appreciating the small things

when i first started teaching here, i used to get so frustrated at the lack of creativity shown by my students. often they were technically very talented, able to copy things wonderfully. if i showed an example to my class, i would receive 15 exact copies of my example as their final projects. if i didn't show an example to the class, they would just sit there, frozen in fear of doing something wrong, and they wouldn't even start.

so last week, i was excited when they suddenly got it. it was as if they suddenly understood i wasn't going to cane them or fail them if they made something different.

we made pop-up figures for the books they made last term. i showed the example of a pop-up star, but i told them they could make a flower or a heart or anything else they imagined. i was so excited when i received cars and animals and letters and all sorts of other ideas that they made.

one girl even brought a small girl into the class so she could trace her hand and use that.

i know this is a small victory, but it was really rewarding.