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Thursday, January 16, 2014

What Feeds My Soul

The birthday cake I made myself last year.
Three layers of chocolately goodness,
with two coffee buttercream layers,
covered in ganache.

Well, yes, there's that.

But that's not what I was thinking of this time. (except I sort of am, now...)

What feeds my soul is Environmental Club.

Here's why:

CHOICE.

I do this club in my own free time, for no pay. It's my choice.
And the activities we do are my choice,
not tied to standards or state tests.
The students who are are in the club are there by choice.
It's a multi-age group, my favorite age group:
4th and 5th graders (some returning members).

We like each other in a way that assessing and grading
will never taint.

Last week and this, we wrote poetry
inspired by the photos I've taken of the club and our activities
so far this year.

For the next month or so, we will focus on birds
as we work up to
The Great Backyard Bird Count.

Then it will be almost March, and time to plan for our garden.

You might think that I'd come home exhausted
after a full day of teaching
and then yet another hour with children
(more children than I have in my homeroom).

Nope.

I come home jazzed up and happy.

My soul runneth over.

Thank goodness for Environmental Club.


7 comments:

  1. I feel that way about my Mock Newbery Club! It's great that you run a club that gets you and the kids excited, and it's SO nice to be able to enjoy something completely without any standards or assessments!

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  2. I love this, Mary Lee. Like Holly, I have a Mock Newbery Club and it makes me feel the same. So glad you have your club - for you and the students.

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  3. Great to hear about your club, Mary Lee. Since it's so big, I suspect the students feel the same way, feeding everyone's souls. We have a group that plants a garden in the spring too-very loved.

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  4. My soul runneth over... not that's something to celebrate!

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  5. I love the idea of an environmental club! I would like to hear more about some of your projects. It is wonderful when school students feed our souls.

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  6. Hi, Mary Lee. Your joy comes across the page. Isn't it nice to have *something* at school that isn't tied to assessments? One of our children's 5th grade team used to run a morning knitting club that we all loved. Thanks for sharing the great big cake, too. It's our daughter's 14th birthday today!

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  7. Mary Lee, this line is going to stay with me for awhile: "We like each other in a way that assessing and grading
    will never taint."

    Cathy

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