This post is from the talented Haydee Thompson. When not studying science or doing dishes, Haydee is an actress with the Open Dream Ensemble. We are fortunate to have her as a member for the fifth year. This season she also takes up the post of Residency Manager.
So our first residency has ended and I am enjoying my first real weekend at home catching up on laundry and many other household chores.
We spent the last two weeks at Shuford Elementary in Conover NC. This year we are teaching the new science curriculum that will be in effect next school year.
Everyday, four different grades and four different science subjects, amounting to close to 40 separate lesson plans. PHEW! The troupe and I have a joke that if its not in the curriculum we just don't know. We had the pleasure of teaching everything from as far out as the universe to tiny seeds, and that was just the third grade. Add the water-cycle,
life-cycle, ecosystems, genetics, volcanoes, fossils, (the list does go on and on), and I find myself actually relearning a thing or two! The challenges were creating fun and effective experiential activities for each days focus. The reward was certainly the enthusiasm of the kids and the obvious learning and understanding that was apparent. It takes a lot of work to have fun, and although the dirty dishes in my sink might not think so, all this hard work is well worth it.
No comments:
Post a Comment