The proof is in the pudding

Or in my case, the doing.

Thursday was a busy day for us all. And by busy I mean stressful. In fact, this whole last week has been busy. And by busy I mean stressful.

One of those sources of stress transformed itself into something else.

The research platform project was one of our tasks. This week, about Tuesday, my energetic and ever organized Ms. Crofts, and I were completing our project and decided, because we were focusing on Robert Davidson, a First Nations carver of amongst other things totem poles, that students would be motivated after hearing about him to draw totem poles. So, to be authentic, we designed our own totem pole.

Totem pole designers we are not. But the act of designing, sketching and colouring became to me a source of enjoyment and stress reduction. These simple acts, and the diversions they provided and the need to use our creative brains, rather than analytical or otherwise, allowed me to relax. The pride or at least satisfaction I felt when the project was completed was uplifting.

Let us be able to provide our students with the same experiences on a regular basis when we are in the classroom.