We had 5 parents show up (and had 5 groups of kids) and it was so helpful and fun to have them there! I think the kids really enjoyed having their parents there to see what they do in school. Plus, it's always fun not to hear the same 2 adults talk every day (referring to Jen and I).
We began by reviewing what we did yesterday and then we split back up into our groups. Jen went ahead and cut open our pumpkins before the lesson so once the kids were in their groups, we let them look inside the pumpkin and see if they wanted to change their prediction of how many spoonfuls of seeds their pumpkin had. And then it was time to gut them! A very hands-on activity to say the least. Of course we heard a lot of "Eww!" and "This feels so weird!", but they seemed to really be enjoying it :)
After all of the pumpkin guts were out, the kids separated the seeds into a pile and took turns taking spoonfuls and counting them. The parents did an awesome job of helping them stay organized. Some of them were even asking the kids higher-level thinking questions - so props to them :)
Once each group finished with their pumpkin and recorded the results, we gave them an extra pumpkin to gut (because we had so many donated!). Then we came back together and talked about our results as a class, finished our reflection questions individually, and shared some of our thoughts.
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| Separating their seeds :) |
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| Group #2 attempting to gut their pumpkin. |
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| One of our parents working with the kids to count how many spoonfuls of seeds was in their pumpkin! |
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| This pumpkin weighed around 26lbs! This group of girls had a lot of seeds to scoop :) |
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| Separating the seeds from the pumpkin 'guts' |
I loved this lesson because not only was it fun, but it was engaging AND meaningful. I'd like to think this is something they'll remember even when they get to be my age - I know I still remember great lessons from when I was in grade school. I also think it's a great way to get the parents to see my role in the classroom. They were able to see that I actually teach and I'm not simply an 'assistant'. :)
After the lesson, one of my boys told Jen something along the lines of, "I love when Ms. Schletzer teaches! She's going to be a great teacher someday!"...of course when Jen told me that I couldn't help but feel good (and love that kid just a little bit extra ;) ) It's always great to hear such positive feedback from the kids because they're brutally honest, but also it lets me know I'm doing my job well :) Of course, Jen has taught me very well so far and I can't wait to see what else I learn from her!
Btw, I also had the kids do Halloween Madlibs for morning work - they loved it and wanted to do it every day! A great way to incorporate grammar :) They loved sharing their stories with the class too!
And lastly, I made it out alive during my lead week. I think I've become a much stronger teacher within this one week and I think the kids are really starting to respect me as a teacher too. It's a great feeling! Next stop...fall break :) (well, starting next week ;) )
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