Variety

(During the summer months, I like to take the A-Z Challenge and come up with words alphabetically and see how they apply to education. I think it’s a great exercise for teachers and students to give this a try.)

Again, I have a balancing act with adding variety in the class. I know that my students find success in structure but I want there to be some variety in order to keep the students engaged. Here are some ways that I can have variety and still have structure.

Without variety, students may become bored and not as successful. By introducing some variety, it will help to keep students engaged in learning. When students are engaged, there are fewer behavior problems.

Have the same routine of activities but change the topics.

Allow students to suggest topics that they want to learn more about.

Allow students a choice of activities (pick 3 out of the 4 or 5 choices).

From a list of 4 assessments, let students choose which assessment they want to do.

Allow students to choose how they want to share information that they researched.

Variety is a good thing to have because variety will always happen in everyone’s life. It is better to learn to adjust to variety while students have a support system. Warn students ahead of time of any changes to their “routine” so the change will be easier to adjust to.

How do you incorporate variety in the classroom? Please share.

Photo by JACQUELINE BRANDWAYN on Unsplash

Variety

(Today’s post is for the letter V in the A-Z challenge.)

“Variety's the very spice of life, That gives it all its flavor” - William Cowper

I try to put variety in my life which helps keep me out of ruts and bored with things. Sticking with one thing may work for others but I like have a variety of hobbies to keep me entertained.

In spring through fall seasons, I like to garden. I love to plant flowers and watch them flower. When my vegetables bear fruit, I feel like I have helped create a miracle. Unfortunately with this comes the weeding which I really don’t enjoy but is necessary for beautiful flowers and vegetables

When I am hot and tired of gardening, I can come in my house and either read or play on my computer. I have to confess that when I get on my computer, time slips away from me. I can easily spend hours on the computer without noticing the time. I love connecting with others whether it is personal or professional. I love learning and by reading and researching on the computer I feel so connected with the world around me.

I also love knitting and spinning my own yarn. This is a great activity for the evening when it is too dark to garden or it is too cold for gardening. Most of my winter is spent knitting and spinning in the evenings. I love creating things with my own hands.

When I am in need of activity, I love hiking. I love being out in nature and seeing the world around me. I am able to hike in any season of the year and each place looks so totally different at different times of the year. Hiking helps me relax and keeps me in shape so I try to do this on a regular basis.

Now my husband and I have gotten involved in some more activities. We have become Master Naturalists where we can help in the park system. Also, we have become Red Cross volunteers to help with disaster relief.

As a teacher, I needed outside hobbies to help relieve stress. Variety is so important to keep me from getting burned out. The variety also helps me from getting burned out with any specific hobby.

What outside things are you involved in? How does it affect your life? Please share.

Image: 'dressing room'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8061429@N05/2373214186