Have you ever thought you had a GREAT idea for something? And then thought you had all the steps, guidelines, etc. in place? And then went OH, MY! upon the execution?
I have had a few of these moments recently. I am happy with all of my ideas, but one in particular has caused me to go, OH, MY!
First, we held the 1st Annual Shrewsbury Asia Poetry Competition. By "we," I mean three schools in two countries. Loads of planning, dozens of emails, and even a zoom meeting or two. Everything seemed well planned.
Did anything go wrong? Yes and no. Overall, it went so smoothly. We had incredible entries in both categories (written and performance). It amazes me how talented our students are! But then...we had two identical (except for some punctuation and a two words) poems entered. OH, MY! This was not something I had anticipated needing to handle. And then, numerous late entries after the deadline. Was this because they felt it was a school competition? OH, MY! Another situation not anticipated. Overall, however, everything went so smoothly with poet visits and poetry workshops at all three schools that we are ready for next year!
Another moment started in March when I received permission to use our puppets with two year groups. (The puppets have been in Covid Quarantine since it is difficult to sanitize after each user if they are available for all students.) I planned a story writing unit with the puppets, and the plan was for pairs of students to create puppet shows to video for younger students to watch.
So what did I not think about? The length of time it would take to complete, for one. Some classes missed library due to field trips. Some had shortened times due to activities, assemblies, or lunch schedules. Some classes were in isolation. And let's remember I needed one lesson cycle to discuss the poetry competition! We are now filming when I'd hoped to be finished before our half-term break. Due to a huge week-long activity coming up, and the days we're missing for half-term break, I have two classes who might not film! OH, MY!
And finally, it was my idea (and still a brilliant one despite the chaos), to have one of our younger groups come to the library at break time. Usually this is not possible, but their classes have been moved temporarily to the rooms closest to the library. And since only one year group can come to the library at a time due to Covid restrictions, we had an day available. OH, MY! Today over half of the entire year group came to the library. That is A LOT of children! Most were sitting and reading or browsing the shelves. Some were clustered around searching points waiting their turns. And then there were the ones who wanted to run, play tag, chase each other, play the "floor is lava," and so forth. We have a plan to ensure students know the two options (play area or library) for break do not include the same types of activities. (We had done this, but not all students understood.)
Anyway, an OH, MY! moment is a moment for me to learn, adjust, and change things. It is also what makes life interesting.
