversity. Children react differently to different situations. If children get upset, so cry, some pout, some throw things, and some sit quietly and don't say anything. Children also get excited and are interested in different things. Not every child is going to think cows are fascinating, but some will. Others will find the leaves, the clouds, or the journey more interesting.

As a teacher, I have to keep all my children interested, no matter how diverse they are. So, my classroom won't be focused on one way of learning. There will be multiple ways to learn one thing. There will be diverse ways of learning! (I'm on a roll now!) But seriously, diversity is a big issues in classrooms, and it's mainly because teachers don't know how to handle different learning types and all the students are forced to do the same thing. Not everyone wants to color, but some children do. To get children to learn material, they don't have to be forced to do the same thing. It's as simple as creating different activities. Some children are more physical, while others would rather read a book. And as a teacher, it's important to meet all of these needs. Yay, Diversity!

I'm a role model ?!?!?!

2008-10-29T17:00:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of me and my mini-me, Rachel. It was before I left for prom my junior year. She had to come over and see me all dressed up, and then we took a picture together.

For the longest time, I never thought of myself as a role model to young children. I mean, Rachel called me her best friend, but I never thought that meant I was a role model to her. I was just her best friend. It wasn't until I started college that I realized that this kids thought of me as a role model and someone they would like to be like when they got older. That puts a lot of pressure on your shoulders, and sometimes it's hard to deal with the fact that children are looking up to you.

As a personal goal, I want to make sure that my behaviors are one that I would want children to do. If I have good manners and don't do anything crazy, the children that look up to me will do that. As a teacher, it's important that my behaviors match what I want my students to do. If I tell them that chairs are for sitting, and I stand in it, they're going to stand in the chair. It's a very monkey see, monkey do process, and it's important that my actions match my words.

Well, what is it, anyway?

2008-10-29T16:21:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of something we found while pumpkin hunting. I have no idea what it is, but someone said it was used to ward away spiders.

I love finding new and interesting things, and then trying to figure out what they are. I have seen this in the classroom I work at. They bring in interesting thing things from nature and have each child guess what it is. This not only brings science and nature into the classroom, but it allows the children to think freely about what each item is. The one I remember most was a cocoon, but the children really didn't know what it was. The most common answer was a leaf.
Children learn by relating things they know to things they are unfamiliar with. In this instance, the cocoon was on a twig, and leaves grow on twigs, so it must be a leaf. This is how children learn about new things. They build on the knowledge they already possess.

In my classroom, I'll be sure to allow this kind of thinking and learning, because it's the natural process. Children need to be able to form their own ideas about things, and by bringing in elements of nature and allowing them to see it, touch it, smell it, listen to it, and sometimes taste it, they get a sense of the world around them and can freely form decisions on different subjects. Of course, some guidance is needed, but by allowing children to make their minds up on something gives them a freedom that they may not have experienced yet.

The Theatre is a safe place to do unsafe things- so what about the classroom?

2008-10-24T20:41:00.000-07:00

This picture what from the last production of my Senior year of high school, A Midsummer Night's Dream. The arrow is pointing to a girl with teased hair, covered in glitter, wearing plaid, corduroy, and rope. She also carried around a bucket of flowers and chased butterflies that weren't really there. That girl is me.

You see, a very wise woman once told me that the theatre is a safe place to do unsafe things. This led me to be a braver person when it came to the theatre and what I did. It's better to give it all you have and to be brave with a role than just kinda go for it. It's better to leave it all on stage and put your all into it. This quote has not only applied to the theatre for me, but to a lot of other things I did. I applied it to my writing, making sure it didn't just half write pieces for my portfolio, but I put everything I had into them. Because of this, I recieved a distinguished on my portfolio. This quote is more than just something that can be applied to the theatre. It's a great thing to remember for everyday life.

This life lesson, if you will, is something I want to have in my classroom. I want my classroom to be a safe place for discovery, learning, and fun. I want children to be able to come to my class and be themselves without any fears. My students should think of my classroom as a safe place to do unsafe things. I mean, not dangerous things, but out of the social norm. Most people have certain expectations of children, and in my classroom, I want my students to be able to feel free to ask questions, create, and discoverthe world around them without someone always behind them telling them what to do. It's not fair to place so many obligations and responsibilities on a growing mind, and when a child is set in boundaries like that, they never discover what they're really capable of. My classroom will be a safe place to do unsafe things, and hopefully, the children won't regret the time they spent there.

Imagination is more important than knowledge

2008-10-23T08:33:00.000-07:00

In this picture, I am taking a boat ride with a three year old to Great Wolf Lodge. As you can see, we really aren't in a boat, but it's a jungle gym.

I've said it before, but the amount of imagination that children possess fascinates me. I love how they can get in a slide and it suddenly becomes a boat that can take us anywhere. I think that as children, we start out with no limitations or boundaries, and our imaginations can carry us anywhere, and as we get older, the world says that imagination doesn't mean as much as knowledge, and you need to learn facts and put childish games behind you. I disagree. Imagination is more important than knowledge.

With a child, or anyone for that matter, they can learn facts and facts and facts, and just know the facts. You can train them to be a little computer, but that's all they'll be, and a computer isn't creative- they just know the facts. Don't get me wrong- I'm not bashing all education and I don't believe that children should do whatever they want for their creativity to shine, but teachers shouldn't bring down children's ideas, even if they don't make sense, because although a child's ideas may not make sense to an adult, imagination shows development. And the more creative, the more capabilities.

The little girl in this picture had knowledge of what a boat looks like, and knowledge of what a jungle gym looks like, but she used her imagination to put the two together and make a boat out of a jungle gym. I helped prompt her creativity by asking where we were going and what we were going to do. To this, she responded, "we are going to Great Wolfe Lodge." She had knowledge of Great Wolfe lodge because of a previous family vacation. She knows what all of these things are, but, using her imagination, she can go there anytime in a boat.

As a teacher, I plan on prompting my children's creativity and not stunting it. A child's imagination should be able to soar and not be limited by any person, place, or thing. I mean, if a jungle gym can be a boat, who knows what anything else can be. At work, I have seen normal wooden blocks become a bed, a stage, a zoo, and a house. Children have the capacity to expand anything and make it whatever they want, and most of the time, it's adults who stunt their imaginiations and make them boring. Children should never be stunted. Imagination is an extremely important part of their overall development, and as a teacher, I plan on letting imagination based of knowledge be the most important thing.

This is very philosophical to me and what I want to do because children have the capacity to imagine anything, and they should be able to do that in a safe environment. Chilren shouldn't be controlled by what the teacher tells them about things, and they should be able to take that, and expand on it.

Fort Courtney!

2008-10-23T06:07:00.000-07:00

a few things you should know.

I am a college student
this is a fort I built in my college dorm room
it was the most fun EVER!!

Whoever said going to college made you a grown up was severely mistaken. And just because I am in college, my creativity isn't going to be stunted, and that's something I want my students to get.

It doesn't matter how old you are, where you come from, who your friends are, or what people say, you can do what you want. Well, I mean, breaking the law really is a bad thing, and that's not what I'm suggesting. I simply want my students to understand that in my classroom, it's a safe place to break out of their 'social norms' and be themselves. I am a college student, and I built a fort. My room mate thought I was crazy, but now she wants one, too.

When you're a student, I think you get too concerned with making friends, school work, family, and getting the teacher to like you to be able to break free from everything the world throws at you and to just be real. When children learn to not care what others think about them, they become free to be themselves. And they'll typically make more friends that way. If I can set an example to my students about being themselves, building a fort in my classroom would probably be a good way . . .

Children learn by example. It follows that whole 'monkey see, monkey do' principle. If I were a teacher that didn't believe in creativity or fun, my students will be very boring. If I'm the kind of teacher that builds a fort in her classroom and has fun learning and being herself, my students will have fun learning and being themselves. And that's what learning is all about!

Oh, William . . .

2008-10-13T21:45:00.001-07:00

To understand the content in my Shakespeare class, reviewing the material is a must. We read a play a week, so you have to keep up. Studying and reviewing the plays is a necessary part of Shakespeare, because his works are hard to understand most of the time. His plays were meant to be acted out, too, so it helps to watch movie version of the plays, too. To understand the content, it's vital to participate in class and make any questions you have come to be answered. If you don't, it's easy to get very confused and behind. It helps to sometimes read a translation or a summary, just to back up and make sense of what was read. Shakespeare is a class that requires a lot of outside of class involvement and participation so you can learn the content and understand what's being said and what's going on. If you don't do the required reading, you don't know what's being discussed in class, and it's very easy to fall behind and not be able to catch up.

As a teacher, I am like a lot of stuff

2008-10-13T21:24:00.000-07:00

So, if I had known that to be a teacher, I would have to compare myself to inanimate objects, I would have gone down a different career path. I've never had to compare my teaching style to a zipper, and I never want to do it again. I've never had to think outside the box to such an extreme, and I don't want to do it again. I like to think that I'm a somewhat creative person, but that assignment was extremely difficult for me to accomplish. On one side of it, there was stubborn me telling me that it was pointless because you can't teach like a zipper, and the other side said that something important would come out of it, so tough it up and make it through. In the mist of all the conflict in my head was me, contemplating crying, screaming, or picking a different career. I didn't like this particular assignment, but I think I learned a lot from it. Metaphors aren't my favorite thing to think about, so trying to write a paper based off a metaphor was a challenge that turned out pretty well, I thought. Before this class and this assignment, I wouldn't have thought about teaching in some of the ways I do now. Everything has a higher importance now, because I'm constantly thinking about the metaphors behind the actual project, and how everything can tie back together. If I had to go back and do it again, I probably wouldn't have complained so much, but I complain about a lot of things. Although I hated this assignment, I did learn some things about myself and my teaching style, so it wasn't all for nothing.

Once upon a time . . .

2008-10-13T20:38:00.000-07:00

In this picture, I'm drawing the cover page for our group's Cinderella project.

The story of Cinderella has to be one of my favorites, so when I walked into my College intro to education class and we were telling the story of Cinderella, I was very excited. In my particular group, we were given big paper with words, and we had to draw the pictures that go with the story. As a group, we decided that Cinderella should have blond hair and a big blue dress. We came up with the basic ideas we wanted each page to look like together, and then we split and drew each page as individuals, but everything had to come back together to make a complete story.

This activity made absolutely no sense at first. The class was divided into multiple groups, and each group had a different assignment, but they all involved Cinderella. It wasn't until we all came back together as a group that we saw the purpose. Each group had something different to do, and the level of involvement decreased with each group. The first group had individual projects, coloring pages and what not, and as you went down the line, there was less and less structure, until the last group that had nothing to work with and did a puppet show. It was fun to see what every group came up with. Once we had all finished our presentations, we talked about the purpose behind the assignment, and discovered that it was all for learning.

When teachers hand out cookie cutter worksheets and expect the students to do the same work, the students don't get the opportunity to explore and create what they want to. They're forced to do the same thing as everyone else and there's no self expression involved. In our group, our paper had words, but we were free to make the choices about what Cinderella wore, what her hair looked like, what her dress looked like, and everything else that went into the drawings. We also found out more about each other when we were more involved with each other. Bringing students together as a group gives them an opportunity to meet new people and talk to each other, which they may not do on a daily basis.

As a teacher, it's important to set up environments that children feel comfortable in, so they can be themselves and make friends. Teachers need to leave room open for self-expression, and not hand out the expect the same thing from every student, because every student is different. Some are better speakers, other drawers, listeners, and some are more active than others. A teacher has to decide how to address all the needs in the classroom while keeping the learning moving and going. Learning should be a fun and never ending experience that the children will carry with them, because learning is an essential part of everyday life.

The worth of a book is to be measured by what you can carry away from it.

2008-10-12T13:50:00.000-07:00

The older age group I work with love to hear stories. They love to be read to and they'll keep the books coming, too. This is one book I have read multiple times to the children.

Sometimes, The children will hear a story, take the book, and then make their own interpretation based on what they've heard and the pictures they see. I like to see what children come up with while looking at a book. They create ideas based off what they see and what they've heard. When I read books to them, I make sure to ask questions about what they see, how they would feel, and if they've ever been in that situation before. With this book, I ask if they're patience in certain situations.

Through this experience, I have learned that children like to hear stories, and it's always a good idea to ask questions to get them thinking and to keep them engaged in the story. In my classroom, I will make sure that when we read, I ask open ended question (questions that only require a yes or no answer don't leave a child's mind open to wonder and think freely) to keep them thinking, engaged, and the story becomes relevant to them. To help children understand the concept of patience, relating it back to things they do in their everyday lives helps.

Yay Pink Goo!

2008-10-08T19:44:00.000-07:00

This was after I decided to mix in hot pink paint and glitter!!! I was very excited.

I had seen that a lot of people had been struggling with the food coloring, because it thinned out the whole concoction. I decided to try mixing in paint, because it's thicker than food coloring, and it was the only way I could get pink. The glitter didn't do anything to the balance of the mixture, but it was just fun to look at. Through this I learned that food coloring is a bad idea to mix in with a somewhat solid composition formed from two liquids. Paint works much better.

Yay Goo!

2008-10-08T19:38:00.001-07:00

In this picture, I decided that the only way to make my starch and glue concoction work was to actually get into it and mix it with my hands.

Through this activity, I learned that following directions is important, even though the directions may leave a lot of openings for personal input. For this experiment, we were simply told to mix one part starch with two parts glue, and anything after that was up to us. I had to add more glue to make it thicker, because mine was liquid. Through this I learned that the more freedom there is in an activity or experiment, the more likely one will learn from their mistakes and happenings. I learned that to make it thicker, you might have to add some more glue. Everyone's turned out differently, though. It was really fun!

Turtles, turtles, turtles

2008-10-08T19:13:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of turtles that is in one of the classrooms I work in during nap time.

The curiosity that children posses has always fascinated me. For instance, I was at work, and it was nap time, but the children don't always want to nap. One of the children sleep right next to a wall full of pictures of different animals. Normally, I would just overlook this. There are animals on the wall. Big Deal. But to a child, they're something new and exciting that they get to look at and think about. This particular child would point to every turtle and say, "turtle" because they new what it was, so it was new and exciting. The fascination had not gone away from learning about what was in the picture.

This has really made me go back and think. I mean, what have I overlooked because I had already figured it out? Children can really open your eyes and teach the teacher. I learned to be more observant and not take the little things for granted. Turtles may not be a new thing for me, but the ability to understand and share a concept is an amazing thing to a child. I hope when they grow up, they keep that wonder and curiosity, because learning will be a much easier process if they're willing to take everything in and show other people what they have learned.

2008-09-25T08:31:00.000-07:00

I believe that children need to be accepting of all the different races, religions, cultures, and ways of life there are in the world today. They need to be taught how all the differences that make up the world are good, whether we agree or disagree with them. We don't have to believe all the things everyone else believes, and children should be able to create their own ideas about the different races, religions, cultures, and ways of life the world has to offer without someone telling them what to believe.

2008-09-25T08:24:00.002-07:00

I believe children should learn how to use all technology, because the world is ever changing and technology changes with that. They don't necessarily have to accept or use any of this technology, but they should be introduced to it and know how to use it.

2008-09-25T07:24:00.000-07:00

In order to understand and develop a sense of inquiry, I need to ask questions about everything what we do, make predictions, and expand on what I already know.