Genius Gym: Thank Goodness!

So, this week I had a moment that I'm sure all of you have now and then... a "Thank Goodness!" moment. You know ... that moment where you say "thank goodness" and then a variety of things fill in the space afterward.

• Thank goodness that lesson worked!
• Thank goodness it's jeans day!
• Thank goodness my students are happy and engaged!
• Thank goodness it's Friday!...or Payday!
• Thank goodness the copier is working!
• Thank goodness.... (How did YOU fill in the space?)

Before I share my "thank goodness" moment with you, I thought I would start with a few pictures.

 

Now the explanation:
Fridays in Genius Gym are reserved for enrichment. Every Friday I facilitate four enrichment classes in grades 2-5. The pictures I shared were taken this week while I was working with 2nd graders. Theses students are not identified as needing gifted services, but are high achievers in the areas of reading and language arts. As a group, we decided to make it our goal to set up an authentic zoo... well, as "authentic" as possible in a public school building. This idea started us on a journey that involved researching for answers to our "I wonders" and other things we thought were important to know so that we could accomplish our task.

This goal has been our focus for several weeks... Yes, it's taken MUCH longer that I expected, but the process is so beautiful that we just can't help it! Stopping it or shortening it would be a tragedy. It is this process that brought me to my "thank goodness".  On this day, students had completed their research and were creating the life-sized animals for our zoo. If it were legal for me to set up my Genius Cam, here is what you may have heard:

"Mrs. Tinnell, one of our sharks is 10 feet long. Is that too big?" "Mrs. Tinnell, we need to make a baby koala. It is the size of a jelly bean." "Mrs. Tinnell, our zebra butterfly needs to have a wingspan of 6 inches. Where are the rulers so we can measure?" "Mrs. Tinnell, our research says an adult gorilla is 6 feet tall, but we aren't sure about the baby. Can we do some more research?"

*excitement, problem solving, cooperation, collaboration, laughter, smiles, struggles, and strengths*

That is what you would have seen...

As the students were lined up to go back to their classes, I had this sense of gratitude. I was so grateful that they had spent that time in Genius Gym. I'm not really sure where the grateful feeling came from. I just kept thinking, "thank goodness, thank goodness"...

• Thank goodness for this opportunity!
• Thank goodness for experiential learning!
• Thank goodness I work with people who see value in this and support me and these kids!
• Thank goodness these students have this time to freely explore and create!

I realize that the ebb and flow of education has done its best to rob us of our grateful "thank goodness" moments... maybe that's why I was so grateful at the end of that class period. It's almost as if they are unexpected when they occur.

When you have those moments you should shout about them, hold on to them tightly, make it your goal to have more of them... because if YOU are having them it is safe to say your STUDENTS are having them as well.

These moments may be scarce for you right now... We have all been there! I will tell you, however, that for me they happen more and more within the walls of Genius Gym than they ever have in my career... Thank Goodness!

PS - I will forever continue to say "thank goodness" when the copier is working. 😊

The Head Genius