Our Final thoughts...

We do not have to get our children to learn; only to allow and encourage them in their learning. We do not have to dictate what they should learn; only to discern and respond to what it is that they are learning. Such responsiveness is at once the most educational.
Anon
This quote encompasses our views regarding how our mindset has changed thanks to the Creative Schools project. As teachers we like things done in an orderly fashion and everything and everyone to be in its rightful place. This control can stifle creativity and once we got over the fear of letting go of the reins and allowing the children to have a voice we realised that
“Education is an imprecise process, a dance, and a collaborative experience.” - Siva Vaidhyanathan.
 Previous to the Creative Schools Project, when we were undertaking the production of a school muscial, we did so with a vision of what we wanted the finished product to look like! We never thought that the children may have their own vision of how the production  would unfold!!! Subsequently their vision included PSY's 'Gangham style' and One Direction's song "One way or another"!!!
 We were wondering how we could work these in... but the girls had that all sorted! 'Gangham style' would be a dance scene for the crows annoying the scarecrow...and 'One way or another' would be sung by the witch and her Flying Monkeys!
There was a stipulation that the words to the song would have to change from " I will drive past your house" to " I will fly past your house!"
When presented with such a confident arguement...we couldn't but agree!
 We found that when the girls had an ownership of the project they were quick to immerse themselves wholly in the process. They showed a sense of pride when their opinions were valued and this lit the fire for further creativity. They will place more importance on the day when people stopped to listen to something important they had to say, or an idea that they had, than how polished a final production may end up.

We always strive in our classes to foster enthusiasm towards any aspect of learning…through the Wizard of Oz we have touched on so many areas of the curriculum in a fun engaging way.
 As mentioned at the start of our blog we had highlighted the many curricular areas that a production of this magnitude would cover. In hindsight it would have been easier just to focus on one sub-project based on the Wizard of Oz but by us having our fingers in so many pies we feel that the children have had a more rounded and fulfilling creative, learning experience.
 
As you scroll through our Creative Schools Blog you will see the elements of Art, music, dance and ICT explained through interviews, photos etc. Another main element that we were fostering through the creative schools process was Drama.

With the introduction of the mindset of Creative Schools we were conscious to allow input from the girls for the scenes they were performing. As a result of the girls adding new elements and ideas to the production it naturally allowed more discussion on the elements of Drama. The girls have a clearer understanding of voice projection, positioning, timing to create an emotive experience for the audience, acting and reacting to others, facial expressions and using your body to further enhance dialogue. The girls were given free reign of the drama press to rummage and choose their costumes that would best portray their character. The girls have expressed how much their confidence on stage has improved which has meant the whole project will have a long lasting effect on them.
“You can teach a student a lesson for a day; but if you can teach him to learn by creating curiosity, he will continue the learning process as long as he lives.” - Clay P. Bedford
 
Hand in hand with all of these creative learning oportunities we were also aware of the literacy oportunities that the project nurtured.As mentioned previously we are in the maintenance phase of procedure writing in conjunction with the First Steps writing genres. The girls practiced their procedure writing when creating hats for the Ozians. This was a good exercise for the children to see how what they learn in class can transfer to other areas and be done in a fun and creative way. The amount of literacy and oral language elements that the Wizard of Oz touched on can’t be denied. Confidence and competence in using language, emotional and imaginative development through all aspects of the project were augmented. This is not to take away from the obvious opportunities that the girls had to improve their reading and writing skills.

We have enjoyed our blogging experience. The girls, their parents and other teachers have enjoyed being able to keep an eye on all the creativity as it was happening!!! Our blog was very much a working document throughout the process and it is very much a reflection of how all the parts of the projects were evolving simultaneously. You will see elements of the musical compostion, then the animations...then it jumps to the creation of our hats etc... Hopefully visitors to our blog will understand that creativity isn't structured and organised!!! We hope that anyone that does visit enjoys our blog and gets a sense of the creativity and enthuasiasm of the girls in St. Clare's!
 
On reflection as we are coming to the end of this project, where we initially endeavoured to awaken the imagination of the girls through a variety of mediums, we have learned that it doesn’t necessarily matter what medium you use as long as the children are engaged and are given opportunities to express themselves and for their voices to be heard.

“Teachers, you don't teach a subject, you teach a child.”
- Deepa Bhushan

We as teachers will carry this message with us.

"Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world."- Albert Einstein

We hope the girls will carry this message with them.