On Monday morning, we read The Crayon Box that Talked. In the story, a little girl buys a box of crayons that don't get along from a toy store. She brings them home and colors beautiful pictures using each color for their own part. When the crayons see how each of them is important and has a special role to play, they accept each other and learn to work together. So, after the story, our class split into groups and each got a crayon. We could only use our crayon to contribute to the drawing of a ideal Teacher Cadet and each result from group to group was different. The activity showed us that we each have a part in the world and we each matter. Here's our finished masterpieces:
On Tuesday, we began making Brown Paper Bag books. The books highlighted our strengths and showed us why we're all special, while hidden pockets inside held out insecurities, secret selves, and hidden fears. All together the books would hold both the good and the bad parts of ourselves, and show that everyone is special and many people are in the same boat as you are. The books would show what makes one special and unique and what makes one connected and not alone, too. A lot of Tuesday was putting the books together, planning the designs, and binding the books.
On Friday, we talked about The Pot that Nobody Watches. The Pot referred to in the passage is one's self esteem and feeling of self worth. We talked about how if you put good things into the pot, such as love, kindness and compassion towards a person, then their pot will be full of self confidence. But if the pot is neglected, and a child (or even a person) is ignored or shunned or made fun of, then their pot will be empty and they will have little self esteem. The Pot connected to teaching because as a child, the pot is filled up mostly by parents and loved ones. However, if a child does not receive needed attention and love, then it becomes a teacher's job to love and care for them and make sure the child feels nurtured and appreciated. After our discussion of the passage, our class began to read each other's brown paper bag books. We left comments in them, much like yearbooks. If a person wished for their hidden pages- their fears, insecurities, or hidden selves- to remain a secret, they made a small note on that page of their book. At the end of the day we got our books back, and the comments were so encouraging and loving. Everyone's pot became a little bit more full.
That was our week! We can't wait to share more of our adventures.
