Redefining Awesome

We are almost halfway through week 2 of the school year and I can tell you already what my greatest challenge this year is going to be: helping my kids to redefine Awesome.

Inspired by Kid President, I decided that this year should be an 'Awesome Year' for my class. We watched and laughed along with the video.

Then we brainstormed.
'What could we do in class this year to make sure that Grade 4 is an awesome year? What kinds of things would you like to try?' I asked.
In planning, I knew this was a great hook activity. Inspired by Kid President's energy, enthusiasm, humour and ideas, and because we all know that all nine-year-olds are bursting with exciting and creative ideas, my kids were going to lay the foundations for a learning-packed, student-driven year of amazingness.

I didn't have the heart to take a photo of it at the time, but here are a few ideas from our first brainstorm, entitled 'Our Ideas for an Awesome Year':

• reading
• writing stories
• maths games
• free time

There is definitely potential for fun and enjoyment here, but... Honestly, does your inner 9-year-old scream 'Awesome!' at this list? Why are these the limits of their expectations?

Don't get me wrong - I value that they love to read and write and do maths. 

But what about inquiry learning? And 21st century skills and tools? As well as the myriad other tools and resources for inquiring and creating and presenting we are so lucky to have at our school?

On our second try, this is what we came up with:

Created with Padlet

Reading and writing and maths games are still there, but so are baking, listening to music, programming, building and creating new games.

Obviously, I learned from this exercise. Kids DO have exciting and creative ideas. Sometimes (often?) it takes a bit of work and ingenuity for grown-ups to access them, is all. Next time, I will plan for this :).