Child Development in the Sunday Comics

One of my favorite lessons in child development is talking about the different ways children play and how they learn through playing. 

We go through a lecture and I show videos of different types of play. Then I have the students act out play scenarios and the rest of the students guess what types of play they are doing. I encourage the students to bring props. 

For a classroom set up, I would have different types of toys or situations that the students could play with or act out. Then the lesson leads into toys and toy safety. 

The following comic illustrates one of my favorite types of play - imaginary play in which the child mimics an adult. An excellent way for kids to act out their own frustrations with situations and learn to empathize. 

So, if you are ever the subject of a kiddo modeling a situation you faced together, don't take it personally (like Mommie Dearest did). The child is just working through it. 

Have fun playing!

Lesson in Time

I had a question about the following image come through my Twitter feed a few days ago.

The subject was time management. 

Here are some activities (including the above) about time. 

I did a basic Q&A forum about how the students felt they spent their time. (Was it wise, what helped them, how could they improve, etc). Then I asked them to find some of their favorite tips for time management online, report them, give their opinions on them and then have them find some tools and share those too.

Timed Pour (above) - have the students pour to one cup for one minute. They have to guess how long 1 minute is. Time them with a hidden timer. That way, they can see if they estimate time correctly or if they are way off! Make it a contest. Closest to one minute without going over. I put food color drops in my water to be able to see accurately.

 

Time Plates - give each student two paper plates. Have them draw clocks on them without hands. One is for AM, the other for PM. Have them color out the hours for each activity they typically do. 

Time Schedule - One of my favorite tools I got from college was a weekly fill-in table that had 24/7 on it. Same premise as the clocks but for a whole week. 

Minute to win it - Fun Pun intended! Time one minute, students list out song titles that have the word TIME in them. Cheat or no, it's a fun little activity. 

Time Poem - Students had a poetry unit in their English classes and I pulled that into my class. I had my students write poems about time. They chose the style, they chose the length. They were also allowed to decorate them and we posted them out in the hall. It was really cool having students walk by and stop. 

If your students have trouble with writing poems, here are a few steps for creating a poem (or a rap).

• Step 1: Write 8 words about time (or any subject matter)
• Step 2: Write words that rhyme with the first ones
• Step 3: Write phrases
• Step 4: Refine and write the poem.

Have students research and present how to manage their time, how to use a planner/calendar. If you want to get real into it, have them plan out the methods and time checkpoints for doing this mini-project within a set amount of time. 

 

Team Building 1

It is really important for the entire classroom to be able to function as a group on various levels, classroom, groups of tens, groups of fours, and pairs. I've done a lot of Kagan training on grouping and questioning. I usually rotate groups so students get to work with different people. I also usually start the year off by having the students do a classmate scavenger hunt or a quick Q & A. It's important for them to get to know each other. But it never fails, each year I have one or two students who have no idea who they are sitting across the room from them, let alone who is next to them.

The one I used this year required only a ball of very cheap yarn and a question posed to the students. A student would take the end of the yarn, answer the question and toss the yarn across from them. Process repeats itself until there is a 'web.' It was preeddy.

Then I start with situations. "What happens if so-and-so does bla-bla-bla?" I will physically pull or move the student to get the web to pull or create slack that the others have to compensate for. Ahhh. There it is. It directly affects whomever is connect immediately with the student, but then that also can start to affect the rest of the web. "So, students, how do you solve the problem?" Ah-ha moment again.

This can be done a million ways and my gears are just going!
First days of class and creating your environment - My general rule is that one person can mess up the entire class. We have to keep each other in check.
Career Prep classes - Always opportunities to build teams and connect that to careers. Hey, it's what we all do.
Group introduction - I did this when my semester switched to foods and I wanted to make sure all the students understood the importance of smaller groups working together in their food labs.

I just loveloveLOVE assigning group projects.



It is ALWAYS appropriate to reiterate the lesson without re-doing the activity before going into grouping activities.

Remember the Alamo WEB!!!

Happy Team Building!

TBT

Circa 1996-7

I'm the one on the left.

This is my high school foods and nutrition class. I only remember this one because of this photograph. We learned how to garnish for this food lab. 

DONUTS

Sometimes I like to put together images using picstitch to incorporate memes or anything that my students find funny. 

The following is a local donut shop that we are new patrons to. If I worked locally, I would encourage my students to visit. 

It's locally owned. 

They'd see how quality products increase revenue. 

It is totally a food service industry. 

I'd challenge the students: if you worked here, what flavors would you invent? 

The sign above the shop just says DONUTS, challenge them to advertise or create a new sign. 

My story is that I heard about this shop by word-of-mouth. How powerful is that?? Obviously it is powerful because how I heard of it made a big ol stink in a Facebook group that was comparing shops and throwing out negatives everywhere. 

Another real life situation to interest students!

Further opportunities - food lab or donut bar. Economics, survey and build a business. History - where did these things come from! Geography - who eats them? Math - pie, circumference, diameter. Etc. 

One of my favorite questions...

Why do we have to learn (math/science/English) in home ec?

So you don't look like a complete moron. 

Case in point:

Sometimes 'home ec' or Child Development can lead you into a toy design career. If you can't tell this is a pool or bathtub toy. There is a fan in the tail to provide the locomotion and you position the tail for direction. You twist it to turn it on - but not enough to make this creature anatomically or biologically correct. 

Whoever designed this toy failed middle school science and high school biology. 

A shark is not a mammal. 

A dolphin does not have gills. 

I feel bad for the kid(s) who use this as a learning tool.

I love teachable moments I find in my daily life. They happen infrequently but it's worth it - especially if I can relate it back to classes. This is the fourth one I have found.
1. A large clump of overcooked/undercooked of rice crispy cereal the size of a large stone.
2. Serving sizes and McAllister's Deli cookies (the size of my face).
3. Hair packaged in string cheese
And now this.

Enjoy!
 

Walls, Windows, & Doors

It is the end of another school year and the giant classroom is blank once again.

I've taken 99% of my posters down. My desk is empty. There is minimal furniture in the room (aside from tables and chairs). All of my belongings will be coming home with me this year. Yes, I am searching for a new opportunity - and hopefully it will be in the high school setting.

I never felt that this would be a permanent position. I honestly never wanted to teach middle school. After one year in a new district at a position I truly enjoyed, I was force-transferred to the middle school that I am currently at. 

I have learned a lot about myself as a teacher and I have grown in my lessons and abilities. But it certainly has not been easy. These have been the most difficult two years of my career. 

I am not looking forward to saying my final goodbyes, especially to the students who expect to see me next year and take MY classes again. I am waiting until this coming week to let them know. 

I am, of course, looking forward to summer. I am excited to spend more time with my family and to relax with friends. But as my Awesome Colleague told me, it is now my full-time job to secure a new job. And while that door is closing, this window will remain open. I will still be writing and sharing my wisdom and ideas here.

Well wishes to you all. I hope you have an amazing summer!