comparisons

today's lesson wasn't the one I had planned to present today -- I presented tomorrow's lesson instead, but I think it's alright, as it continued yesterday's introduction to the study of geography. Today, we stood on our desks and looked down at the room, imagining what a bird would see if it were flying over top of everying in the room. I put one child on my shoulders and had her describe how things looked from five feet up. Tomorrow, we'll draw a bird's eye view of our room as a class, and the children will write in their lesson books about the compass rose.

You see, I had a plan yesterday. It revolved around our being able to see the sun. Mr. Golden Sun did not cooperated, having chosen instead to stay under his nice fluffy blankets and snooze. Therefore, we were unable to use the sun to find the cardinal directions. Instead, I took the children for a walk down to the paddle-boat and cruise docks, where there is a beautiful compass rose laid into the sidewalk. We learned about the four directions and reflected on how we could travel east or west forever, but once we hit the north pole, we can only go south.

I find myself comparing my work to that of other teachers, teachers with far more experience or resources at their disposal. We work with what we have, and I'm constantly checking to make sure the children are getting enough, that they are stimulated to think and to use what they are learning, and that it makes sense. Our math work right now is still all review of the previous three years. We're on long multiplication now, and it's going well this time around; even OB is following along without too much frustration.

It's hard when I look at sites like educating alice not to compare myself with Ms. Edinger, who has been teaching for many years and who has the resources of one of the most prestigious private schools in NYC at her fingertips.