day two: may-day! may-day!
today started with a group of supremely attitudinal 4th and 5th graders; a different group than the ones i had yesterday. (there are 6 groups total. each day we spend 2 sessions with 2 different groups. some we will have once or twice a week. others, 2-3 times.) the first hour (with these kids) was an hour of finger pointing and just plain unruliness. so, instead of playing games and doing activities, i had them write. since you are having a problem with respect, for yourself and others, write 5 things you like about yourself. LOAD GROANS. "okay miss," they plead. "we'll play." (you'd think i'd asked them to lick the floor. at that age, i guess anything would be better than saying what they actually like about themselves, right?) after being FORCED to recite one of the "likes" in a circle, i gave them the excruciating task of picking a classmate's name from a bag and saying one nice thing about the person they chose. DOUBLE GROAN. but after each student said what they liked about the person they picked, i said what i liked about the student as well. but time was up and, by then, we had worked ourselves into something that actually looked productive.
maybe it is because by the 2nd hour, the kids are just too damn tired to be interested but somehow 2nd and 3rd graders were the most challenging. they were my 2nd session of the afternoon. at this age, they aren't quite as manageable as older kids and they aren't as easily captivated as younger kids. i had to actually order one child to a desk to put his head down. several others would talk almost IMMEDIATELY after i tell them to stop. Oy vay!!! i finally gave up and took them to the playground.
i am REALLY going to sit down this weekend and to plan next week's activities. no more white flags for me. (but plenty of PRAYER, man. prayer.)
3 comments:
cheese an rice! self-respect activities for 4th and 5th graders? wow! but maybe kinda ambitious to have them write 5 things (1 or 2 is painful enough!) and you back-doored them with the say-something-nice-about-somebody-else idea? no wonder you got the grumbles and groans "lick the floor"?? wuhman, you muss be mad!! what a tough crowd, FOR REEAL!! when exactly do they mellow out? high school?!? but by then they have a whole bunch more issues!
wow, jameri, i would beg to differ. (you make it sound like i did something bad or corrupt. that's the first time i've heard such a response.) interestingly, as the activity went along, it was really a nice change for all of us. i could see it in their faces and hear it in their voices. and the "back door" was the perfect way to actually lay a compliment on them. (i am sure they are far too accustomed people telling them who they aren't and and what's not good about them.) they actually had a class mate say something nice about them ("he's a good friend... she has on nice shoes... i like her hair...") and then i immediately followed with my own compliment for the student. i am hoping this kind of activity might impact them such that in high school, these kinds of thoughts aobut themselves won't be so hard (or painful) to access. i wish someone had done it for me.
oh, i'm so sorry! i didn't mean to come off so strong (just read my comment -- i sound cRaZy!!) i think my attention was focused on your kids' reaction to you and how they balked at the activity with moans and groans. i really meant to show my support of the way you were reaching out to them. in fact i LOVED the ideas you used. (it reminded me of when i worked with my middle school groups: we gave 2 "put-ups" for every "put-down")
i'm sorry that i came off so negatively. i like how you are trying to reach these kids in a new way, one that they never had with an adult before. good for you. and good for them!
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