PHASE THREE

The classroom walls, tables and display boards became filled with boat work and the children were eager to show off all their hard work. It was approaching the time to write progress reports and hold conferences so, together with the children an evening celebration was planned.

The format for the open house and sharing of our boat project was established in collaboration with the students. The children discussed what they had learned, finished off displays and decided on what they wanted to show their parents about their learning. I used the children's discussion to make an agenda for the evening. My role for the evening was as an observer, the children were to host the evening themselves.

The children wanted to make a special invitation for their parents- one that would entice them to come but would not give away all the "treasures" to be found in our room. They decided that a treasure map and treasure hunt would be interesting. Some of the children had been making maps at the writing center and were fascinated with pirate ships and buried treasures. The students thought we should have a "real" treasure for their parents to find. After an interesting discussion we finally established that the "treasure' was the students and all that they had accomplished. Each child made a treasure map invitation, rolled it up and tied it with raffia then took the invitations home. The children eagerly anticipated their parents' responses to their work.

  As the day of the celebration approached the children tidied the classroom and added finishing touches to displays, boats, and their folders of the project work. Over the course of the project I had taken over one hundred pictures. These were displayed all around the classroom with students written captions below. The photographs captured the evolving story of our boat work, but more importantly captured the children's keen interest and total engagement in what they were doing at school. The parents were delighted to see their children in action and felt that they had had a real glimpse into their child's experiences.

At the end of the evening each parent took a "golden" moment to reflect on the treasure they had found. Gold pens and a treasure chest filled with chocolate coins were savored as the parents wrote reflective letters to their children. Invariably the letters resounded with positive comments and pride. The parents were impressed by the work their children had done and valued the time with their children. One particular parent whom had spent over two hours in the classroom reading, investigating and enjoying learning about his son's work announced enthusiastically on his way out the door, "That was fun!".

As a teacher I value the time to step back and observe the interactions my students have with their parents. This sharing is so meaningful and I learn so much about my students in this way. I know that the lessons learned and the project work had value because the children were able to confidently explain and discuss so many ideas and concepts with their parents. Although we had not built a real boat like one of the children had wanted to at the beginning of the project work, I felt we had accomplished what we had set out to do in the beginning. The children had answers to their questions, new and varied experiences to draw upon and had applied skills to a real meaningful situation. Project work breeds confidence, self esteem and allows for self control and independence in students. One of my students summed up the project in these few simple words. "I learned I can build a boat all by myself."