Teaching Is...
Teaching is... well, teaching is a lot of things.
Teaching is... building an airplane and trying to fly it at the same time.
Teaching is...throwing spaghetti at a wall and hoping something sticks.
Teaching is... about provocation. .
Mostly though, teaching is an invitation. A great educator once said, "Show me what you can do, and I'm going to show you how to do it a little bit better." Welcome. Come. Sit with me. Let's explore together.
Now I used to spend hours-- HOURS y'all--planning, prepping, and setting up perfect learning centers only to find that the students were disinterested and disengaged with the things that I put out.
Why?
Because students like to be included in the process. They like to be invited to the party. They like involvement. They like engagement. They like to be a part of the learning community.
Take a look at our rainforest table:
Now, while this may look like chaos in action--it's actually my way of sending out an invitation.
To set this up I created trees out of cardboard paper tubes and scrap paper. It doesn't matter that they aren't perfect. Using simple materials to create representational play can help children develop imagination skills.
I've scattered tissue paper for grass and crumpled gray paper for rocks. I've also put out scrap paper with scissors and tape. This invites the students to continue creation. Come, explore, create.
Also in the mix are blocks, animal figures, and construction tubes.
With an invitation to play--rather than a dictation of how to play--we leave the learning open-ended for children to construct, imagine, and define their play based on their own interests, knowledge, and insights.
I can't wait to see how it all pans out tomorrow.
Until tomorrow learning friends!
Sam
Teaching is... building an airplane and trying to fly it at the same time.
Teaching is...throwing spaghetti at a wall and hoping something sticks.
Teaching is... about provocation. .
Mostly though, teaching is an invitation. A great educator once said, "Show me what you can do, and I'm going to show you how to do it a little bit better." Welcome. Come. Sit with me. Let's explore together.
Now I used to spend hours-- HOURS y'all--planning, prepping, and setting up perfect learning centers only to find that the students were disinterested and disengaged with the things that I put out.
Why?
Because students like to be included in the process. They like to be invited to the party. They like involvement. They like engagement. They like to be a part of the learning community.
Take a look at our rainforest table:
Now, while this may look like chaos in action--it's actually my way of sending out an invitation.
To set this up I created trees out of cardboard paper tubes and scrap paper. It doesn't matter that they aren't perfect. Using simple materials to create representational play can help children develop imagination skills.
I've scattered tissue paper for grass and crumpled gray paper for rocks. I've also put out scrap paper with scissors and tape. This invites the students to continue creation. Come, explore, create.
Also in the mix are blocks, animal figures, and construction tubes.
With an invitation to play--rather than a dictation of how to play--we leave the learning open-ended for children to construct, imagine, and define their play based on their own interests, knowledge, and insights.
I can't wait to see how it all pans out tomorrow.
Until tomorrow learning friends!
Sam
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