#sol22 May17 Sand, Shaving Cream and Grad School

While often cited, even by me, most likely, the number's cited in Dale's Cone of Learning are at best estimates of any individual's learning.  Clearly there are differences in an individual's ability to learn as well as engagement in the task at hand.  

Yet, experiences, engagement and discussion do seem to increase student engagement, learning, and retention of materials.  It is why we do so many "turn and talks" at every juncture of the teaching learning cycle!  It is why we create charts and models with our students rather than before class.  It is why we plan for hands on learning experiences whenever we can do so.  

Yes, even in graduate school, even when you are working towards a doctorate, experiencing a multisensory approach is a powerful learning experience as my students found while they practiced letters in sand and shaving cream.  Plus, as they found, it is fun.

 

#sol22 May 10 Jokes

 

I remember telling jokes as we walked home from elementary school. I was not a joke master by any means and relied on a few jokes copied from library books to keep up with the crowd.

In my professional work with children who found reading and learning challenging, I remember trying to teach the magic of word play through jokes.  For most of my students, jokes were hard and they relied on a handful of memorized jokes to keep up with the group.

But, I do remember the power of jokes for my niece, who consumed joke books. Later on, I remember sharing the magic of word play with her girls and their cousins.  I remember their belly laughs and how they would save jokes to trick me!  

Now, I am savoring the magic of grandchildren who are starting to "get" jokes and memorize joke books. There really is something magical about the power of words that sound similar or have different meanings.  

While I am still not a joke master, I shared a belly laugh when my grandchild called to ask me a joke that clearly has roots in the Disney classic, Moana.  

"What did one volcano say to the other volcano?" 

I lava (love) you!

I have a dream I hope will come true
That you'll grow old with me and I'll grow old with you
We thank the Earth, sea, and the sky, we thank too

I lava you,
I lava you,
I lava you.

#sol22 May 3 Happy Birthday

 

No, it's not my birthday and even though my sister, brother, niece and nephew have all had birthdays in the last week, this post is not really about their birthdays.  Instead, it's about someone in my early morning aquacise class whose birthday was also this week.

She comes often on the days I come to jump around in weightlessness and push that heavy water away!  In those fleeting moments before class she shared that it was her birthday and she was proud to have made it to class. So as class began, we spontaneously burst into song as we warmed up.  She smiled, thanked everyone and got right back to exercising with all her might. 

As the class ended, she leaned over and offered, "I'm pretty sure I'm the oldest in this class! I'm 87 today!"

"Really," was all I could manage to utter. "You are an inspiration to exercise," I followed up.

Truth be told, I have not consistently exercised in my life; however, the message was loud and clear on her birthday for me and for all those relatives sharing this birthday week: exercise is powerful.