Have I mentioned how much I love the projects the teachers at Will's school design? Several months ago, the kids at his school celebrated "Lamest Field Day Ever" -- from what I remember him mentioning, his class had two hula hoops on a cold day. That's it. Then they posed for a "Lamest Field Day" photo and began their project with this entry document:
Schools around the country have an event for students that is planned and carried out by teachers and parents. At Innovation Academy we want to create our own traditions. Create a proposal for a new and improved game that you think should be included in the Annual Innovation Academy Field Day. Proposals will be presented to the Innovation Academy Leadership Team on April 5, 2013. Proposals should include: schedule of field day events, list of materials and costs, detailed explanations of games' rules and how you play, description of how you adapted the game and how it affects the game's skill level and player enjoyment, map of the space required to play, fundraising plan to acquire the materials.
This project was for math and PE, and Will and his group had a lot of fun creating games. They presented their proposals to the leadership team who narrowed the list. A week before field day, the teams who were on the short list presented their proposals to all the kids at the school, then they voted to determine which games would be at field day. Will was excited that his team's game was one of the games chosen for the big day.
Since the other three were out of school a week sooner than Will was, they got to come to field day, too. The school kids worked in shifts with a few manning each game station, while the others were going around playing. After a popsicle break, they swapped spots. Keeping up with the younger ones meant I didn't get to get around to see all the games, but I was impressed with the few I did see. There was quite a buzz among the parents (more than the normal, I mean). We were amazed at the creativity and involvement. We had all seen other field days with the same old games all the time. There was NOTHING normal about these games, the kids were quite creative with what they planned. Will's game was like hopscotch... but with hula hoops instead of chalk squares... and it was with two people... tied together like a three-legged race. They called it Hopscotch 2. Another game was sort of like catch, but with a soaking wet sponge. Another was like water balloon battles, but with balloons filled with glitter. Jon never left the Angry Birds game; it was real life twist on the video game. A team of fifth and sixth graders created a catapult with PVC pipes and elbows, a large funnel with duct tape, and several bungee cords. They piled boxes to be knock down by the kickballs painted like Angry Birds. All the games I saw were quite neat, and all the kids (young and old) were having such a good time. What a fun way to spend the last day of school! -- June 7, 2013
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