Yesterday we recreated a class Passover meal, commonly known as the Seder meal. The students signed up to bring items in and all had reading parts. Some were specific roles and the others were the "all" role. The students did a great job and really took it as a learning experience. The items they were able to taste were: turkey meat ( symbolic of lamb), bitter herbs ( endive), Matzoh crakers, charoset ( apples, honey, walnuts and cinnamon) and horseradish. Some of the kids LOVED the meal, others couldn't really see why people would eat this. We discussed that the meal was supposed to be symbolic of the bitter and sad times of slavery for the Hebrews and the time that they had to spend exiting Egypt.
There was a great deal of charoset left over so Bella was kind enough to make us some pies with it! We are going to eat them today and enjoy the memories of the freeing of the Hebrews.
My favorite two parts of the event was the fact that the kids get to learn about the history of the Hebrews and the fact that the students were so grateful for the event. I have done this activity for 7 years and I've never had so many kids say thank you after the event. It was very touching! Thank you to all of my 6th graders for their thoughtfulness!
Miss B :)
Friday, February 26, 2010
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
We're Back and Ready for Change!
We have been back to school now for 2 days and I find it challenging to keep the Caritas spirit alive. The kids are already grunting about being in groups with people who are not their "friends". This is the biggest challenge of coming home. The kids will always have the wonderful memories of camp and how they came to understand how to accept everyone around them, but when they return to school they tend to fall back into their old habits. I will continue to work on it until it becomes more natural.
We are beginning to make our I-Movies about camp, focusing on the ideas of S.O.N.G. ( Self, Others, Nature, God). The students are working in their hiking groups and I have definitely joined them "Caritas Style". I am so excited to see these videos and will hopefully be able to load them up to this blog, if I can figure that out!
Well, it's off to the piles on my desk, but I will keep everyone posted on the exciting events happening in 6th grade! Happy Wednesday!
Miss B :)
We are beginning to make our I-Movies about camp, focusing on the ideas of S.O.N.G. ( Self, Others, Nature, God). The students are working in their hiking groups and I have definitely joined them "Caritas Style". I am so excited to see these videos and will hopefully be able to load them up to this blog, if I can figure that out!
Well, it's off to the piles on my desk, but I will keep everyone posted on the exciting events happening in 6th grade! Happy Wednesday!
Miss B :)
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
New Beginnings
Today is the first day of the rest of sixth grade... or so to speak! We are up at camp and having a BLAST! The children are soaking it all in. I've seen them making new friends with their own classmates as well as the kids from other schools. I can see the changes already starting to happen within them. It's an amazing week to be a part of and I wish there was a way for all of the families to be "flies on the wall" up here... or maybe "critters in the forest"!
When we arrived on Monday it was clear that they were going to have a great time up here. OLMC was first to arrive and then SLOT (St. Lawrence O'Toole) showed up soon after. The kids got settled into their cabins and began their hiking adventures. Some were still hesitant but I could see them beginning to embrace the idea! Dinner that night was barbeque chicken, white rice and veggies with corn bread. They were STARVING! They really enjoyed it and then especially liked the chocolate pudding for dessert! After dinner we enjoyed a campfire where they could be silly, dance and sing! Bedtime came around 10pm. The kids were sleepy but also excited about all that had happened the first day.
Tuesday was a new day and a new theme. The kids were going to take their first hike of the week and the theme was community. I chose to go with a group and we went down to the creek. We had a great time, hiking and learning about the environment and how everything is hitched to everything else in this world. The kids had a fun time trying to come up with one thing that was not connected to us in this world and they never did. Everything tied back to us and one student made a great statement: "Everything is connected to us because God made everything and God made us so we are all connected!" It's great to see what they have learned back in the classroom come to life up here in conversations with their adventure groups. At one point we went up a very steep (but safe) hill and I wasn't sure I was going to make it. All of my students from OLMC were at the top encouraging me and offering to help! Even thought I needed to get on my hands and knees to make it up parts, I did it and it was so special to see the kids at the top supporting me and congratulating me for my success. This is why I teach 6th grade. These moments are what make all the hard work worth it. After our hikes the kids got to do electives: archery, gaga ball, arts and crafts and creative writing. The kids LOVED these activities even though they were hoping sleep was one of their choices for electives! (THEY WERE POOPED!) After the electives was free time, a chance for them to shower, rest, write letters and get relaxed. Dinner was spaghetti, salad and bread.. YUMMY! Then it was time to prepare for the night hike! You could tell the nerves were high, but they all did a great job and supported each other through the fear. You could see the pride on their face at the end of it! Bed time was 9:30pm and they were soooo sleepy! The boys were definitely quieter than the girls cabins, but the girls didn't seem to care... they were happier being chatty with each other and bonding over girl talk, while the boys like to be mellow and relax before bed. Eventually... they all got to sleep!
Wednesday is here and today was a creek study day. After breakfast (breakfast burritos) the kids had a chance to meet with their class and me to review the week so far and make graffiti sheets. They will receive these when they get home and hopefully share with you. They have just returned from their creek hikes and are about to start a fun detective activity. I can hear the buzz outside and the excitement is permeating through the woods. I look forward to the next two days of adventure and memories and I thank you all for allowing me to bring them up here for this awesome experience! See you all on Friday!
Caritas Greetings,
Miss B :)
When we arrived on Monday it was clear that they were going to have a great time up here. OLMC was first to arrive and then SLOT (St. Lawrence O'Toole) showed up soon after. The kids got settled into their cabins and began their hiking adventures. Some were still hesitant but I could see them beginning to embrace the idea! Dinner that night was barbeque chicken, white rice and veggies with corn bread. They were STARVING! They really enjoyed it and then especially liked the chocolate pudding for dessert! After dinner we enjoyed a campfire where they could be silly, dance and sing! Bedtime came around 10pm. The kids were sleepy but also excited about all that had happened the first day.
Tuesday was a new day and a new theme. The kids were going to take their first hike of the week and the theme was community. I chose to go with a group and we went down to the creek. We had a great time, hiking and learning about the environment and how everything is hitched to everything else in this world. The kids had a fun time trying to come up with one thing that was not connected to us in this world and they never did. Everything tied back to us and one student made a great statement: "Everything is connected to us because God made everything and God made us so we are all connected!" It's great to see what they have learned back in the classroom come to life up here in conversations with their adventure groups. At one point we went up a very steep (but safe) hill and I wasn't sure I was going to make it. All of my students from OLMC were at the top encouraging me and offering to help! Even thought I needed to get on my hands and knees to make it up parts, I did it and it was so special to see the kids at the top supporting me and congratulating me for my success. This is why I teach 6th grade. These moments are what make all the hard work worth it. After our hikes the kids got to do electives: archery, gaga ball, arts and crafts and creative writing. The kids LOVED these activities even though they were hoping sleep was one of their choices for electives! (THEY WERE POOPED!) After the electives was free time, a chance for them to shower, rest, write letters and get relaxed. Dinner was spaghetti, salad and bread.. YUMMY! Then it was time to prepare for the night hike! You could tell the nerves were high, but they all did a great job and supported each other through the fear. You could see the pride on their face at the end of it! Bed time was 9:30pm and they were soooo sleepy! The boys were definitely quieter than the girls cabins, but the girls didn't seem to care... they were happier being chatty with each other and bonding over girl talk, while the boys like to be mellow and relax before bed. Eventually... they all got to sleep!
Wednesday is here and today was a creek study day. After breakfast (breakfast burritos) the kids had a chance to meet with their class and me to review the week so far and make graffiti sheets. They will receive these when they get home and hopefully share with you. They have just returned from their creek hikes and are about to start a fun detective activity. I can hear the buzz outside and the excitement is permeating through the woods. I look forward to the next two days of adventure and memories and I thank you all for allowing me to bring them up here for this awesome experience! See you all on Friday!
Caritas Greetings,
Miss B :)
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