Dear Children Three--
Welcome back, Silas, from Scout Camp and welcome to your mostly daily letter from Yo Mama. I bet you missed me lots while you were gone, Silas. Good news! I was able to obtain (somewhat back handedly) a bunch of samosa tonight and put them in the freezer. If all goes as planned, I should be able to have them in your mouths in three weeks!
On to the excitement of the day...
After the students arrived tonight, we had orientation. They started out all quiet and sweet and sitting nicely in rows, boys in the front, girls in the back. Actually, very few of the new participants know each other so they are all a little bit shy.
However, some of the participants from last year had been brought on board to assist with the program this year, and they were so happy to see one another again.
Some of the returnees had just participated in major family events--births, weddings, and funerals--and one had the henna to prove it.
Since a large part of this program is dedicated to developing critical thinking and problem solving skills, the orientation went very quickly from an event filled with passive listening to one in which students had to cooperate to solve puzzles and complete challenges in order to gather necessary information about their schedules, instructors, and upcoming classes.
They were divided into groups of four and set loose to find faculty members. When they found me, I had them complete a task.
Me: Okay...your challenge is to get from these white chairs to those green chairs.
Group of Four Students: Those chair that are five meters away?
Me: Yes.
Group of Four: Oh, Miss, that is easy!
Me: Yes, but only one of your can touch the floor. The rest of you cannot touch the floor...but you still have to get everyone in your group from these white chairs to those green chairs.
Group of Four: How?
Me: I don't know.
Group of Four: Hmmmm...
Here are the solutions devised by some of the groups.
Welcome back, Silas, from Scout Camp and welcome to your mostly daily letter from Yo Mama. I bet you missed me lots while you were gone, Silas. Good news! I was able to obtain (somewhat back handedly) a bunch of samosa tonight and put them in the freezer. If all goes as planned, I should be able to have them in your mouths in three weeks!
On to the excitement of the day...
After the students arrived tonight, we had orientation. They started out all quiet and sweet and sitting nicely in rows, boys in the front, girls in the back. Actually, very few of the new participants know each other so they are all a little bit shy.
However, some of the participants from last year had been brought on board to assist with the program this year, and they were so happy to see one another again.
Some of the returnees had just participated in major family events--births, weddings, and funerals--and one had the henna to prove it.
Since a large part of this program is dedicated to developing critical thinking and problem solving skills, the orientation went very quickly from an event filled with passive listening to one in which students had to cooperate to solve puzzles and complete challenges in order to gather necessary information about their schedules, instructors, and upcoming classes.
They were divided into groups of four and set loose to find faculty members. When they found me, I had them complete a task.
Me: Okay...your challenge is to get from these white chairs to those green chairs.
Group of Four Students: Those chair that are five meters away?
Me: Yes.
Group of Four: Oh, Miss, that is easy!
Me: Yes, but only one of your can touch the floor. The rest of you cannot touch the floor...but you still have to get everyone in your group from these white chairs to those green chairs.
Group of Four: How?
Me: I don't know.
Group of Four: Hmmmm...
Here are the solutions devised by some of the groups.
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| The moving-two-chairs approach |
 |
| The make-a-river-of-chairs approach |
 |
| The make-a-line-of-tables approach
We also had the load-a-chair-with-a-partner(s)-and-slide-them approach. No photos though, Sorry.
As always, their solutions were fun to watch and it was also fun to wonder how American students might have solved the same problem. Any ideas?
Until tomorrow, inshallah.
Yo Mama
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What a great way to get students to put aside their jitters and work together to focus on a common objective. Thanks for posting!
ReplyDeleteThe jitters are still there, Monique, but they are getting better already. It always takes awhile to shake it all out.
ReplyDelete