Fractions

I think I'm finally starting to get the hang of this. :)  Now I want to go back and start over from the very beginning with a better scope and sequence.  But you definitely learn best while doing, right?  I'm learning tons!

Today was so great!  The class was so invested!  They worked hard and were very respectful.  We had the gym for the first half hour and that was a nice space to move in.  There was room to move and a lot less distractions like extra desks and shelves.  It's nice to have the extra classroom to work in, but I think I prefer the gym for a movement class.  I think it helped us focus a lot better.

The concept was tricky today - tying together fractions from math and time elements from the B.E.S.T. model.  Because I was trying a different approach in really concentrating on dance elements, I feel that I succeeded in my objective more than the past few lessons.  It seemed to me that the students got confused about the fraction element, and I'm not sure they entirely grasped it, but they really understood the Time elements I was having them explore.

I feel much better about having established some solid dance curriculum.  I used Time because I could relate it to fractions; something I would really like to go into more in depth with an older class - there's a lot of potential in those connections.  Next week, I would like to relate the cross-curricular factors with either Body or Space and really establish dance movement basics in order to give them more exposure and understanding as well as more vocabulary for me to work with.

The behavior of the class today was just stellar.  We were able to do a lot because they were so well-behaved and engaged the whole time.  I'm really beginning to wish I had more time with them - I would like to have the time to take five or six full lessons on the elements of creative dance alone, then be able to move into more cross-curricular subjects.  This is probably something I should have done from the beginning, but I didn't realize how important that would be.  I have now learned that lesson quite well.  I was subconsciously expecting them to have some sort of foundation that they didn't have (and really had no reason to already have) and it threw me for a loop when they didn't.  So I just had to discover it for myself. :)  This week, I plan on taking a look at the rest of my lesson plans to see what should be shifted around in order to give place for some dance-element-only lessons.  We'll see how that works!

Favorite Moments of the Day:

1. Seeing the class invest from the beginning.  Starting the class without me talking really helped.  I turned on the music and we began the Brain Dance right away.  It helped them focus and it was rewarding to see!
2. The cute boys who kept offering to help me carry stuff because I always tend to run around with a billion items spilling out of my arms.  They were so excited to help me carry my materials down the hall or help me clean up when we were done.  They are truly wonderful little people. :)