Session 1: Feb. 5, 2010

I had a very lively group of four students, including 3 fourth graders and one sixth grader. They all listened intently while I described the project we are doing. It took a while for them to begin drawing their favorite places. It appears these students are all friends- their conversations veered away from their drawings and started centering on mutual friends, "crushes", etc. I had to chime in from time to time to refocus the group, which did help. Drawing took some time, so we only had time for a very brief discussion afterwards. One student drew a beach, with sand, water, and a palm tree. Two students drew river scenes, with fish, swimming, trees, and birds. The last student simply copied a photo of the White House from the classroom wall and said, "This man's gonna be President". His White House depiction did have a tree next to it. While discussing the reasons they drew their particular places, one student stressed that he really loves to fish. This made me consider adding a small fish pond in the school's courtyard (just a thought). Two students simply stated that they like going to the beach. Before the students left, I reminded them that we will be back again soon to discuss our pictures further and to get more ideas.