Today, the members of CCC met and were extremely productive (and creative!)
Our day began as we designed our journals by upcycling. Upcycling is a way of recycling old items by using them and not disposing or recycling them. The journals looked great! Having our students do something like this instills a sense of pride and ownership in them. As educators, we are always looking for ways for our students to be proud of themselves and their work.
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| Our "upcycled" journals! |
We reviewed the art of the Zen Square and discussed various ways that we can incorporate these into our classrooms. The Zen Square is a wonderful way for children (and adults) to bring their minds into focus, also, it is a great way to relieve stress!
Afterwards, we went on a brief nature walk. We were looking for items to add to our "pocket museums" (portions of an egg carton).
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| Kim filling her pocket museum. |
We brought back flowers, leaves, berries and other elements of nature. Back in the classroom, we took some time to really look into the details. Using a variety of lenses, we were able to see in-depth! Using nature as our model, we wrote poems about one piece and shared them with each other.
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| Heather studies her specimen. |
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| Stacy & Kim use a variety of lenses to investigate! |
One-Line Drawings are another way to activate our brains and ensure focus. Participants were led through a series of prompts to draw: a cat, bicycle, elephant, flowers in vase and toilet (that's right). It was great to see and share our efforts.
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Joy showcasing her work.
Blind Contours are a way to activate both sides of our brains! In this activity, we each drew the person sitting across from us. The first time with our non-dominant hand and the second time, with our dominant hand. It is quite interesting to see how much better the work comes out with our non-dominant hand. It is because we are so much more focused and dedicated to making it work. With our "writing" hand, we take advantage that we know how to draw the person.
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There is actually some research that doodling is productive. In the article, "Doodling Helps You Pay Attention," we read about a study conducted focusing on doodling. In the study, it was found that the people that doodled, were actually more focused on the discussion, rather than the ones who did not.
Study: Doodling Helps You Pay Attention
As a group, we discussed what really constitutes doodling as opposed to students who are drawing elaborate scenes involving characters.
To wrap up our day, we watched a brief video on creating the "60 Second Squash Booklet." Creating booklets, especially when they take seconds to create, with our students is another way to get them excited about subject matter. Being a group of various educators, 3rd and 4th grade teachers and Special Education teachers from the middle school, it was interesting to hear how we would be able to use the small books in a variety of classes in different grades. From weather observations to writing down strong adjectives to math formulas, there are definitely ways to incorporate the booklets into the classroom.
Overall, the day was very productive and the teachers each offered energy to the other. It was very positive and uplifting!
