2003-12-05
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12-
So what happened yesterday is this:
Recess was inside, as it was raining. I was playing with one of the afternoon kindergarten classes, tickling them and reading.
(It's the best as they are always and forever climbing in and out of my lap.)
Augustine and I were playing a sort of tag, although I still had four girls on my lap (long legs come in handy).
Then he crawled under the table and I asked him if he was a rat.
Augustine responded in the affirmative and the others soon caught on.
Before we knew it, I was climbing under and over and around with them.
And before we knew it, we were counting the number of kindergarten rats crawling under and over and around the table.
We were counting! I had been trying for weeks to help them understand counting.
We had put pieces of fruit on the table, written the numbers, used flash cards, sung songs about counting, talked and talked and talked about it ad nauseum.
Nothing worked.
But apparently, they can learn anything if they are pretending to be rats while doing so.
They all had these big smiles on their faces and they were all so excited because all the work we had done suddenly just jelled.
And I was feeling really proud of myself for teaching them a concept that the other maestras have been struggling with the whole school year.
Then I learned that I was a bad example, as tables are for eating and studying and working.
Not for rat games.
Social faux pas, I know; even in America I would have been in the wrong.
But we were counting!
betholindo at 8:37 p.m.