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Monday, June 17, 2013

On Bubbles and Modeling

--And there was dancing and rejoicing for the family the day Natalie blew bubbles and quit putting the bubble wand in her mouth!  The trumpets have sounded!

After weeks and weeks of convincing Nattie to stop putting the bubble wand in her mouth to blow the bubbles, she finally blew an extensive stream of tiny bubbles from the wand when we were out in the driveway last week!  Yay!  and can I hear an "Amen"! 

Basically, since we were able to head outside in the early spring, the whole family's been excitedly modeling for Nattie how to hold the wand a few centimeters away from her lips and blow through the little wand to make the bubbles.  We continued to model and she kept trying it!  We never gave up and neither did she and now-what we thought would seemingly never occur has finally come to fruition!  The whole family clapped and cheered when we saw the stream of bubbles leaving her wand last week!

All of the convincing, the modeling, the self-talk, the positive reinforcement that it took to get her to do something so small made me think of the modeling I do as a teacher when working with students.  Since school's been out, I've had some time to really reflect on my year-and I'm asking myself-did I model enough for my students?  And I am answering honestly-I think not.  So in the future, I am going to pay more attention to making sure that I model enough and yet avoid swooping and rescuing so that all of them keep trying and reaching for the stars.

12 comments:

  1. I have an almost three-year-old daughter and she needs an amazing amount of modeling and I have had similar thoughts about modeling for my middle schoolers. Great point!

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  2. I know what you mean. We think they should get it, but yet we don't give students enough time to try on their own. I have to think of my learning curve and how long it takes me to master something challenging. Working with a master beside you is so helpful. Good for Nattie! May you have a bubbly summer. :-)

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  3. Hurrah for Nattie, too, Amy! I love the self-reflection, something important as we 'finish' up the year in our minds. And it's also important to remember that all the students (like all your family) can model for each other! Thanks!

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  4. I love the connection to modeling in the classroom. Little Nattie is like my grand baby Sammie who really wants to eat the bubbles still. It really is a very tricky skill...and then there also is their strong ability to knock over the bubble jar :)

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  5. Way to go Nattie! Bubbles are so much fun, and your slice is a needed reminder to me that I do need to take time to model for my middle schoolers. And I need to give them time and encouragement as they try, fail, and try again. Repeat again and again.

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  6. I'll join the "Yay!" This is a happy slice with a seed of thought.

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  7. Such fun to watch kids learn! And I love the way you turned this into a reflective moment about the power of modeling.

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  8. What a great first slice to read at the beginning of my summer vacation!

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  9. Yay for Natalie!! It's amazing how we can turn life's small events into such deep reflections about our teaching. Enjoy your summer. I'm hoping we can touch base when I'm up visiting family. Have fun at All Write!!

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  10. I'm always amazed how you can take a moment, reflect, and think about the applications in your own classroom. That's awesome. Big cheers for Natalie too!

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  11. Amen!!!!

    What a wonderful picture you painted with words of this special day!

    Loved the literacy lesson too. Modeling. Modeling. I always have to remind myself.

    Cathy

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  12. Oh yes, I remember the first time my children blew bubbles successfully. What a treasured moment! I love how you connected it to a lesson, yay to you!

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