Super Saturdays Develop Super New Ideas

Note:  the following post was written by Jessica Vaught in response to the ongoing work she is doing with me on Saturdays.  Jessica is quickly becoming a master teacher.  This semester she is responsible for the design and implemention of all of the Saturday workshops.  This posting does a beautiful job of capturing the unique energy of the Saturday drama work! (gretta)

Saturdays at EPI have become a wonderfully different experience from our after school work. The biggest difference is, of course, the students we have. On Saturdays, our group is much larger and more evenly matched between girls and boys. From the ever dramatic Mary to the sweet Emma, they all add a new personality and energy to our group. This environment gives us new opportunities and a chance to see how different students respond to the same work we do during the week – sometimes with very surprising results.

We’ve also taken the opportunity, on our one Saturday a month, to be a little bit more experimental in our work, always with wonderful results. In particular, our last Saturday of the fall semester comes to mind. Imagine the scene: fifteen youth of varying ages and attention spans, five adult workers (in and out of the process), and one recipe for gingerbread people. Talk about too many cooks in the kitchen. And yet, even with all the chaos and mess that ensued, this – of all our work to date – is one that I will probably always remember.

What better way to engage students in a story about making gingerbread (The Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett) than actually making gingerbread? And, of course, it’s nice to have a sweet treat after an afternoon of drama.

I’ve begun to think of our lessons differently since that day. In some ways, the sensory and kinesthetic work of making gingerbread and exploring the world of cooking is much more effective for our story drama than elements like pantomime and movement.  We have started to run with this idea during our after school lessons as well. In fact, last week and this week we have used all kinds of sensory and kinesthetic experiences, particularly through our exploration of The Three Little Tamales (by Eric Kimmel). We’ve touched, smelled, and tasted food like peppers, tortillas, and salsa. We’ve built houses and knocked them down. We’ve worn costumes and paraded the building. This has truly enhanced the experience of the youth, as well as my own learning.