I have this GREAT dinosaur-themed unit goin’ on. I mean I am ROCKIN’ it. These kids, (like all kids everywhere), are nuts over dinos. So I figured I’d run with it and have some fun. There is much about the whole dinosaur thing I question, to be honest. I do not really believe the earth to be millions of years old and do not believe that we descended from primates. It annoys me that the world at large does not question the world of science in this realm. Don’t get me wrong; there are alot of smart folks that bandy around the theories of our origins, but they don’t know everything. Unless you were there, then it’s all theory, right?
That being said, I knew there were a ton of fun activities we could revel in with this theme on the table. I found a fabulous set of lessons online that were ready to implement and covered math concepts, language arts, and a whole host of other standards. I love having the world at my fingertips. I have no problem using others’ genius to make my life easier and my instruction fresh and fun.
I also talked to a guy at church who is a great artist, and he agreed eagerly to create a pteranodon “fossil” for me to hang from the ceiling. This thing is beautiful. When the kids walked in and saw it, little jaws dropped and eyes widened with joy. It was a priceless moment for me.
I also hung vines in the hallway over my door and large hibiscus flowers to give the feel of tropical earth. A scary sign on the door warned of “dinosaurs on the loose!” I tee-hee’d and giggled my way through the entire time I was decorating for my Little Darlings. I could hardly wait for the Monday of their arrival. It felt like a weird sort of Christmas.
Thus far we have begun dinosaur journals, created a KWL (what we know, what we want to learn, and what we have learned), wall mural. We have a small display area with relevant literature, vocabulary words, pictures, and other fun items. We discussed the size of dinos in relation to other items in our world. We measured a fifty ft. piece of string, then created a paper chain the same length. Next we measured ourselves and made paper chains the appropriate lengths and used them to recognize how small we are in comparison.
Those are all wonderful, fun, educational activities. But then a bit of madness entered my brain. I mean, I am not a rookie where kids are concerned. How could I have been so naïve?
Really, sometimes I am an idiot.
For dinosaur “art” I copied pencil sketch images I had downloaded from the internet. The kids did a beautiful job of coloring them and cutting them out. Next they glued them onto construction paper. That was last Friday. I’m still feeling good about this project. Sort of like humming along on the interstate blissfully unaware there’s been an accident up ahead and you will be at a complete standstill for hours.
It’s gonna’ be good. I am an optimist.
Today, the finishing touch on our masterpieces was to paint Elmer’s glue onto the dinosaur images and then pour colored rice onto the glue to create texture and visual interest.
It’s a good concept. This will be fun.
Yeah, that’s kind of like saying a full-body waxing would be mildly enjoyable.
The gluing part was surprisingly catastrophe-free. But the rice was another matter entirely. I am not sure how I could have created a less messy environment. I will think about that and try to improve upon it the next time (what?!! Did I really just say “next time?” See what I mean? I have LOST it!!).
It was terrible.
The floor looked like a rice paddy that would give any Asian country a run for its money. As I walked around gathering glue-soaked brushes to wash, and trying to assess the damage, I wondered how I had not thought this through better. I hope the school has homeowners insurance. I should have seen this coming from a mile away. OF COURSE it was going to be something akin to a crafting tsunami. How did I not know that ahead of time??
I kept shaking my head and interrogating myself mercilessly. I was just glad the janitor would not be back down for the day. She would probably punish me by taking the lid of my ant farm.
The kids were great about helping (they always are). They pulled chairs away from tables and picked up scraps of paper like little human anteaters. I ran the vacuum and hoped the barrage of small grains being sucked into Bertha (the janitor’s name for the vacuum) would not give it indigestion.
After school I met a dad I had not met before. It was a last minute, impromptu meeting, and to be honest, I was a little embarrassed at the state of the classroom. I had glue-and-rice covered sheets of construction paper literally drying all over the place. It looked like weird (and painful) floor tile. There were paper chains the exact height of first graders hanging from a clothesline in the class theater area. There was a nearly emptied jug of glue by my desk, and there were still pellets of rice dotting the floor. I felt like the woman who has relatives show up unannounced and has just started cleaning the frig. You are trying to look welcoming, but the containers of rotting food on the countertop are incredibly distracting.
Sigh…
Well. what are you gonna’ do? This is still me trying to let go of the need to project the perfect image. Perfect images are a false illusion. I will never have a completely clean classroom, (or home, or frig…)
I guess I take comfort in the knowledge that the kids had a really good time. I never tire of watching the rush they get from wallowing in creativity. It was a full-tilt on the pleasure-o-meter. I try to steer away from dictating how their artwork should look in the end. I give instructions and sketchy guidelines, but I want them to determine its final outcome. Only they can know what it is their brains will see as beautiful. Their definition may be vastly different from mine.
And create they did.
I still have cleaning to do when I get to school in the morning, but at least there is a fair amount of floor that doesn’t crunch underfoot or have bits of paper like colored snow covering it.
I think I’ll check the lid on the ant farm too…
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