This is a difficult post for me. I am so torn that this program that I have dedicated thousands of hours to and have considered a part of my role as a CMS teacher is coming to a close. The intensity of my emotions will be difficult to control. I am not even sure how to start my year without kicking off this program.
In any event, as I told the kids on the bus, I can't think of a better group to spend our last Nature's Classroom with. They were the best overall. Thank you for representing Cudahy in a positive way. The Nature's Classroom staff expressed to me that they had a lot of fun with our students. Good job Bulldogs!
I, personally, would like to thank the staff at Nature's Classroom for their patience and flexibility with our students while we were here. For whatever reason, Cudahy has the tendency to struggle with attention and quiet - they like to talk when teachers talk and I'm not sure why. But they worked on it and never gave up.
We witnessed teachers change their lesson based on student understanding. We witnessed teachers pose higher level questions to be sure to reach all learners. We watched teachers be silly and entertaining to our student population.
Thank you Nature's Classroom staff for providing our students with a rich, rewarding, and memorable experience. You are greatly appreciated and respected.
How fitting that our last evening activity is by far one of my favorites - the Underground Railroad. This is one of the most intense simulations we do and by far has the biggest impact on the kids and their understanding of this historical event. They get so scared they hate it yet they love it. Strange, but true. Because the teachers all play a role (and because there is no flash photography for this event), there are no pictures to post. I have a suggestion, though; ask them about it - you will be amazed by their passion.
We began the day with heavy hearts, the stark reminder that this is our last full day. We got off to a great start but we ended up being 2 minutes late for breakfast as we were caught up in the blog. All was well and we moved into our routine.
Today was similar to yesterday in that we had our class choices (The Beast, New Society, Turtle Dissection, Make It Rain, Earth Sculptures, and Storm Chasers).
After a brief break, we headed into the gym to find out our next activity; a simulation. This time it was different. Each student was given an identity. It was then their charge to acquire certain things to survive; they were disadvantaged in some way. They learned quickly how difficult and confusing it can be trying to jump through hoops to meet their employment, housing and financial needs.
It was interesting to listen to them deal with the emotions and frustration they felt.
It has become a middle school tradition to take our group picture on Wednesday. So once again, we embarked on the same adventure. With 72, full of energy and excitement, it was interesting to try to get them into one location, and organized into a photogenic group.
We were successful, as indicated by my victory pose. Sorry but you will have to be patient, the group picture will be my final post.
However, I wanted to share what happened once the photo was done ........
When you think of middle school, there are only a few things that change through the course of a typical day. While you follow the same schedule, see the same teachers, sit near the same classmates, the topic/discussion/concept and how they are presented are the only things different from day to day. Here at Nature's Classroom, no two days are even remotely similar.
We had one bunch of classes to chose from (only one "class" today). Our choices were: Knot Fun, Wagons West, Oh the Drama, Myth or Mythout You, People to People, and Starfish Dissection. See if you can guess which subjects each class represents. Here are a few photos of some of those classes.
By the way, here's our passing time and our "hallways". Be sure to notice that in between our classes, we have time to play!
So instead of another round of classes like yesterday, we were preparing for a whole group simulation. If you're not sure what a simulation is, you might want to Google it. We were in the gym, discussing what we know about the food chain. Students were grouped into leopard frogs, green frogs, tiger beetles, walking sticks, dragon flies, snakes, and two (yes, 2) hawks. We then went to the woods for the biggest game of tag I have ever seen. There were some goals, there were some rules but in the end, if you were tagged by another species, you became them. If you had a red "x" on your cheek, well, you will just have to ask the students. In the end, though, our hawks were the largest group, growing from 2 to about 40. A record occurred during this game, we managed to have a group of frogs and snakes survive!
So onto the evening. Yet another simulation and a first for Cudahy Middle School. This was a new activity called Red Betsy (not sure how they came up with that name) involving consumerism. Our teachers here had the strangest costumes and literally assumed a variety of roles. We each got information on our roles; ranging from people working hard, people who were bartering, and people who were pushing products. It was interesting to hear the students explaining how things changed throughout the simulation; describing supply and demand, economic stressors, and consumer behavior IN THEIR OWN WORDS!
And yet another round of homemade cookies, a glass of milk, a story and a slideshow. All required for a good nights sleep.
One of my favorite features at Nature's Classroom is the farm. It's so much fun watching the kids faces as they see the inside of a chicken coop for the first time. They struggle to catch a chicken to hold but when they succeed, their expression is priceless. Gus and Ernesto (the Nature's Classroom llamas) always spark curiosity and the kids learn real fast that Gus is grumpy and likes to spit. Stay away when he puts his ears back. And inevitably, someone wants to sneak one of the goats home. But what you really need to know - THESE KIDS WORK THE COMPOST PILE. That one always suprises me. Enjoy watching this group explore the farm.
So our second round of classes were a hit as well. We definitely don't miss the brick walls, confining desks, bells, lockers, and cluttered halls. When we walk to class, we walk outside. When we sit down to learn, we sit on the grass. Instead of playing video games, we are taking night hikes and participating in simulations. Ahhhhh, this is the life!
Lots of things happen in twos on Tuesday at Nature's Classroom. One unique "two" this year was to celebrate the birthday of two our students. Happy Birthday, Caroline & Jonathan.
Our day start with a delicious breakfast. Followed by some rounds of stump-the-staff and learning our class choices for today. We then embarked on our 2 hour field group. I don't mean to scare any parents but some groups (3 to be exact) were able to burn the prairie - yes, I said burn. They did an amazing job. If only you could see the manual labor they are willing to perform, I promised them I would keep it to myself.
Being two-for-Tuesday, students will also be choosing 2 classes today. Their first class choices were Zines, Green Machine, Marsh Madness, Lumbrjack Scramble, Trail Blazing, and Kingdonm Come. Those classes will run from 1:30 - 3:00 (yes, 90 minutes). Also, our meals are 1 hour long each.
The second round of classes were Yoga, Tabloid News, Science Fair, Bird is the Word, and Build an Empire. You'd be amazed at the connections they make. They are talking science, literacy, social studies, and math but they never use those actual words. I even heard a few kids refer to physics. Maybe you didn't catch that ,,,,,,, PHYSICS!!!!!! It's utterly amazing and exciting to listen to them go on and on about their classes.
Check back later - more to follow. We have a lot to accomplish today.
Tonights activity was "Quest". Students were presented with 6 different challenges. Some of them were more difficult than others but all of them required them to problem solve and work as a team.
Here's is one activity where the kids had to figure out how to move forward and backward, staying on the timbers at all times.
Have you ever tried to roll a ping pong ball through a PVC pipe? Me neither. How about when it is cut into smaller pieces and you have to walk to your teammate to pass the ping pong ball to him/her? That's when mine would be bouncing all over the gym.
Maybe you are trying to make a wooden structure "walk".
Or, could you lead a blindfolded friend through obstacles using only clear vocal direction?
Whatever challenge you are presented with, it is best to solve it with your team. The more we put our heads together, the more successful we become.
I think we all have some idea of what kids do between classes. Those could range from chatting with friends, trying to get into a locker, or just proceeding to their next class. But here, things are different. Enjoy these photos of what we do between classes.
What a perfect educational environment - allowing kids to choose what they want to learn. What they don't realize is that they are actually picking science, literacy, social studies, and math. It's a perfect way to engage learners. Today's choices were Fire, Fire, Fire!; Dough, Mad Max, Basin Ball, Samurai, and Leader of the Pack. Several kids were disappointed when they learned that classes do not repeat themselves here and this was their one opportunity to try to get the one they want. There are 6 to choose from so they are told to pick their top 6 and hope for the best. Here are some groups picking their afternoon classes.
There are 6 of these groups (Field Groups) where they will be spending a great deal of time working on team problem solving, respect, and cooperation. We are a bit concerned over how chatty they can be - even while a Nature's Classroom teacher is teaching and hope they can turn it around so they don't miss anything. Please enjoy this collection of a field group I joined today.
This group will stay together all week and work for 2 or more hours per day. I will return to this group on Friday. I am so excited to see how they grow as a team and as problem solvers. Great job today!
is that my camera has the wrong date - that will be fixed as soon as I finish this post so please fogive the incorrect date on the pics. I feel it is important to share how it all begins. We report to the auditorium for some boring information. You know, stuff like dorm assignments, field group assignments, and those awful rules. Yuck!
Here they are. Don't they look great?
Once we get through the boring stuff, we transition to the assembly line. They start out thinking "this is cool" but by the 30th piece of luggage or pillow, they seem a bit less enthusiastic.
With Mr. Vandenberg's expert supervision, they did a great job.
This was probably one of the best bus rides yet. Our drivers knew exactly where they were going and poof, we arrived.
