I went to a very cool workshop about origami during a professional development day last week.
Confession time: I didn’t want to go to the workshop. I had already been to two workshops and I wanted to go home. Thankfully, my colleagues are better men then I Gunga Din and they strong-armed me into going.
At first I was not happy to be there. Thinking to myself, this is stupid—origami? In the classroom? WHY? (I can be as rotten as my students.) But then, I remembered teaching my fourth graders origami last year. It was good for the following:
1. Slowing down and following step-by-step, detailed instructions
2. Slowing down and being precise in your actions
3. Slowing down and paying attention to the teacher
4. Slowing down and checking your work (origami is awesome because it is self-checking—you can see right away if you are right or wrong)
5. Team work (you can help your neighbors see if they are on the right track)
The facilitator mentioned all of the above. She also mentioned that teaching origami teaches students to appreciate other cultures as well. It’s also hands-on learning for fractions. It’s good stuff.
Of course, she started off with a really simple box and NOT the Moravian Star that I taught MY students (what a freakin’ nightmare). Live and learn.
I’m going to incorporate what I learned in my math lessons this week. I’ll let you know how it goes.
