Radiococo Broadcast #01
I believe in you!
I've always imagined a parallel universe where I run a radio station, talking about things I care about and occasionally mixing up tunes. I have a DJ name-Radiococo. I even started a little project called Radiococo's fictional EP, where I illustrate an album cover every month with track titles that reflected what went on that month. I never got around to making the tunes, but having a newsletter comes close to having a radio station.
I love talking about my work with kids, and it all works out because I always want to share all the wild and wonderful things that happen in class. Since I don't often get a chance to share them personally with you, a newsletter is the closest I could get.
I have wanted to start this newsletter for a year now, and it took so long because although it was important to me, I wasn't sure if I was qualified or if my writing is good enough, which brings me to the topic of this first newsletter. While swimming in self-doubt and gathering enough courage to get out, I thought about the kindness and generosity that I often encourage others to share with kids. At Saturday Kids, our priority is to create a safe environment for kids to learn and play without judgement and fear. So how then could I not extend that same kindness towards myself? I have shared this little story with some of you before:
This was a Marvelous Machines and Mechanisms class, and we were making an epic automated ball run which was as tricky as it sounds. My student was getting really frustrated and directed it harshly towards the ball. Verbalizing his frustrations was definitely okay, but it started to bring the energy of the class down and demotivated his partner working alongside him. Instead of telling him to quieten down and continue trying, I suggested maybe being harsh was not helping. To my surprise, he started fiercely encouraging the ball, and it was both a charming and comical scene. It all worked out at the end, of course, and now I am here trying to share that same compassion I have for kids with myself. If you have a similar epic automated ball run in your life right now, I hope you are aggressively cheering yourself on too!
So this is my little broadcast, I aim to do one every month, sharing stories from the classroom, with a little play-list at the end. I hope you tune in and enjoy the little stories, and please share your thoughts with me if you feel like it!
This month's play-list:
Adam JK’s reflective free! activity sheets
This beautiful video about synchronization
This absolutely gorgeous site enabling me to live my DJ dreams