The delivery trucks are sliding down the icy hills into town. The plows are out scraping snow into piles this morning. So, it's a snow day until further notice. There's a lot going on, and I need to change my expectations about the way my kid is "supposed to learn". A family can't possibly work toward any standardized proficiencies in the state of a national emergency. I usually wake up and look at my schedule. I'm a teaching artist, after-school educator, the CEO of a small business, a part-time employee, and a very involved parent.
Teachers are heroes and deserve to be compensated as such. In so many ways, the teachers are also being tested everyday and the pressure on them is so immense, I can't imagine how hard it is. They have testing to keep in mind and are restricted in so many ways because of it. They miss the kids and their work is inspired by the challenge of teaching in ways that accommodate all types of learning. A snow day was a chance for immersive projects that teach creative thinking, grit, collaboration, real-world literacy and math, home skills and physical fitness.īless the teachers and their willingness to reach out to the kids and to provide them with resources. For decades Goddard students have held this mantra as one of its central tenets of learning:Įssential learning is happening with or without the structure of a school day. Luckily, my employer allows me to work from home on a flexible schedule. I'm part-time as digital media coordinator for Goddard College, a small but passionate progressive education institution. I needed it actually.Īnd I know that others won't be that lucky to decide to take a snow day too.ĭid I owe it to his education to continue the structure that we've only been able to maintain for one week? To spend time with him, to make him laugh, to love him in this strange time we're now in. My son declared all the things he wanted to do on the snow day- sleep in, make crafts, build a PinBox 3000, listen to audio books, read, play in the snow. Literacy, vocabulary, and math exercises sent from school, journal writing, special projects we've determined would help focus his self-education. No one will go unfed, unhoused, or be put at risk if we miss a few hours or a day of our work.īut I thought about how my homeschooling was going, and what we might be missing. Our work is non-essential for non-profit organizations. I'm lucky that I have a part-time job that allows me to be flexible and make my own hours and work from home. Last night the snow started falling and now there's 6 inches of snow on the ground. One week ago we were self-isolating in Vermont, taking a couple daily breaks to walk to the Statehouse lawn to throw the frisbee and get a little exercise and sunshine.
This project brought out all the inspirational moments that can happen in learning that made me want to become a teacher in the first place! I highly recommend PinBox 3000 as an educational tool and classroom project that can culminate in a larger open house celebration.įind out more about our educational offerings by emailing Check out our Classroom Packs and sign our mailing list to get notice when we are offering specials in bulk! This has allowed us to better understand methods for teaching to their strengths, as well as discovering an exciting skill in them to nurture. By ending this process with sharing these separate creations side-by-side as one large accomplishment, we strengthened our classroom community, celebrated each student's unique creative choices, and enriched our overall learning of these physical science concepts.īecause of PinBox 3000, teachers at my school were able to identify several students with exceptional gifts for engineering. Students all personalized their pinball machines and we convened in the library to receive student and teacher visitors from other classrooms. Not only were these concepts better understood, but there was extremely valuable social and emotional learning that took place by creating our own pinball emporium at the end of the unit. I brought PinBox 3000 to 5th and 6th grade classrooms as a teaching artist and I cannot stress enough what an amazing educational opportunity it was! I used PinBox 3000 as an integrated art project, that incorporated engineering and design with the concepts of kinetic and potential energy.
Inspired to continue to Tilt the Future! -Ben When you get a testimony like this, it can really motivate you.
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