Puzzle Fun #2 - Months of the Year and Meet Tula

 

Puzzle Fun #1:    

Months of the Year

 I noticed that many of my colleagues are beginning to prepare for their August start.  Some are asking lots of questions about how to do calendar in primary.  In my experience, the calendar has a lot to offer in great learning.
The calendar is a real life math and measurement tool with history and diversity and a variety of topics to cover.  I remark that for 30 years there has always some little gaffer that answers "What day is it today?" with "February."  It's a sign that children need to work on their concepts of time.  Despite our new technology and how we calendar, the concepts are still relevant today.  So, what do I teach with the calendar?

-history of the calendar-different calendars-holidays and traditions around the world-seasons-Equator and the International Date Line-days of the week-months of the year-years-how many days of the week-how many months in a year-how many weeks in a month-how many days in a month-how many weeks in a year-how many days in  a year-patterns-how many hours in a day-pm and am-elapsed time on the calendar (i.e., What would the date be exactly one week ago?)-planning and tracking-how to use a paper calendar/electronic calendar with pros and cons-counting and place value (100th day of school)-even numbers and odd numbers-skip counting-weather and temperature patterns-number lines and negative numbers...
I have a hard time, I must admit, covering it all in a year and I often use the students to help guide me based on what's important and where they are at.  For example, different classes throughout my career have been interested in:-time zones-moon cycles-important dates in history-current events To say that I can do a lot with the calendar is an understatement but it is perhaps here where I warn you of the monotony and boredom that can occur with doing the calendar every morning.  The kiddos that get it lose interest in the daily repetition and the kiddos that are struggling tune out if there isn't a motivator or "hook" as Dave Burgess calls it.This is where I introduce you to Tula.  She was a later addition to the Magic Backyard for a unit that I did on countries around the world.  She was the world traveller and wrote us letters everyday about her adventures.  Over the years, she has developed into a staple character in the Magic Backyard.

This is Tula (actually she's "Esther, the Wonder Pig" but I borrowed her photos and renamed her for my purposes).  Tula is a lady pig that lives in the Magic Backyard.  She always tells the children that she never got to go to school because they didn't have one but she's trying to learn those skills now.  She is obviously funny and quirky and keeps the kiddos laughing at her and then at themselves in healthy ways.

Tula has evolved to be my calendar hook.  She writes the morning message with a whole ton of spelling, grammar, punctuation... errors (depending on what I am focussing on), she shares news, encourages the kiddos when they are struggling with something, and she challenges them to accept that learning is a process of making mistakes and learning from them.  In addition, she sets up the calendar each morning inaccurately and the children have a great deal of fun looking for her mistakes and correcting them.  As with the letter, Tula makes clever mistakes to address what we are learning about, focussing on, or requires review.  

My morning calendar time is loud!  You can hear laughter and team work and excitement and learning!  Honestly, it is one of my favourite times of the day and the children seem to love it too!  I never hear a kiddo say, "Calendar, again?!"

I do hear them postulating on what Tula has learned or is still making mistakes on.  I receive letters to her about her learning that demonstrate empathy and understanding of someone who is just learning.  When Tula takes a break for a day or two, as she sometimes does, I hear lots of questions about where she is and when she will be back!

Tip #8:  Creating Your Own Cast of CharactersAdding staple characters to your own Magic Backyard is an excellent way to keep kiddos engaged and build a community around you!  Tula teaches so much about character development while working on academic skills because of the character traits that I have assigned her.  It doesn't take much.  Later on, you will meet Dr. X and my new character for this year, Geraldina.  When you create a new character, think about something in terms of character development or SEL that you want to build in your students.  Choose a funny character through photographs, costumes that you put on, puppets... and build a character sketch of them.  What and how will they interact with your students?  Don't worry!  Characters can evolve over time and morph as you see fit.  If a character is not working or needed with one group of kiddos, send them on an adventure for the year and use characters that do suit your group.  I often think the children learn lessons better when they don't know their learning.  I don't have to do much with "making mistakes as a part of learning" because Tula does that all year long and because as the children learn to empathize and work with her, they often learn to accept their own mistakes as well!  It's a much bigger lesson, if you ask me!IMPORTANT NOTE:  Remember to consider equity when you are choosing characters!  I often use animals and objects to demonstrate certain qualities in order not to build bias.  When I do use costumes and more human characters, I choose them specifically.  With Dr. X for example, I chose an independent quirky female to teach and learn about math, science, engineering... because I wanted to ensure that the girls saw a role model in those areas since traditionally math (in particular) is a hard sell for girls.  For reasons of equity, it is important to carefully consider your new characters before introducing them and vet them against bias and stereotyping in order to ensure that they are building up what we think is important!