The TK-1 teachers met for the first time on March 13th, 2018. They didn’t all know each other but knew they would have fun collaborating and bouncing ideas off one another. Some of the highlights of this curriculum that definitely stood out were days where students made books about farm animals, learned about the farm, showing off their creativity with amazing craft projects, and making ice cream. The teachers enjoyed setting up the classroom each day waiting to see what was going to spark the children’s minds and watching the other teachers give out presentations, giving ideas to others who could use these methods in future years.

The design of this program helped the instructors become better teachers in many ways. Collaborating with peers was something that all teachers were excited about. They also observed the other teachers and learned strategies by reading books to the students and implementing from them. When asked if they would be carrying on these ideas and techniques from the program to their future years as teachers, all instructors replied with a wonderful “Yes!” “It was amazing and successful for all students at all levels. Some of us started using some strategies from last year and students were able to accomplish a lot more. Even when being held at high expectations. Kids were enthusiastic and learned very easily. They were very creative and were already able to do so much with the strategies they learned in the classroom. All lessons didn’t have to be exactly done, they could be edited to fit students needs. Students were able to see themselves as writers and saw their potential through their writing. Children were cheered on and had ideas to share on the fly. Students were excited about their stories even after knowing they needed some editing. There was a positive outcome that came from this camp not just for the students, but also for the teachers.

The 1-3 Grade Group teachers started meeting each other in February. The theme they chose this year was “Wild Things”. When the teachers were asked what their favorite moments with their students were, they said it was when they chose their animals and their narrative stories. They also said how ecstatic they were to share them. The way that the program was designed, helped the teachers focus on a very small group of kids a day, and how it really helped their students achieve their goals. After this successful trial-run, the teachers are ready to bring what they have learned at GVWP to their own school classrooms.

The 3rd to 6th grade team had had regular meetings at Rebecca's house. Most teachers knew each other since April, while others joined and got to know each other in May. The highlights from this classroom were spectacular. Their favorite activities were writing the final writing projects. The team loved seeing the students hard work coming in together and to see the excitement on the students faces. They loved seeing the creativity in the students’ writings, colors, and the pictures. One of the team members said, ”It is like coming in to another dimension!” The team thought that the design of this program helped them become a better teacher through collaboration. They loved bouncing ideas off of each other and learning new strategies. They made their own team drive so they can use the new ideas to teach next year.One thing that the teachers loved was the author’s chair, where students shared their work. They said they were definitely going to use it when they teach their own classes. They loved how the students shared and grew in their confidence as writers. They learned how the google slides worked and would love to use it with their own class. Another aspect they just loved were the writers notebooks. They loved how they can write down information and are able to come back to it. This 3rd to 6th grade team loved working here and they will definitely come back next year!

These teachers have been preparing for the two week journey at the Great Valley Writing Camp since March. They have enjoyed doing different activities. They loved seeing how their fellow teachers use technology in ways they haven’t seen before and in ways that they can incorporate in their own classrooms. The teachers are compassionate about their jobs. They show the children that writing is more than essays and articles; there are many different forms of writing that they can use to express themselves. From working together, they are able to bounce ideas off of each other to create activities that are rich and beneficial to the students. The teachers were grateful of the fact that there were so many of them, so they can collaborate better with the students and have more one-on-one time. The past two weeks opened the eyes of the teachers to a new perspective of teamwork and to a better understanding of this age group.