Giving Kids Inspiration

Inspiration is a big concept for kids to comprehend. My kids just completed their final class book and wrote about who inspires them. I received responses from moms to Martin Luther King, Jr. to our principal to sharks.  All of them could justify how those people were something they aspire to be.

I stole an idea from my neighbor teacher (she's phenomenal- what I want to be when I grow up). She put pictures of famous architecture out with her block station to inspire the kids with ideas of what they could build. Of course, we encourage them to create something, but this gives them ideas to spark that creativity.

Creativity

We all know it's important for our kids to be creative. I went to a workshop recently that talked about the benefits to brain development when arts are incorporated into a daily curriculum. Musicians' brains actually look different than brains of people who have never played an instrument. Art can be used to cross that divide for ESL students or help the focus of those with ADHD.

I used the book Duke Ellington, which uses rich vocabulary and amazing pictures to illustrate the sounds of music. I asked the kids to use their adjectives to describe different colors, then paint a picture of an instrument and the music spouting from it. Some of them really had to stretch their thinking to come up with words to describe a color, but I think they did an awesome job!

New Uses for Everyday Things

Another activity I like to do for critical thinking can involve something as ordinary as a paper clip. Most students don't enter school being able to really think creatively (many adults actually have difficulty with that sometimes). I want them to think of new uses for the item. We talk about the normal ways we can use it, then brainstorm new ways. Any old object will do; I've used pencils, frying pans and my all-time favorite is the paper clip. It amazes me the way their little minds work. I did this with my class yesterday and the idea that really made me chuckle: one student opened theirs up to make a hanger for ant clothes! :) How cool!

Ant hanger for clothes.

To make a letter "I".

For measuring.

Back scratcher.

Tapping Into Their Interests

So on my favorite teacher forum I discovered the site: http://www.ustream.tv/theowlbox . A man named Carlos in California put a "Barn Box" in his barn and there's a live feed documenting an owl named Molly who had 5 eggs and now has 3 babies.

My kids have been so inspired by her to learn everything they can about owls! I truly believe that your lessons should be flexible enough to go where your little sponges want to go. So we've done many lessons on the life cycle of owls.  Yesterday they made a replica of Molly using a pinecone wrapped in cotton. Then they wrote about what they learned from her.

 

A Poet But You Didn't Know It

I love using poetry in the classroom. I think the succint language a poet uses is just ripe for vocabulary instruction. Every week I post a new poem in a pocket chart; and we read it chorally each morning which also helps with reading skills. The children have to listen carefully because there are no illustrations to fall back on to reference meaning. On Fridays they cut and paste a copy of the text into their poetry journals and then write about their own evaluation of the words. Did they like it? Why or why not? What is it about? Did it make you feel, hear, taste, see, smell something?

Well, since April is National Poetry Month, we tried our hand at writing our own poems. I held my breath and crossed my fingers to see what understanding came out of their chubby little pencils. I was actually very impressed. Some used techniques like using spicy adjectives and sound words, others wrote "Oh, little bee"-just like some of the poems we've read. We did "Shape Poems" where they wrote the words, I typed out their poems and they cut the words out gluing them into the shape of their idea.

We're going to have a little celebration this month where the students can read their poems for their parents and I can't wait to see their expressions as they watch their little poets. Never doubt the osmosis that occurs when you model something for kids-they pick up more than you would expect!

Using Photography in the Classroom

I am a big fan of photography as an expression of art. So why not let the kids experience this medium as well. Several times a year the students go out and take photographs with my very old digital camera to use in activities. We took pictures of patterns, something to write a poem about, to sort for the 5 senses and my favorite one is something that inspires them. They take a picture of something and then write about it, paint it, make a collage of that photo and put them all on a poster board for our final project of the year.

Some make really interesting ones, like a door, or a flower coming up out of the sidewalk. We talk a lot about art and different artists and how what inspires them artistically doesn't have to be beautiful. The picture above was one the student thought was ugly-but represented winter and what happened to the plants. The kids really enjoy thinking like a photographer.

Creative Thinking

I often talk to my students about "Thinking Outside the Box". Most of them understand what that means. When putting it into practice I want them to use their imaginations to invent, create, visualize. But I also want them to be able to use humor in their writing as well.

I like giving them a prompt-a question that has an answer, but one that's unlikely a 5-year old will already know the answer to. This week's was "Why is a Flamingo Pink?". I encourage them to use their imagination and come up with something creative or funny, not necessarily scientific. For those of you who may not be aware I had to look this answer up once when asked by a student (gotta love GT kids)-they eat a kind of shrimp that turns their feathers pink. If they eat other foods their feathers actually turn back to a translucent color.

Anyway, my little darlings came up with some creative answers. To camoflauge themselves, they ate too much cotton candy or pink cupcakes, they wanted to blend in with the flowers and my all-time favorite-they got a sunburn!

I do what happened to the dinosaurs, why does our hair grow, etc. I love to see the little cogs and gears in their minds turn trying to think of an answer.