Final Reflection
I could not
have asked for a better last day. From the setup to the projects and to the
show things went pretty much just as we planned. The city that we built was
perfect, and really helped the kids tie everything we did throughout the semester.
At first we were a little scared about how we were actually going to construct
the city. We had all the supplies we needed for the last days activities,
but we really didn’t buy much to put the city together. I think we all
had a different vision in our heads, and decided to wait until Friday to pull
out all the stuff and figure out exactly what we needed.
We started cleaning up the space, which I think we did a pretty good job of,
you could actually see the counters. After that we positioned all the desks
and furniture we needed in a large landmass that after the next couple transformed
into a city. We really did not need that much extra stuff it was just figuring
out how we wanted to display all our pieces, as I said earlier, we had talked
about this, but were not quite sure how it was going to work. I spent a good
chunk of the time making the river with the swimming fish. I had a vision
in my head of how it was going to work, but it came out better than I thought
it was going to, and the kids really took notice to them the next morning.
When the kids did come in the next morning they were amazed. They were like “we made that?” I think this was a great approach to take with
the unit, because they really did think back throughout the lessons we had
done. I think that this was a great age too, because they really got into
the discussion of the community and what it still needed. After all the kids
had gotten there, we had them walk around the city, and take a look at it.
They were touching things and really thinking about it. Then we had them all
sit on chairs, and asked them what they liked and disliked, and what the city
still needed. They were very enthusiastic about this. The most popular answer
about what they liked was “everything!” I was amazed at what types
of things they came up with that the city still needed. They came up with
all the obvious that we had planned for such as cars, people, schools, and
shops. They also came up with more inventive things such as museums. They
proceeded to come up with more amazing and creative things while they were
working.
We started off by having them each color their cars in with markers, then,
they had to go find a place for them in the city. This was very interesting
to watch, because they first all went right to their houses to place their
cars in their garages, but then after they saw the parking lots we created,
they decided to have a party at Julia’s beach house. After that they
made people for the city, many of them were in swimsuits for the beach party,
and had accessories such as beach towels, and picnic baskets. The people they
created though were amazing; one of our students made a police woman, and
a girl in a wheelchair. Things we never expected.
They made many other wonderfully creative things, for example, another student
made a volleyball net with a working ball attached to a string that went over
the net. Another interesting thing was that our small town had two police
stations; I guess they thought we had a crime problem. It was amazing to see
them think so creatively.
Most of the parents were very impressed with the city, but some of them I
am not sure understood it. I’m pretty sure these were the parents that
have done it before and were wondering why there weren’t paintings on
the wall. They were very receptive to it, but they all wanted to take their
kids stuff early. We made them wait until 11:30, because we thought that was
at least a compromise. It was very interesting to see the parent’s reaction
as the kids were explaining everything to them. They really remembered making
al the pieces. They explained the process to make all the different pieces.
For example, they explained how they made the trees, and most the parents
were impressed with the use of materials. One said to me, “ I never
know what to do with those things (packing peanuts).” Another mom really
loved the CD fish, and was like these are so easy and so easy to personalize,
and wanted to have the rest of her kids each make one to hang in the bathroom.
This made me feel really good, because I think it is great for the parents
to get excited about their children’s artwork. More often than not,
children parents are very discouraging about their abilities to create things.
I think that if I can show people how easily you can create things out of
everyday materials it will transfer to their homes.
The day was a great success; the kids really brought an understanding and
enthusiasm that I never imagined. This whole unit really helped the kids understand
what makes up a community, and by having individual and collaborative projects
they learned that sometime you can work alone, but you need to be able to
work in a group too.
Thinking about the whole experience of Saturday school, the amount I learned
throughout the semester I think is immeasurable. I learned a lot about my
teaching skills, the good and bad. I learned about my teaching style, and
how it compared to the other teachers in my room. I am a teacher that likes
to be prepared, but I do not want to have every detail planned out. I want
to be able to change things in a moments notice, or to keep working on things
that my students get really into. I want to be able to understand when things
are not going well, and know when to move on. Thing that I know will all come
with more time in a classroom.
Working with two other teachers was a challenge. Even though we are all friends,
there were times when we just wanted to kill each other. This was a great
experience though; we learned how to incorporate all our ideas into a finished
project. You might say we learned just as much as our students did about working
together. We all had our own individual plans and ideas, and we made them
work together.
I think that our unit plan worked well, because we did include content in
all our lessons. They learned about many different artists, and were not always
just making things, just to make things. Sometimes that was the case, but
those things were incorporated into the city at the end.
My two lessons taught me a lot, I learned what they could and could not handle,
and what types of things they found more challenging. I think that they really
enjoyed the lessons for the most part. Some of them did not like the torn
construction paper so much, but I think that partly had to do with age, and
with motor skill development. I think if I did it again I would have 9 year
olds do that project, because most of the 8 year olds in our class understood
and enjoyed the project, but a lot of the 7 year olds just did not want to
take the time to do it. I think that even just by waiting a year, they would
have all understood it more, and been more excited about it.
I got a much better understanding of 7 and 8 year olds. I have worked with
many kids, but most of it was babysitting, where I’m choosing to see
these kids everyday. I also taught swim lessons, but that is very different
than a classroom. It was nice to have experience teaching kids about art,
and learning what types of things that they will do with different materials.
I realize now not to give 8 year olds beads and pipe cleaners, because they
will make bracelets. I also got a better handle on how they can use different
materials, and how their motor skills can vary. It was very interesting just
to observe how they put things together.
This experience has also helped to assure me that I am in the right profession.
Hopefully student teaching will do that more, but I found myself really looking
forward to Saturdays and to seeing what types of things the kids would come
up with that morning. I love helping kids solve problems creatively, and seeing
how happy they are when they make something they are really proud of. Of course
there are downsides to teaching, but the positives overwhelmingly outweigh
the negatives.