She helped me teach all my lessons in K-2nd grade! We did an activity focusing on being friends with all different types of people, learning to get along, and teamwork. First we watched a video clip of animals you normally wouldn't see together, cuddling and getting along great. Then, we played a game where two teams worked to get their whole team inside of a circle on the carpet as soon as they heard my music stop. They had to get the whole team in there quicker than the other team. This got trickier and really took teamwork as I made the circle smaller each round! We then talked about what they didn't do so well as a team, and what went great. We have to work in teams or with different people in some aspect of our lives, pretty much forever. The earlier we start working on these skills, the easier it will be to be part of a team and work together with people in the future. Alexis did such a great job helping me to get the game set up and going! I took her to Austin Pizza Garden with a friend of her choice as a thank you for all her hard work as a counselor. ;-)
Student Council 5th grade students got to go to the Leadership Symposium at the Blanton Museum of Art where they learned about Social Emotional Learning (SEL), being a leader, cultural differences, listened to a presentation by Dr. Cruz on leadership, and got to take a walk through the art gallery and have discussions on different art pieces, relating them to leadership. It was so much fun and I am glad we got to be a part of that.
Finally, I ended the last two weeks with being in 3rd-5th grade classes also teaching about teamwork and getting along despite our differences. We also worked in two teams, like the younger grades, but we played "Human Knot" instead of our "Musical Teamwork" game. I had the two teams join hands with people opposite of them in a circle, which really mixed them all up and made them into a "human knot". They then had to try to untangle their team and get back into a circle without letting their hands go. This was tough and took a lot of communication and teamwork, but they were able to do it!! We talked about what makes a good team (communication, cooperation, being good sports, not letting each other down, being positive, helping each other, etc.). Next year they will have a whole new team to work with in their classes and we talked about how they don't get to choose their "team," so we have to all learn how to get along and work together. :-)
It has been such an amazing school year and I look forward to many more at OHE! To all the 5th graders moving on to middle school, know I will miss each and every one of you and I wish you nothing but the best. You all will do great!!
I will be in Alaska with my family on an Alaskan cruise and then a day in Vancouver, B.C. in just 4 more days!!! I am very excited and looking forward to some downtime.
I hope you all have a wonderful summer break!!
