So the children each had their wonders, and I wanted more. I wanted the buzz of a classroom filled with minds spinning with excitement about learning and for learning. I wanted a classroom where so much learning was happening that I'd have to step back and really soak it in. I had to stop hoping for something I wanted to fabricate and remember who this was about. This was about them, and their passion, their learning. Not me. Ouch.
My little minds wanted to learn. "I wonder why don't people recycle more?" "I wonder how do space cars get made?" "I wonder why are butterflies such pretty colors?" "I wonder what is the biggest animal in the ocean?" "I wonder what is the earth made of?" "I wonder where does all the garbage go?" Pretty great questions, pretty big wonders.
I asked them how they thought we should find the answers to our questions. They decided we could go to the library and ask our librarian to help us. So we did. We went for a few sessions, exploring about our topic, learning more, finding answers and new, deeper wonders. Writing what we could, drawing when we needed to. It was amazing! My emergent readers were pushing themselves, using the pictures to help them understand the non-fiction text they were reading and doing it without my prompting or reminding about "reading strategies." Authentic learning. I had chills I was so excited! So this was what "Genius Hour" could look like in the primary classroom. My mind was racing, I was searching for how to lead them forward. All I had to do was listen...
My little minds wanted to learn. "I wonder why don't people recycle more?" "I wonder how do space cars get made?" "I wonder why are butterflies such pretty colors?" "I wonder what is the biggest animal in the ocean?" "I wonder what is the earth made of?" "I wonder where does all the garbage go?" Pretty great questions, pretty big wonders.
I asked them how they thought we should find the answers to our questions. They decided we could go to the library and ask our librarian to help us. So we did. We went for a few sessions, exploring about our topic, learning more, finding answers and new, deeper wonders. Writing what we could, drawing when we needed to. It was amazing! My emergent readers were pushing themselves, using the pictures to help them understand the non-fiction text they were reading and doing it without my prompting or reminding about "reading strategies." Authentic learning. I had chills I was so excited! So this was what "Genius Hour" could look like in the primary classroom. My mind was racing, I was searching for how to lead them forward. All I had to do was listen...
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