The Meandering Path

The journey continues.
The grade 3s were very busy planning their Indigenous communities. The excitement continued            
with students bringing in rope, wood, twigs, homemade games and more! It was amazing
momentum. Then it was March break. We couldn't build prior to the break so we decided to take one period to visit the space and determine which area of shared space would be ideal for creating the community. Students used our social studies resource to reflect and discuss which area is more like the studied communities. How will we build our homes? How will we demonstrate our understanding of how the land was used for food? How will we represent transportation?

"This is like the Anishinabek community because
they lived near the water to catch fish."

"This could be where we store our hunting tools" 

Although the dialogue was rich within the forest,  student behaviours to and from the forest were unsafe and silly. I returned feeling overwhelmed by firefighting (putting out student fires everywhere) and was frustrated.  It was great to have the week off so that I could reflect and rework this plan.

BACK AT IT...
I was so fortunate to attend a session at Brickworks the Friday before March break where I was able to experience multiple teaching strategies  (all in one day) to engage and motivate students. Guess what? They kinda work. LOL
Upon our return from March break, we had a class discussion of the importance of safety and each  community group committed to four goals of what they can do to promote a more safe experience.
We reviewed  expectations and went outside to work on our routines. Our goal was to improve our teamwork skills, attend to tasks and follow listening routines.  My fox feet, eagle eyes and deer ears were out and I integrated various activities:
Walking there- A line game of Hawk & Bunny (someone shared it with me-it worked)
A field game - Seeking shelter from predators in a Beaver Dam or Rabbit Den
Hawk & Mouse game
Nature Hunt
Hawk & Bunny on return back

                      

               We found this. Can we use it for our longhouse?  

What kind of animal poo is this? I think it is a dog.
No it isn't a dog's poo. 

             

                                  Mrs. Mott, this is scat paradise right here! 

Are these seeds? Can we take it inside? 

We came back, had a meditation and then reviewed how it went. How did it feel? It. Felt. Great.

I am struggling with a few things.
I can see the excitement and engagement of our learning outside. They cannot wait to jump in and keep building, collaborating and creating. At the same time I  am thinking of the idea 'never work harder than your students'. I feel I am working tirelessly at trying to keep them focused on the way to and from and throughout group or whole class discussions. It appears that they are so stimulated outside that they just don't want to stop, wait or engage if it means stopping their body. Unfortunately, it is not a free for all.
Did I jump in too fast? Do I continue to revamp lessons and stop and work on specific and necessary skills? At the same time, I realized that I need to acquire more skills to help support our learners for outdoor learning. The workshop at Brickworks came at a perfect time.

I am so happy that we have this knowledge in our building and I enthusiasticly look forward to continuing our learning with only slight trepidation. :)