Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies
12/20/2019
The past weeks before Winter Break have been quite eventful to say the least! The classrooms are all decorated, spirits are high, and our students buzz around the room like sugar plum fairies... quite literally. 'What an excellent opportunity to teach them about the great Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite!' I thought to myself. And thus began my lesson plans. Disney's 'Fantasia' is always a holiday classic. Not only is it adorable, featuring mushrooms that dance along to Tchaikovsky's Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies, but it actually educates the students on the topic of classical music! Thus far, we've learned about Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite, Stravinsky's Firebird Suite, Dukas' Sorcerer's Apprentice... and many more! Besides learning about composers of the Classical and Romantic Era, we've been giving back and showing our gratitude to our family here at PNA! We've been having card and ornament exchanges, playing team building games, (while listening to our favorite movements of the Nutcracker Suite of course...) and having the occasional snow dance in hopes that we will have a white holiday season once again! It has been a wonderful and much needed break from our studies for us since the Winter Concert... On that note, I wanted to thank all of you who came out to the Winter Concert. These wonderful students worked hard to put on that show and I can't tell you how proud I am of of them all. I look forward to putting together our next show in the Spring! See you all then! Wishing you all a joyous holiday season! -Mr. Bissell Cooperative Games
12/14/2019
Cooperative games are games that are designed to require teams to work together to solve a problem or succeed as a team. Some call them team building initiatives and they are used in schools beginning as early as preschool all the way past school and into corporate organizations. The focus is more about the process than the end goal. Participants are presented with a problem or a goal before given the freedom to solve that goal as a team. The competition component of traditional sports and athletics is taken out and the focus is more on learning how to succeed with your team with minimal resources and your creativity.
While learning how to win and how to lose are valuable skills, the focus of cooperative games leans more towards those 21st Century skills that help students thrive well beyond the classroom. Students learn how to lead, follow directions, work with their teammates, strategize, communicate, support each other and they build confidence. They learn so much more about themselves beyond winning and losing. Such games and initiatives are sprinkled throughout the curriculum in gym and health class to encourage all types of students to thrive and grow as the individuals that they are. |
Specialist & Enrichment Teachers Archives
February 2021
Categories |