SPRING IS HERE!

After a long and brutal winter that has put a time crunch on school work and a damper on everyone's spirits we finally got a taste of spring today! The sun was shining and so were the students. After school, two days a week I spend my time in our after school program. I enjoy getting to interact with kids from other classes and grade levels during this time. Today we had an extra long time outside since the weather was beautiful, no one wanted to go inside and work on homework (myself included!!). During this extra time in a less structured setting I had two encounters with students that left me inspired.

The first was with a kindergartener who I know in passing from seeing him around the school. I noticed he was sitting on the blacktop, alone, on this beautiful sunny day with a flurry of action around him. I walked over to where he was and asked if he was alright and got an "I'm okay" from him. I asked him if he would mind if I joined him as he soaked up the beautiful sunshine. After getting no rejection I plopped myself down on the pavement next to him. I asked him questions about his day, his teachers and other small things to try and draw him out. He responded, but was still shy. Suddenly, he asked me if I had seen the movie Monsters U. I, being a huge fan of kid/animated movies, had of course seen and loved the movie. So we talked animatedly about our favorite characters and the parts we thought were funniest or interesting. During the conversation he sat up straighter and became more and more animated and open. After a brief conversation, maybe about 10 minutes, he decided that maybe it was a spectacular afternoon after all and after saying his goodbyes got up to go play with some friends from his class that were on the playground nearby. This small interaction came as an inspiration to me after having a conversation with colleagues recently about "kid watching" in social situations and when to step in and how. I took a chance and played it cool, but I think what I learned from it was that sometimes kids may need some space, but sometimes they also just need a kickstart to boost their confidence, someone to just sit down next to them and strike up a conversation and listen to what they have to say in order to brighten their day.

Next, after I had moved on from my discussion of movies I struck up a conversation with one of my own students who was drawing with sidewalk chalk on the blacktop. He had begun to draw a beautiful, intricate and very unique design on the ground. I complimented his handiwork and this started an entire lesson on how this student sees art. He explained to me he doesn't draw animals or people, but visualizes shapes in his head and starts off small with a simple shape like a square or a circle and just continues to build out from there. He talked to me about learning this method from his mother and shared pictures that his dad had created. As he talked and I asked questions about the different tools and materials he used I began to see him in a whole new light. Here, our roles were reversed. He was the teacher and I was the student. Not only did he teach me everything he knows about art, but he taught me so much more about him as an individual than I could have ever seen in the classroom. If ever you have the moment to let a student teach YOU something for a change, take it. It can transform a student into a whole new person who is a confident and creative leader.

So my advice? Go forth and take your kids outside the classroom when the weather permits it, you and the students alike may learn something new and feel an extra bounce in your step because of it!