The Odyssey Initiative

Our education system is flawed in a major way. It's something we're all aware of, and something we talk about, but so few people are actually taking action to change it. I was so excited when I heard about my college friend Michelle's new project, The Odyssey Initiative.

This September, Michelle and her colleagues will tour the 50 states to visit some of the country's best schools and classrooms. They'll observe, document, and showcase (on their website), the best teaching practices used by the best teachers in America. They're hoping other teachers will use their site and implement some of the country's teacher's best practices into their own work.

In order to make this happen, they're raising funds on their Kickstarter page. They've only got a month left to raise money for this amazing journey. Check it out and support in whatever way you can!

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Guest Blogger: Victoria Zagarino

Victoria Zagarino is currently the Assistant Exhibition Coordinator at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, California. Having always thought of things a little bit differently than others, she was thrilled when she realized that physically experiencing objects and art from the past encourages a kind of critical thinking that she could relate to. One of her favorite things to do is to get people excited about discovering something for the very first time.


          It’s April! Students everywhere are starting to get serious about their end of school countdowns. There’s nothing better to a kid than a summer off from school, but it is not always easy for their parents. I am not a parent myself, but I have heard a countless number of working adults complain and be anxious about what they are going to do to keep their kids busy over the summer. There are tons of trendy summer camp options available, but just because they are trendy does not mean that they are affordable or enriching.

           If I may, I’d like to suggest a little known option to parents searching for summer camps: museum summer camps. I have not only served as a museum summer camp counselor in the past, but also have the privilege of working at a museum with a stellar summer camp program.  In my opinion, museums are an untapped resource for families of all ages and sizes.  Museums, especially local museums, are increasingly becoming involved in their communities in so many different ways. The time of the stuffy museum that can only be visited by “art people” is over. Speaking as a museum professional who has worked in several different kinds of institutions, both on the East and West Coasts, I can say with certainty that museums truly are striving to reach a broader audience. Most importantly, museums want to provide visitors of all ages with a unique way to experience history, culture, art and life. Where else could a child go on an archaeological dig for pottery shards from an ancient civilization, learn about Romare Bearden’s collages and go on to create their own interpretation of collage, or watch and take part in a Pacific Island spiritual ritual?

Museums benefit from the increasing dependence on technology in many ways, but regardless of how much technology is incorporated in exhibitions, they offer an incredibly important opportunity to visitors that they cannot get anywhere else. That is the chance to physically experience a piece of art or an object created by a different people in a different culture. Having face time with objects and art encourages people to interpret them critically and strive to achieve a point of mutual understanding. When learned at a young age, these skills can be so very valuable to a child’s understanding of life and human interaction.

Regardless of the opportunities offered through a camp, museum campers will undoubtedly have an experience that many other children of their age will be missing out on. I encourage you, both parents and individuals without children, to investigate the programing options at museums in your area. Or, try something different and take a visit to a museum you have not been to in a while. An enlightening experience is there, waiting just for you.     

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Live Colorfully

It's not often that children's media takes cues from fashion, but there's one fashion campaign that I found completely inspiring this year: Kate Spade's Year of Color. Each month, the company debuted a different color with a full line of bags, clothing, and accessories designed around it.

In addition to a fully developed fashion line, they issued an original art print and short film inspired by the color. More than any other current company, I see Kate Spade making an effort to incorporate the arts into their work. Their commissioned originals introduced me to new illustrators, graphic designers, and film makers.





Each month Kate Spade inspired me to "Live Colorfully." This is a lesson I hope to infuse into my creative work for young people. If I had a classroom, I could see myself building a curriculum around the phrase and having it up on a wall as a reminder.

This is a lesson easier said than done. Being original and colorful means taking risks, making sacrifices, and believing in yourself day in and day out. I think I learned all those things this year.

Thanks, Kate Spade!

all photos and videos via Kate Spade New York
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How do you get juice in a juice box?

My former students continue to be points of inspiration for me and my work. Kids are naturally brilliant and imaginative individuals. The teachers at the Massachusetts school I worked at let the students drive the curriculum, allowing for the work done in the classroom to be both meaningful and playful.

While on a visit to see my former colleagues, both big and small, I came across a recent research study conducted by the Kindergarten. They wanted to know how juice got into juice boxes.

Together with their teachers, they developed a list of questions that they had about this miracle of culinary science and brainstormed group hypothesis. Individually, the students drew and dictated a hypothesis for a 4-step process of how the juice got in the boxes.

Together, during choice time,they played with colored water and empty juice boxes trying to physically figure out how to get the juice in. They created their own juice boxes at the art table. Finally, they watched this great video clip together.


The teachers told me they plan to visit a factory so the children can see the creation of packaged food products first-hand.

5% concentrate. 95% awesome.

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Myrtle the Turtle

Over the summer, I was obsessed with sea turtles. My inner child screamed for a chance to realize her marine biology dreams, so I took her on a trip to the New England Aquarium. Inspired by Myrtle, their aged sea turtle, I began telling stories to my students about an old sea turtle who spoke to children to try to escape aquarium life. They ate it up, and Myrtle became a regular part of our day.

I began to think that Myrtle had something special. I started dreaming up a mini web series about the character and even had my good friend Richie Rosencrans LINK create some turtle music.I edited it together with some video footage of my aquarium trip, and created a trailer To get you excited and get me motivated.

Please click through to check out the piece on Vimeo.

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Tufts Center for Engineering Education and Outreach

After posting a link to my experiment with stop-motion animation, I received an email from Ethan Danahy at the Center for Engineering Education and Outreach at Tufts University. He encouraged me to try out the center's SAM Animation It seemed really interesting, and I wanted a chance to learn more about the center before officially leaving Tufts.

I had the pleasure of meeting Danahy this July. He took me on a full tour and shared information about the center's work with me. I kept thinking, "Why am I just finding this place now?" I would have loved the opportunity to work with them throughout my graduate studies. They are truly amazing!

Turns out, I did work with CEEO. They run a LEGO program called STOMP, which introduces engineering and robotics concepts to school-aged children (schools, home schools, and camps) using LEGOS. STOMP engineers visited my Kindergarten class in 2010. They loved working with the engineers and really adopted the process of designing, building, and testing their work. This program seems to be the center's most popular. The center has partnered with LEGO to develop engineering education programs.

Now onto SAM. SAM is a program that assists in stop-motion animation. It was developed at the center and used primarily to teach science and engineering concepts. It seems like the perfect STEM tool. I'm excited to experiment with it myself, just for fun. There is a version available online for free! You can read more about SAM, watch some videos, and get the program here.

Danahy gave me a tip about doing stop-motion in the future: the quality isn't necessarily your software, but your camera and your lighting. He recommended using a webcam and attaching it to a stand that the center helped design. Teachers can purchase classroom kits that allow stop-motion animation work to be part of the learning day. I think the program would be particularly interesting for New York City teachers who use the Moving Image Arts Blueprint.

CEEO's products are "research informed and classroom tested." Definitely check out the center and experiment with SAM. Feel free to post links to your SAM experiments here!

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Craft: Fireflies

This summer, I learned an awesome, new craft from one of the other teachers. We were studying fireflies, so decided to help the students create their own fireflies out of recycled water bottles. I decided to try this out at home with my cousins.

1. Tape the very bottom of your water bottle with painter's tape or masking tape.

2. Paint the water bottle with acrylic paint, any way you'd like.

3. Once the paint has dried, create wings for your firefly. You may want to use construction paper, pipe cleaners, beads, etc. Elmer's glue should be able to hold your wings on, or an adult can help with hot glue.

4. You can use googly eyes or draw a face on your bottle cap.

5. Peal off your tape, and drop in a glow stick!

Enjoy!

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King Bidgood's Bathtub Lesson

Two weeks ago, I said goodbye to my students and Massachusetts friends. I'm glad to be home, but I think I miss my students most. I enjoyed working at the school and learning from the children. I absolutely learned something new from them every day!

Our summer preschool group did a pretty great project that I wanted to share. Have you heard of King Bidgood's in the Bathtub? It's the story of a king who is in his fancy bathtub and just won't get out. He eats, plays, and meets in the tub. Our group loved this story!

After we read the story, we decided to use clay to create a giant bathtub. The children then created items from the story to put in the tub. Once the clay was fired, painted, and fired, we recreated the story and put the items into the tub until it was filled. The children were also able to take their clay creations home with them at the end of the week.

Clay is an amazing medium for children to work with. This year I saw preschoolers work with clay for over 30 minutes just created and destroying different shapes. It takes a great deal of focus and energy and can be a lot of fun. Try it out!

If I were to do this again, I might use a sensory table as the bathtub. The clay bathtub takes some time to create and a lot of space in the kiln to fire.

You can get your copy of the book here!

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Thank you note from a camper...

Christina,
I love you so much. I just want to see you next time when I'm five in my next class. Goodbye. See you later.

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Frank the Ladybug

This June, I received an adorable, knit ladybug finger puppet as a gift from my head teacher. I knew there was a character in that little puppet, and I hoped to put together a short video piece for this month on the blog. However, I realized I wanted to do a little testing with the puppet first. I had to do some ladybug research, see what educators were already doing with ladybugs, and try the puppet out in my summer camp classroom. We spent last week investigating bugs, and it was the perfect time.

I learned that ladybugs are beetles who are called ladybirds in England. For whatever reason, I found it surprising that there are male ladybugs as well as females. I'm 26...I should have thought about that before. The name is really deceiving, and I didn't want my students to go through life thinking ladybugs were cute, girly bugs. They are kick-ass flying beetles who sometimes create infestations...that's big stuff!

I named my ladybug Frank and gave him a gruff, cab driver voice. This surprised the children and made them giggle. Though Frank was on my finger the whole time, the children maintained strong eye contact with the character and seemed to differentiate when I was talking as Christina and when Frank was talking.

Frank introduced a new song to the group. I found this tune on YouTube, and I promise it sounds much cuter when Frank and I sing it. I found it was successful with the children because the "repeat after me" style helps them sing and recall the lyrics.



Oh, ladybug! Oh, ladybug! Oh won't you be my friend?

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Bubbles!

While prepping for this week's summer camp, I was reminded of how much I love bubbles. Did you see the picture? I am serious about making bubbles!

We created a batch of our own bubble solution on Friday and stored it over the weekend. The longer it sits, the better! On Monday morning, we poured some of our solution into the outdoor sensory table and brought out the gigantic bubble wands. I have NEVER seen such huge bubble wands. Childhood has definitely improved since 1991.

Here's the recipe we use:
2/3 cup dishwashing soap (Joy or Dawn seem to have magical powers)
1 gallon water

Glycerine kicks it up a notch. Some recipes recommend 2 to 3 tablespoons.

Enjoy!

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Plan Toys

I was introduced to PlanToys last week while meeting with my head teacher. I was intrigued and decided to do some investigating. They seem very committed to being "green," safety, and child development. Below is the description I found on their website:
"PlanToys® is proving that it is possible to maintain superior quality and safety standards in addition to following a path of environmental and social responsibility. We are committed to maintaining the highest standard of ethics while creating innovative educational toys for every developmental stage of childhood. These toys inspire children's imagination as well as promoting their physical and intellectual development. PlanToys® are made from non-toxic, natural materials such as organic rubberwood. Our toys enable children to play, learn and become closer to nature."

My head teacher picked a few of these toys up for next year's classroom at this month's NAEYC professional development institute.

This one is my favorite! I can imagine using it during a meeting and singing a song about monkeys hanging on a tree, then putting it out as a choice!

What happens when you start stacking and matching shapes?

You make a clown!

I got to test one of the toys. The mallet can make a pretty loud noise, which might bother some children. A hard push with one's hand will get you the same result!

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The Last Day of School

When I applied to Tufts, I thought I would take a chance and apply to be a graduate teaching assistant at the child development department's lab school. Though I had student taught at NYU, I never considered being a real classroom teacher. I accepted the position in 2009 and started to realize that this gig was teaching me more about child development than I was learning in the department. The Children's School is a Utopian environment with a beautiful natural playground, brilliant teachers, and involved families. The catch of accepting this job is that it's a strict two-year commitment.

Today is my final day during the school's regular year. Though I'll be staying on to work there through July, I can't help but feel as if this is a big goodbye.

We had an amazing year! I primarily taught a two-day/week preschool program. There the head teacher and I focused on creating social experiences for the children and building a community. In addition, I was able to develop a unit around Where the Wild Things Are. We read the book in English, re-read it in Spanish trying to decipher the key words of the story, created Wild Things masks out of paper plates and small found objects, played "Max Says" (like Simon Says but including "Wild Rumpus," which means everyone has to dance, and "Be Still," was meant everyone had to freeze), and we created a dramatic play space to resemble the Wild Things' forest. I learned how much more care preschoolers need in the classroom, but I also learned how FUN preschool can be. Painting, bike-riding, sand play, baby dolls, a reading corner, clay art, songs and games: can I go back to preschool?

I spent the rest of my week in the Extended Day program for children ages 3 to 6. We focused on family culture and the circus! The year-long circus curriculum was unreal. My head teacher, fellow GTA, and I are currently thinking about how we can use our year of circus to develop a publication, perhaps a curriculum guide. Our year culminated in a circus presented for the school under our very own big top. I think circus supports confidence and creativity among children, and that was certainly the case for our students. Here's a picture of Caryn, Jacquelyn, and I after our big circus debut!


I strongly encourage all academics to take a step out of their comfort zone and into a classroom. You might just learn something.

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