Fingerprint Unity

October is National Bully Prevention and Awareness month. Children are the victims of bullying nearly every day. Both in school, in the home, and in the community of peers, children suffer from acts and words that are hurtful and harm their self-esteem. Children who are bullied at school are fearful of the school community and do not feel safe attending school. This should not happen. Schools are a place where children should always feel safe and welcomed, regardless of age, gender, race, or culture. In support of Bully Prevention and Awareness, this idea can be used in the classroom to make a pact against bullying. A lesson can be constructed around bullying and incorporate this activity. On a piece of paper with a large tree on it, each student would put their fingerprint on the tree. The fingerprints could be a variety of colors and placed on the branches to mimic leaves. Upon placing their fingerprint on the tree, the students would be told that by doing so, they would be agreeing to make a pact against bullying. Forming together and creating a friendship tree, the students would gain a sense of unity. The completed tree could be framed and placed in the classroom, where students will always be reminded to refrain from bullying and stay united as friends.

Creativity beyond sight

“Most people see what is, and never see what can be.”
Albert Einstein

In the book, Creativity 101 by James C. Kaufman, he explains different levels of creativity that people can have. Of the four levels, one of them is called "mini-c" which is your beginning level of creativity. In the classroom, children normally present this "mini-c" level of creativity, yet if their expressions are put forth in a way that is interpreted as distracting or not useful, it is often discouraged. Because creativity may develop out of context, the classroom should be an environment or domain that welcomes creative thoughts and expressions. Children should never be discouraged from presenting ideas, even if they appear bizarre because discouraging creativity may alter the expression of children. It can never be determined whether or not a child's idea may later become a new invention or a new approach to art, music, singing, etc. so these "mini-c" moments need to be credited. When there is time permitting during the day, in between lessons or during recess or snack, children should be encouraged to explore their thoughts and let them wander. During this time especially, teachers should allow children to have defocused attention, which might create these "mini-c" ideas. 

The "key" to success

Writing prompts are always difficult for children, especially when giving the task to think of an idea and create a story. Even as a college student, this is a difficult task. Students sit there pondering what they should write about and often try to produce a piece of work that is thought to be what the teacher wants. Instead of encouraging children to step back and let their mind wander until an idea comes to them, we too often focus on getting the work done. In class one day, we were given a blank sheet of paper and asked to draw a picture. Of course, no one knew what to draw until our professor created a story that we listened to and then left us to put on paper what we "saw" in our minds. This is a great way to create writing prompts for students, especially when introducing creative writing or story-telling lessons. To accommodate for an elementary level, students would receive a piece of white paper with a blank keyhole, similar to the picture. The teacher would then tell a story to the students and drop the story off by the children looking through the keyhole. The stories could be centered around a certain topic or simply fantasy. This allows the children's minds to wander. The children would then draw what they saw on the other side of the keyhole and use it as a reference for creating their own short stories.

*Special thanks to Dr. Specht!!

Tattling is always better when it's told to the President

I once did fieldwork in an inner-city preschool, full of eager, energetic young children. These children came from diverse backgrounds, families, and living arrangements, yet this made my experience that much better. These children always had something new to bring to the classroom and I always anticipated hearing what they had to say. In a classroom full of 30 three and four year old children, the noise level was mainly created by the constant tattling. Because the tattling became so repetitive and was often typical, "he said, she said" tattles, the teacher had to come up with an idea to control this problem. Instead of telling the children that their tattles were not important, she hung up a picture of the President on a wall in the back of the classroom. Every time the children had to tattle on someone for saying or doing something inappropriate, they had to tell their tattle to the President. When children forgot this rule, she reminded them that what they were telling her was just too important to not share with the President. So there stood children, talking to the "President", telling them their small problems. To me, this was creative. The teacher had to control this problem and now encouraged children to think through what they were telling the President. The children didn't want to just tell him any little tattle, they now had to think what was worth tattling on others for. This idea made children aware of their thoughts and their impressions of others in the classroom. Through this solution, not only did the children develop their cognitive thinking, they became aware of who the President was and that he holds a very important position.

Does everyone have their pencils?

Think of how many times throughout the school day you look for a pencil, use a pencil, or hear a teacher say, "Take out a pencil....Pencils down". Now imagine collecting a pencil for every time one was incorporated into your day. With all of the pencils you collect, you could make this interesting piece of art! As shown here, the pencils can be arranged in a "starburst"-like fashion with a mirror placed in the center. To get in the theme of fall, students could attach different leaves to the pencils and then place a picture of themselves playing outside in the the leaves, on a hike, etc. This is an easy, yet creative way to use classroom supplies to make artwork. Students could bring this home and hang it as a wreath on their doors, as could the teacher, to always keep a learning atmosphere lingering!

Unusual Uses for a Paperclip

I just had to share this because of the activity we did in class the other day. To test our own creativity, we completed the Unusual Uses test for a paperclip. As everyone knows and has once experienced in their school days, binders always break, fall apart, get stuffed too full, etc. This use for a paperclip is perfect! Teachers always have paperclips, a hole puncher, and rubber bands laying around inside their desk, so what better way to put them to use, instead of throwing them away? Students are able to create this "binder" all on their own, simply by punching holes in their papers, stringing a rubber band through the holes and onto a paperclip. Not only does this conservative idea make a binder, it also helps kids build their fine-motor skills by  making them use the pincer grasp!

The power of puzzles

 

With the beginning of a new school year comes many firsts for children. They meet new friends, build their social circle, discover new abilities and of course, learn. But before students of any age can comfortably open up to new people and classroom ideas, they need to be accustomed to their surroundings. The "puzzle piece classroom" is an intriguing way for students to express their emotions and personality without simply speaking in front of the class and introducing themselves. This idea can be used as an "ice-breaker" or as I find more useful, as a way to instill the idea of teamwork within the class. This idea can be incorporated into any age classroom and encourages self expression and exploration of classmates. Each student is given a puzzle piece that they are able to design any way they desire. Each piece represents a member of the classroom, their ideas, interests, culture, and hobbies. As a whole, the class must assemble the puzzle. They learn to work as a team from the very beginning and quickly realize that without a single piece to the puzzle, it cannot be completed. The same concept applies to the classroom; without a student, the classroom cannot flourish or proceed together.