Filling the gap...

Things have been a little crazy in between my last post and now! I'm retrospectively wishing I had taken some photos at the beginning of the year, to show how far we've come in such a short space of time. It has been a process of 'lots of little things' which has amounted to a great deal! I'm finding myself scrawling through photo's taken for other purposes, which show anything remotely relevant!

It started with rolling out the desks.  The kids all had an individually named desk. so... one day I ripped the labels off! This was met with an element of opposition! (there may have been a petition from one student!)

Groups of three/four desks were spaced around the outer classroom, with space to move around all sides.

Next came the 'acquiring' of tables on the spur of the moment! Other classes were clearing space too, so as the saying goes: One person's trash is another's treasure... and oh how we treasure their arrival! We now had two large tables, meant for four students, however we sit six around them comfortably if that's how the kids choose to work. They have proved invaluable as an impromptu art/crafting table when the need arises.

A rolling table came in, which can be put on the mat area as a workspace, or wheeled out of the way.

Where they are from, waka etc.

Hands on independent activities, with a degree of autonomy.

Bus stop of what our school values mean.

I reevaluated our wall space and the way in which things were presented. Once upon a time, it was a rush to fill the walls with as much work as possible... now, we treat the walls like our writing. In writing "words are like weeds" carefully chosen and the unnecessary weeded out. On our walls, a degree of calmness is kept to prevent information overload. This was an idea picked up from a Reggio Professional Development workshop. I felt it catered to those kids in my class who are susceptible to sensory overload. 

It's now all about giving the kids ownership and showcasing their ideas and creations. 

We started out on post it notes and just 'getting our ideas on the table'.

Now we have moved towards SOLO hexagons in order to discuss, justify and explain why certain things fit together or don't relate to each other at all.  We've been pushing the notion of effective feedback among peers. This was reinforced after looking at Austin's butterfly -see http://goo.gl/pSyzAf

Our latest and greatest aquirement is to have our wheely table painted with a whiteboard surface. We use it for everything! The kids scrawl notes and ideas on there. Someone came in and wrote a message in Japanese the other day... then wrote the translation later in the day. It's spurning so many teachable opportunities that never cropped up before.

My intention in jotting this all down is because things are about to reach the speed of light for change...