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8. Polishing and Rehearsing

Viv has left us for the Plains of Africa (with her Robert Redford!) so I will be finishing up the Blog myself :)

 The last week has been hectic and a little tense, in a good way. We have been using every minute available to finish their adze stories and their logos so that we have something to present at our final presentation and to put up in our room. They have been awesome at helping each other either with their story completion or colouring in.

 There has been a lot of 'counting down' the days, hours and lessons, by myself, so that the pressure has been subtle but present. As you would in the real world when you have a deadline to meet. Things like: "Mr Mana is coming on Wednesday...do you know your story? What if he asks you? Is your personal freeze frame telling your part of the tale? Check each other and give each other advice".

 The general excitement has been palpable. We have stopped often to reflect on the identity element across the learning. I have felt freer to do this and without the guilt of stealing their learning. Guiding them to the connections, when they can't see them, is part of the teaching.

 I asked each of them to create a six-word poem about the identity of their FF. Then we took one word from each kids poem to make the groups poem. They enjoyed this and we asked which words were the most expressive and why.
With some of the children away, it was difficult at times to get the groups' work done. I was roaming everywhere and giving tips, pointers and guidance wherever I could. So much questioning! I feel that my questioning has improved immensely due to this process.

 We moved to the hall for the last two lessons on Monday and Tuesday. There we decided on the:
  • Order of the stories and why.
  • The words our host would use.
  • The timing of each FF.
  • The positioning of the children in the room.
  • The route the guests would take.
  • The mechanics of standing up from sitting, getting into and holding the FF and sitting back down again.
  • The optimum environment for the presentation, visually and audibly, i.e. how they should be sitting and in perfect silence.
All of these decisions were made by the children. I presented options and always spoke with a tone of curiosity. Then they practised while I tied up the loose ends like:

  • giving guidance to my presenter/host for her part (where to stand, what the guests should do etc)
  • helping the narrators of each FF to tell their stories rather than describe their FF's
  • looking for those who were bored and giving them something to do (check each others' FF and give advice etc)
We're nearly there! Such hard work and commitment from the kids. Yes, lots of mucking about but...they're kids?! I remember being in Viv's class and mucking about loads too! So, just keep an eye on them and let go a little...trust!








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