Imagination and Experience

Kimberly Chin, COT Teaching Artist at Clinton & Hampton Elementary Schools

This is our second week at Clinton and first week (2 classes) at Hampton. They are still so excited for us to be there. I believe they are having so much fun and they will gain so much experience and learning opportunities by the end of this year. We have one class at Clinton and one class at Hampton that are experienced in this program. To think of things that will be more challenging for them, yet easy enough for the newer students in the class, may be challenging. We do not want them to get bored mid-year.

In the newer classes, it is surprising to see how shy and how little they know how to use their imagination and creativity. On Wednesday, I did a lesson on exactly that, imagination, still along the lines of our theme, adventure. We did a game where we pick up an object and imagine it as something else, then explain how we would use it to help us on an adventure. For example, I would pick up a pen, then say this is a wand that I will use to protect myself against the evil wizard on my adventure. Many students would pick up a pen and say, this is a pen. The second part would sometimes be imaginative: This is a pen that I can write something down and it would appear. On a brighter note, the more experienced classes, for the most part, did use quite a bit of imagination in this activity. One student picked up a broken part of a balloon and said, "This is a cap that if you put it on, you will become hairy from head to toe and can disguise yourself as an animal."

This Friday, Clinton will be going to the Museum of Science and Industry. I've asked them to not only log the "cool" things they saw that would be good for their opera but think of "what if" scenarios as well; "what if the tornado broke loose?" Hampton will be going on their field trip on November 4th.

I think this will be a great year filled with many fun and imaginative adventures!