My first day

My first day with the kids was really something. When we were on our way to the school there was a tree on the road blocking the way, one of the guys that was on my team had to get out of the car to move the thing.

I was working with 4th graders and they were all really excited to be there. I had four kids on my team. The first thing that i did with my team was i took them i got very serious and i told them i was going to ask them the most serious question that anybody would ever ask them. They got silent and i think they got a bit scared, adn so i looked at them and i said "what is your favorite icecream?" They all laughed and relaxed and answered the question.

We were playing a game called lava walk and they didnt work very well together at first. They were all talking at once and they weren't listening to each other. I tried to get them to listen but they were a bit difficult. When they first started the game they struggled. I didnt give them any help i just said they needed to work as a team. After a bit they started working together and they almost won the game but one of the kids touched the floor so they had to start all over and another team won.

Ny team didn't complete the task, But i think they were working really well together. At the end of the day however when it was obvious that they were going to lose they all quit and i felt like they were falling to the ground on purpose just to get a laugh. The gym teacher also noticed this and called one of the kids over and asked him if he was doing it on purpose, i felt bad that the kid was singled out like that. When we were having the discussions they were all saying they were frustrated and that they needed to work better as a team.

Overall i had a good time. I think i got a good set of kids and i hope that the rest of the nine wekks are as fun as it was today.

-Jessica R

Comments

[reshma]

Hey Jessica
I really liked your posting. You offered alot of information about your experience.It was cute how you made them laugh to break the ice. Laughter is alwyas a good way to start conversation and ease the anxiety. I was just wondering when it became apparent that your kids were purposely loseing how did it made you feel as a teacher? what did you do? Did you try to motivate them to try again? If yes, how so? Also, I was wondering why did you feel bad for the kid that was singled out? Wasn't he purposely sabotaging his team? I think he needed to be talked to because the way he acts influences the way the other students think about the program and the activities.

[Jessica_Rosario]

When it became obvious that my kids were falling off the lava stones on purpose at first I got mad because I didn't want to feel like i was wasting my time or that the kids were wasting their time. I told them that there was still plenty of time to try and finish the activity. I kept gathering them up and talking to them to try to get them to think of new ideas to finish the task.
I felt like toward the end of the session they worked ok as a group, they were listening to each other and working well together but they gave up and there was nothing else i could do to try and get them to finish the task.
I felt bad for the kid that was singled out because he seemed like he was about to cry and i hate seeing kids cry.

[Shotokan]

I hear you on the kids crying piece of your experience. For me, when children cry-like women- I feel an innate desire to intervene and help in whatever way I can and make the problem go away. Crying can be a release for kids. It excercises the eyes and can provide a child (or adult) a fresh look at the problem at hand.

[Online Dating Service]

Kids are really fun especially when you have time bonding with each other like my kids. Keep posting interesting matters here. Looking forward to it. Thanks and keep it up!