An Amazing Teacher/An Amazing Class

Yesterday I had the good fortune to visit an exceptional grade 1/2 teacher by the name of Jodi Barrett. She follows an inquiry-based approach to teaching and runs a solid program through the use of centres. These centres enable her to differentiate her instruction and allow students to work independently while she sits with small groups for such things as Guided Reading and close support in Math and other areas.

Believe it or not, underneath this gorgeous display from the natural world is her teacher desk. Jodi has put it to better use. I hate my desk. It seems to be fairly useless. I never sit down when the kids are in the class and I tend to just use it for my day planner and paper and book depository.
Her room may be fairly small, but just as Jodi packs a lot of learning into a short amount of time, she packs a lot of things into a small space. Posters hang from strings stretched across the room. Sometimes you have to swish the anchor charts away with your hand, like a beaded curtain.
Here is the cozy reading area you find when you first walk in.


Jodi allows the kids to use the rainstick to transition between centres.

The Art area, strategically located near the sink.


Hands-on learning is evident at the Math centre.

Guess, Write, Check cleverly stored in a duotang. The acetate is used inside for spelling practice. Kids use a dry erase marker. Great idea!
The damp Science station. Here, students are investigating buoyancy. As luck would have it, my Grade 5s are learning buoyancy in Forces right now.


Icons for centres. Jodi said it took a good two months at the beginning of the year to teach the kids how to learn through centres.

There are no traditional desks in the room. The students sit at small table groups as they move through the day.
There work is stored in these dollar store baskets which sit on the table.
Ugly filing cabinet does double duty as it becomes a display counter/extra Art table.
Jodi scavenges for junk for the class. I believe she got the velour arm chair from her hairdresser, who was throwing it out.
Water scenes used to teach symmetry.

Pictures taken and selected by the Grade 1/2s. They wrote captions underneath.

Thanks for the inspiring visit, Jodi!

Exploring Nature at Riverdale Farm

Riverdale Farm is bursting with so much life and beauty that my husband and I have found ourselves taking Duncan there twice within the last week. It's fun, free, and educational. Here's what we saw...

Piglets being fed by a worn-out mother pig.

Ducks mating.

I asked Duncan what he thought this was. He called it an old lighthouse and then we talked it over and he figured it more likely was a silo.

A grumpy new mother.

A turkey about to fan out its back feathers.

An egg size comparison chart with real eggshells.

A beautiful horse.

Loud sheep.

Down the hill away from the farm, we found a swampy pond that fascinated us. We were surprised by the amount of animals illustrated that we actually saw.

A tranquil moment taking it all in. The air was fragrant with earth and flowering trees.

It's good to be a stick in the mud - or at least be playing with one.

Teaching in the outdoor classroom: What happened to this tree? It died. What do you think caused it to die?

Should I?

Yes!

Tulips in bloom all around.

Great blue heron.

Toads galore.

Turtles everywhere, bathing in the sun.

Sadly, we discovered this turtle who had died. Duncan turned it over with a stick to have a look at its underbelly. I briefly considered bringing it home, but we decided it was best to leave it where it was. Perhaps it would become food for another animal. I think it's good to see the whole life cycle and talk about it - even with a young child.

Everyday sunshine.

Those Cranky High School Teachers!

Alright, I finally made it to the TDSB Art workshop: "Understanding Contemporary Art." It was run by a very knowledgeable instructor and she did a good job of talking to a bunch of art teachers about a BIG topic that's difficult to encapsulate in one evening. She sped through the last hundred years or so in modern art, and then went into a great deal of detail on four current contemporary artists working in different disciplines: Janet Cardiff, Kent Monkman, El Anatsui, and an Iranian photographer whose name escapes me without my notebook handy.

I was the only primary teacher in attendance and I wish some friendly Grade 3 teacher had come along. If you're a secondary teacher who happens to be reading this - I'm sure there are plenty of friendly, funny high school teachers out there, so don't take offense. There just weren't any happy people at this workshop. It was raining outside and the mood inside was grim and humourless. Lot's of chin stroking and astute observations. A few times, I felt like yelling, "Someone tell a joke. Please!" Nevertheless, I learned a few things, so it was worthwhile.

I passed the break time by taking pictures of the street scene below.

El Anatsui's work is pretty amazing. Watch the YouTube clip to hear him explain how he makes his art. This was the highlight of the evening for me.

There was a piece of installation art in the school, which I thought was beautiful and mysterious. If you're able to read the sign above, you'll see that it was a collaborative piece and their goal was to transform a space.

They used chains of garbage bags suspended from the ceiling, small mirrors, lights, and twigs.

The space was haunting and lonely.

Professional Development Walk of Shame

Since Christmas, I've been afflicted by a condition I call Livingaweekinadvance-itis. I think it's a combination of general stress, paranoia and guilt that I haven't done something that I should have done, or done something I wasn't supposed to do. I've turned into a character in a Woody Allen movie. What's this world coming to? Time to move to the woods and spend my days milking cows.

I'm a big believer in professional development. Anything to learn new ways to teach or gain skills. So last Wednesday, I raced from my school in Scarborough to an art school on Adelaide West. I thought I was there for Understanding Contemporary Art.

When I walked in, I see this gaunt and jaundiced looking Lenin guy in the hallway. He whispered to me.

"Go back sweetheart. You're at the wrong workshop!"

"Really."

"Okay. You're going in. Don't say I didn't warn you. Fool!"

I go in, admiring the streetscape below. After about ten minutes of idle chit-chat with my fellow students, I realize I've turned up to some sort of secondary school master arts class for genius artists. The woman facilitating the workshop tells me that there will be pizza and that I should stay. I can't believe I fell for the cheap promise of pizza. I was hungry.

The first activity was pretty cool. We were to choose three random objects from a pile and create three drawings using a sheet of prompts such as: Two objects are giving the other object the cold shoulder. My stomach was gripped with panic as I reluctantly grabbed a conté stick or whatever it's called. I hear my student empowerment speech running through my head: "Believe in yourself. You can do it!" I also hear another voice. "Don't be an idiot. Run dummy. Run!"

As my esteemed colleagues began smudging pastels creating brilliant artistic effects, I traced the rubber glove and clothes peg. The instructor walks by. "You have a nice, light touch." I wanted to stuff the sheet of paper down my pants and run out the door, but I soldiered on to my next picture. It was then that the instructor began hanging everyone's work. Here's what I saw...

Twisted, genius smudgy teddy bear.

Brilliant droopy Q-tip leaning on a jug.

I went to the window and took a picture, secretly wondering if there was a pole I could shimmy down like Lucille Ball. The masterpieces kept going up.

My work was so unbearably awful. Even the kind-hearted instructor had the grace not to insist that I hang my "art." She knew it was a dog's breakfast. I just need a lot of training, I told myself.

Just as they were about to move to the next activity, I rolled up my sheets and bolted. Down on Adelaide, I dumped my art into the nearest blue bin. Ahh, closure.

Next week I go the the theoretical workshop, which I hope will cause less anxiety.

Here's another stroke of genius: The Upside Down Show - the most awesome kids' show ever. Of course, it was cancelled.