Indus and I have an up and down relationship. The "downs" mainly being niggles - Adam's enforced frequent haircuts and the big yellow beast (aka the bus) which is invariably late or I get a call from the bus parent, "Wills is noising Ma'am", never sure what he wants me to do, he is on the bus with the kids not me.... One of the "ups" is the way Wills' learning programs (math, english etc.etc) are encapsulated in "UOI"s - Units of Inquiry. Their UOI this year have included light, environmental issues, traffic and vehicles, the five senses (Will's favorite - lots of tasting experiments!) and now leadership. His homework has been tied into these topics. For one homework he had to pick a leader in his family (Adam????), his class, his community (soccer coach) and the world (Obama) and write why he thought they were good leaders. Each UOI ends with some sort of project/activity which has to be presented to the class.
The culmination of this project was a "Leadership Summit" given by first grade, to which parents were invited. Simon went along to see Wills in action. Various kids gave speeches about different aspects of Leadership. Then it was Leadership by demonstration. Various kids explained and then led the parents in one of three games. Wills explained/managed the balloon game. Although Simon was not originally allocated to Will's balloon game he managed to swop with another parent (thanks Glynns) to see Wills perform.
Simon said he was clear and confident. It's amazing how over the last eighteen months or so he has now become so comfortable standing up and presenting. When we arrived here, he hardly opened his mouth in class at all.
Each kid had to come up with their own personal mission statement. Wills is sat next to his. It's too small to read but here it is : "To be a good sportsman and a role model to students at Indus." I imagine the second half was teacher inspired/dictated!! The one above Wills' is that of one of his good mates, Jacob, which said "I want to protect people and keep them safe", which I thought was pretty cool for a seven year old.
At the end of the year, he gets to bring home his own 'Leadership Book' which he is proudly holding above.
The current UOI is music. This afternoon they get to do a Zumba class led by one of the first grade Moms who teaches it!! I asked Wills if I could come along - but got a distinct thumbs down! Mom jumping around out of sync - way too embarrassing! During this UOI, for one homework, he had to ask each of us our favorite song and we had to listen to it with him and then he had to write why we liked it and why he did or did not like it. I'm not sure if our choices are predictable or not. Mine was MJ's Black or White, Ads some electronic remix by Levels and Simon, Adele - Rolling in the Deep. He's also had to make a collage portraying his favorite type of music - apparently Rap! So as well as the standard reading, math and writing he seems to be getting quite an interesting education.
The culmination of this project was a "Leadership Summit" given by first grade, to which parents were invited. Simon went along to see Wills in action. Various kids gave speeches about different aspects of Leadership. Then it was Leadership by demonstration. Various kids explained and then led the parents in one of three games. Wills explained/managed the balloon game. Although Simon was not originally allocated to Will's balloon game he managed to swop with another parent (thanks Glynns) to see Wills perform.
Simon said he was clear and confident. It's amazing how over the last eighteen months or so he has now become so comfortable standing up and presenting. When we arrived here, he hardly opened his mouth in class at all.
The current UOI is music. This afternoon they get to do a Zumba class led by one of the first grade Moms who teaches it!! I asked Wills if I could come along - but got a distinct thumbs down! Mom jumping around out of sync - way too embarrassing! During this UOI, for one homework, he had to ask each of us our favorite song and we had to listen to it with him and then he had to write why we liked it and why he did or did not like it. I'm not sure if our choices are predictable or not. Mine was MJ's Black or White, Ads some electronic remix by Levels and Simon, Adele - Rolling in the Deep. He's also had to make a collage portraying his favorite type of music - apparently Rap! So as well as the standard reading, math and writing he seems to be getting quite an interesting education.
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