So, what exactly is an “Aha” moment? At the Rabbi Arthur Schneier Park East Day School (a NYC Jewish Day School), we love shedding light on any special moment that takes place in our classrooms. This could involve a child helping another child, a special educational project, an inspirational moment, and/or an engaging and entertaining activity. These “Aha” moments are ones that are so special, we can’t resist sharing them with the world.
Not only are we trying to shed light on these special moments, but we are also hoping to inspire others. Whether these moments inspire you to do an act of kindness for another, bring home (or into the classroom if you’re a teacher) an educational project, or make you smile, these moments are geared to spread positivity.
So, let’s delve into today’s “Aha” moments:
Three teachers at the Rabbi Arthur Schneier Park East Day School discuss one of these moments that involves a pre-school student helping another pre-school student:
One of our students realized that her friend was upset. So, she began to hold her friend’s hand and sing the ABCs in a calming voice. Well after a few days, the upset student’s parents informed us that she now sings her ABCs every night. She sings them before bed, which she associates with being calm.
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Two other preschool teachers at the Rabbi Arthur Schneier Park East Day School discuss one of these moments that involves a special in-class art project, in relationship to the reactions and facial expressions of the participating students:
The children blotted paint mixed with glue on one half of a butterfly. They then folded, banged, and massaged the folded butterfly so the paint was transferred to the other half. As we opened up the folded pages slowly to review the end results, the children’s eyes opened wide. They smiled and thought the art project was like magic. They agreed that the butterflies were beautiful, focusing on the fact that they were the creators. Not only was this powerful for the students, it was powerful for us teachers. A child’s facial expression and our interpretation of it (pride, joy, wonder, shock) are worth 1,000 words. These facial expressions are especially amplified when a student succeeds in working on a particular project.
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Hopefully, these “Aha” moments provide you some entertainment and/or inspiration for a future classroom project.