PS 101 fifth graders show off their knitting projects
Friday afternoons aren’t just about hitting the books for fifth graders at PS 101 in Bensonhurst.
Once a week, students participate in enrichment courses like “Nifty Knitting,” “Fiesta Time,” and “So You Want to be a Teacher.”
“We take enrichment to another level,” the school’s principal, Gregg Korrol, said. “The program is so popular with the kids that fourth graders are already talking about which classes they want to take next year.”
The courses were integrated into the Brooklyn elementary school’s standards-based curriculum. They also gave students the opportunity to explore subjects they will encounter in middle school and beyond.
In “It’s Fiesta Time,” for example, students got a head start on middle school Spanish, as well as experienced Spanish culture through cooking and salsa dancing.
Teachers, known as “guides” in these classes, shared their passions for crafts, photography, dance, and more with small groups of curious students—and helped students get involved in their school community.
Participants in “So You Want to be a Teacher,” for example, read aloud to younger children at the school and learned skills like podcasting, virtual modeling, and blogging, which they then taught to students who wanted to post information on the school Web site.
The enrichment program culminated this week with an “Enrichment Share Fair,” at which students took over the gym and auditorium to show off their new talents and expertise.
Students participating in “Nifty Knitting” displayed their hats and scarves—many of which were donated to cancer patients.
Other students showcased the origami they created in “Pieces and Creases,” exhibited photographs they had take in “Have Fun With Photos,” and performed the hip-hop dances they learned in “Searching for the Stars.”
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