Hey all! Today we prepared to send our second (and third) groups of campers off. I had the Elementary mini group twice today because of the rain so I needed to come up with a craft, fast!
I decided on Fuse Beads and the kids really really liked that. They all cooperated and shared the beads/bead piles to find what they needed for their designs.
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| Some of these guys were giving me issues yesterday with noise and behavior but today they were completely polite, quiet, and engaged! |
A LOT of the boys were making Minecraft characters and objects out of the beads. Pretty cool to see the kids making the project relevant and more exciting to do!
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| Work work work.. make all the beads fall on the floor? yes! |
Reflection: I think this week DEFINITELY solidified my interest in secondary teaching. For one thing, the students/kids are more independent and easier to talk to. They listen more readily and don't make anything a shouting contest.. intentionally. Younger kids, like the 3rd through 5th graders I was working with can be very rambunctious. They take much more work to keep quiet and the counselors were not much help except to make more noise. Younger kids need a LOT more structure, feedback, and help. They ask a lot of questions and sometimes they just want your attention so they ask a question they know the answer to, or ask you to tie their shoes, or somesuch. That being said, they are so extremely sweet and thoughtful. I love being able to answer their questions or help them with a step to a problem, or show off my snake and have them tell me all about snakes!
The older kids were easier to direct and listened much better, as stated before. Observing Ted working with his campers I could tell they were very interested in and knowledgeable about the projects and concepts. The kids knew the different types and sizes of rocket engines, different scientific formulas and laws, and always presented challenging questions for myself and the counselors. However, the challenge with the middle school kids was keeping their focus firmly on the task instead of being social. They wanted to build rockets, kites, and solar systems but they also wanted to talk about boys and movies and video games... It was pretty amusing all the same! And I loved being able to go along for the ride :) I didn't find myself as flustered and crowded with this group, but there were almost three times as many elementary mini campers as science ones...
With my k-12 certification I will be able to teach k-12 art classes. I think I will be more comfortable working with and teaching younger kids with more observation experiences and LOTS AND LOTS OF PLANNING. Young kids want that structure that older kids shy away from in favor of freedom of choice. Older kids still want structure but they also want the opportunity to do something different than their neighbors or different than the expectation. But that statement could be counteracted by the fact that my elementary campers were making their own designs out of the Fuse Beads activating prior knowledge of the videogame Minecraft.....
Every day I learn something new from the people around me. That's what I love about being a teacher/craft lady! Each day is a set of new challenges and opportunities to plan something great and long-lasting in the minds of my students/campers. Whether it's a craft with beads being melted together or a lengthy unit plan about the significance of heroes in a student's life, I want to be that source of creative inspiration through projects and art!
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| Please observe the status of Rockland..Two hours of sweeping and organizing later.. It's so CLEAN. AHHH |
Okay, time to relax with a book and some tea.
The youngest group of campers arrives Sunday so tomorrow we have to clean every little thing that exists at this camp (that's what it feels like, anyway!!). Gotta bank on some sleep and prepare for another hard day at work! No crafts tomorrow.. just goodbyes to campers, a broom, and work boots.
Signing off... to join up with some apricot tea :)
Ms. K
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