Project Update

So here are the updates of projects at school.

The Play

The play group has really been stumping me.

First, the most dramatic girl who was playing the role of the wicked witch was transferred to another class. When the soccer project finished two boys became part of the play. The students had to rework much of the play because a wicked wizard is not going to any beauty contests! It has been hard to get the boys fully incorporated because they weren't there for most of the story development and the girls already have a clear vision of what they want to happen which doesn't always match the boys ideas.

Second, I feel like we're caught in an "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" cycle. If they practice then they want props. If they work on props it moves into the set. Once they start thinking about the set they realize that they can't really decide the set until the story is finished. So then they start thinking about the story and it just makes them want to practice the play which then makes them want to make props and it cycles and cycles and cycles. I think the biggest challenge I'm facing in this constructivist environment is how much structure to provide yet ensure that it remains their play and doesn't become my play. Although plenty of people have an opinion about needing to provide more structure or needing to step back and let them do everything, trial and error is the only way to really find the careful balance. I was pretty ready to give up yesterday but luckily I had set up a consultation with a mother from the preschool who works in the drama department at the University or Richmond. She was just what I needed to determine exactly where we currently are and where we need to go. I'm actually really excited now. I can now add play director to my list of newly developing skills.

The Movie

The movie group is a lot of fun. The project is very much a comedy and they love making the movie because of all of the technology involved. At one point I made them go through the tutorial for the software program they are using. They would take turns reading the manual steps to each other while the other tried to follow the directions on the computer. Once they got the hang of it they were so capable.

There have been a few priceless moments of victory. They kept thinking they were ready to film but would notice at the last moment that the set wasn't big enough to cover all of the background and would spend the whole day solving that problem. The next day they would think they were ready to film but then would notice that the lighting wasn't right and left large shadows cast on to the set and would spend the rest of the day solving that problem. Then they started filming but only got a few frames before they had to clean up and then accidentally moved the whole computer which ruined the scene. The next day they would have to start over but things wouldn't work out because they weren't working together very well and couldn't be as efficient as they needed to be. Finally one day I told them that the ONLY way this was going to work is if they worked together so that they could get a whole scene made in a single day. It forced them to develop a system of one person moving the scene while the other worked the computer. They finished the entire scene and then started screaming and shouting and hugging and dancing and laughing and falling on the ground. Priceless.

Then they decided that they had enough time to do another scene. They got 3/4 of the way through the scene and the program mysteriously quit on them. They hadn't used the save button (despite plenty of encouragement to do so) and lost the whole scene. Luckily they were still able to ride the wave of their earlier success and weren't too discouraged. One of them told me, "Well at least we learned an important lesson about the save button!"

I'm curious to see what will happen when this movie is finished. Will they be finished with movies or will they want to use their newly developed skills to communicate about something else. Will they be open to making a film of a different genre? It looks like I can add movie producer and technical support to my list of developing skills.

The Math Book

One student is working on his own project. He LOVES the math puzzle books like Grapes of Math or Math Appeal. He is now making his own book of math puzzles. He lays out blocks or marbles on the floor in groups to think out his puzzles before he puts them on paper. He also labors over the riddle that goes along with the picture and spends a significant amount of time playing with words to produce a rhyme that also provides clues. He shared what he was working on with his peers in a project circle and the other children absolutely cannot wait to get their hands on his puzzles. It is very motivating to have such a visible audience for his book. It looks like I can add editor to my list of newly developing skills.

The House

The house group is making a cardboard doll size house. At first they had a creative frenzy where they worked with materials and discovered new possibilities. They made anything and everything they could think of. The house was full of clutter and they didn't do anything about the aesthetic of the actual structure. Deep down they knew they needed to but kept trying to ignore the need. We had a mother who is an interior designer come in a consult with the group. It was so cute because she would talk about what "designers" do (for example, designers have to think about not always getting their idea done but thinking about what is best for the whole project) and the students instantly inserted themselves into those statements. They INSTANTLY saw themselves as designers. Now, thanks to Cheri's help, they are going back through each room one at a time and making very intentional decisions. They are painting the walls, adding carpet, reinforcing wobbly furniture and deciding what should actually go in each room. It has been an interesting transformation from their old "anything goes" to their new attitude of "only the best and most essential goes". They are only done with half of the house and it is perfect because you can see both sides at the same time to provide a clear before and after picture. We are starting to think about bringing books about different kinds of houses from around the world or taking filed study trips to historic houses here in Richmond or Jamestown to see if we can provoke any movement towards social studies. The topic of houses has the potential to provide a topic for so much interesting research in so many different directions. It looks like I can add architectural researcher to my list of developing skills.

Music

I have also taken on the role of music teacher. For our weekly music study I brought in Peter and the Wolf by Sergei Prokofiev to explore how music helps to tell a story. I thought they would be interested but they responded much more enthusiastically than I had imagined. I'm hoping that we can move into creating music to help tell stories. For example, having students use instruments to provide sounds that match the the characters and action from The Tortoise and the Hare. If the students take to this idea I think it would be fun to break them into groups and give them each a short fable to provide music for. Maybe it would even lend itself to type of genre study and we could move into fairy-tales or something. I'm also curious to see if it sparks the use of music to help tell the story in the play group or movie group. It looks like I can also add musician to my list of developing skills.

The exhausting part is that I have to learn how to put on a play. I have to learn how to make a claymation movie. I have to learn about music. But luckily it is all very satisfying and exciting. The new job is certainly not leaving me bored or looking for new things to try.