Reflect on the activities for GKC at Avery. What was your favorite part of the week? What was your challenge? What needs to improve? Comment on at least one person's post.
I feel that this week went so much better than last time... The teachers last time at JW Reason Elementary were very positive and loved GKC, but I think the atmosphere of Kindness Week was only generated when we were in the room. This time, Avery Elementary was all about Kindness Week. The students actually performed the activities on their Kindness Checklists at home and on the playground, and were excited about each day's lesson. My favorite thing about it all was having the same class each day, so that I built a bond with the students. I was able to actually talk to the students about their out-of-school activities and carry conversations across multiple days to build a great relationship. Because of this, the students responded more positively to me this time. My main challenge was figuring out how to put an abstract (but basic) concept in to words that a 6 year old could understand. I think I handled it okay, but it helped to have Emily and Cassie in the room, because they're very good at speaking to elementary students. Overall, if we did it again I would probably just have some prepared phrases that I could always fall back on to use as mottos. At JW, I constantly asked the students, "when's the best time to be kind?" to which they always shouted "Every time!" or "Always!" If I had done that this week, it might have helped to drill the concepts in better. In the end, it was a good week; definitely better than last round at JW. The students at Avery really embraced the ideas and were more creative, showing that this really mattered to them. Two of my second graders started a Kindness Club at recess, where "the only rule is that you have to be kind." Nowhere in this world will you find that kind of purity but an elementary classroom.
I feel that this week went so much better than last time... The teachers last time at JW Reason Elementary were very positive and loved GKC, but I think the atmosphere of Kindness Week was only generated when we were in the room. This time, Avery Elementary was all about Kindness Week. The students actually performed the activities on their Kindness Checklists at home and on the playground, and were excited about each day's lesson. My favorite thing about it all was having the same class each day, so that I built a bond with the students. I was able to actually talk to the students about their out-of-school activities and carry conversations across multiple days to build a great relationship. Because of this, the students responded more positively to me this time. My main challenge was figuring out how to put an abstract (but basic) concept in to words that a 6 year old could understand. I think I handled it okay, but it helped to have Emily and Cassie in the room, because they're very good at speaking to elementary students. Overall, if we did it again I would probably just have some prepared phrases that I could always fall back on to use as mottos. At JW, I constantly asked the students, "when's the best time to be kind?" to which they always shouted "Every time!" or "Always!" If I had done that this week, it might have helped to drill the concepts in better. In the end, it was a good week; definitely better than last round at JW. The students at Avery really embraced the ideas and were more creative, showing that this really mattered to them. Two of my second graders started a Kindness Club at recess, where "the only rule is that you have to be kind." Nowhere in this world will you find that kind of purity but an elementary classroom.