Students in our education system are not often enough challenged to be creative. Some people may say "oh, no, I'm just not a creative person..." but this is a falsity. We are all creative, given the opportunity and flexibility of a learning or exploring experience.
So, when we were surprised with a trip to the Dollar Tree and $5 (WOHOO MONEY!) for our final lab session, I was excited to test my creativity juices... even if it took a lot of juicing to get them going.
While I can successfully plan activities, I do struggle to add a creative edge, something that will really engage or interest the students. This was evident at the Dollar Tree, as I roamed around the entire store, looking at thousands of diverse items that could apply to many learning situations... yet I struggled.
I literally felt my head come under a higher pressure due to the amount of varied muscle movement (I think it has something to do with the side of the brain used in creative moments).
Either way, it took seeing someone else's creative idea to start connecting some items I was seeing to my wildlife ecology and management unit. I was surprised how quickly the juices came after that... I got some interesting items that can illustrate concepts of habitat and carrying capacity. I also picked up some practical items to use for an already-planned activity.
Anyways, it was a great experience, and even more exciting when I remembered I had a lot of cash in my pocket. I then may have gone overboard with my purchasing. But in the end, I learned about how our teacher minds can be stretched and challenged to develop instruction to best engage and spark interest in students... all by going to the Dollar Tree! : )
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