Impressions of a school visit
Lots of little girls wearing pink running around.
Isabelle confidently showing me her named hook for her bag.
Lots of children wanting to look at my baby.
In class - the children are amazingly compliant!
The teacher says "says", not "sez".
There is a grammatical error in the Acting Principal's newsletter entry.
Class is highly structured.
Big boys in the senior section on the cusp of adolescence.
Big girls in the senior section clearly well into adolescence.
Well, I did my first and Isabelle's second school visit on Tuesday. It was fine.
The children sat on the floor and studied the letter "k". They looked at, and read books. They had sharing time with the year 1 classes next door.
Isabelle and her two other inductees had a special task. First, they were to write their names on a large piece of paper. Then, they were to make the letters "fat letters" (so that they could be coloured in). Then, they were to colour in their names. Next week, they will dye the pictures. The pictures would then be placed on the wall.
Isabelle appeared totally confused by the "fat letters" thing. I asked her if she knew what she had to do - she shook her head. So we broke it down into steps. She wrote her name. I demonstrated the "fat letters" thing. She made her "I" into a fat letter. Then she drew a circle around the "s". Then she drew circles around all the rest of the letters. She coloured in the "I", then coloured in the circles. Then she started drawing an elaborate map-like structure over the letters "to make it look prettier". Her art was colourful, interesting, original and fitted exactly into her dominant schema interests. It was also illegible! I felt a bit caught between wanting her to do something "nice" like the teacher had asked, and feeling proud of her for doing her own thing! I came out firmly on the side of being proud of her.
I do hope that the structured learning won't squeeze all the creativity out of her. Every day, at home and at Playcentre, she is making, doing, experimenting. I know they have "choosing time" on Thursdays, where children can do their own thing. But most of the work on the walls seemed to be "colouring in" or realistic according to adult models - bees with careful yellow and black stripes, self-portraits that all looked the same.
And they have homework every weekend!
Isabelle confidently showing me her named hook for her bag.
Lots of children wanting to look at my baby.
In class - the children are amazingly compliant!
The teacher says "says", not "sez".
There is a grammatical error in the Acting Principal's newsletter entry.
Class is highly structured.
Big boys in the senior section on the cusp of adolescence.
Big girls in the senior section clearly well into adolescence.
Well, I did my first and Isabelle's second school visit on Tuesday. It was fine.
The children sat on the floor and studied the letter "k". They looked at, and read books. They had sharing time with the year 1 classes next door.
Isabelle and her two other inductees had a special task. First, they were to write their names on a large piece of paper. Then, they were to make the letters "fat letters" (so that they could be coloured in). Then, they were to colour in their names. Next week, they will dye the pictures. The pictures would then be placed on the wall.
Isabelle appeared totally confused by the "fat letters" thing. I asked her if she knew what she had to do - she shook her head. So we broke it down into steps. She wrote her name. I demonstrated the "fat letters" thing. She made her "I" into a fat letter. Then she drew a circle around the "s". Then she drew circles around all the rest of the letters. She coloured in the "I", then coloured in the circles. Then she started drawing an elaborate map-like structure over the letters "to make it look prettier". Her art was colourful, interesting, original and fitted exactly into her dominant schema interests. It was also illegible! I felt a bit caught between wanting her to do something "nice" like the teacher had asked, and feeling proud of her for doing her own thing! I came out firmly on the side of being proud of her.
I do hope that the structured learning won't squeeze all the creativity out of her. Every day, at home and at Playcentre, she is making, doing, experimenting. I know they have "choosing time" on Thursdays, where children can do their own thing. But most of the work on the walls seemed to be "colouring in" or realistic according to adult models - bees with careful yellow and black stripes, self-portraits that all looked the same.
And they have homework every weekend!
posted by Mary at 1:56 pm
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