It has definitely been
awhile since I last found time to write about our latest adventures in “Texas
Tech”. One of my fellow kippsters told me that he tried to write a TFA blog but
stopped mid-year because it was too hard to keep up, and I am beginning to see
his point! Nevertheless KIPP Destiny took its first field trip to the Dallas
Perot Museum. It was at that moment when I realized why the kid-friendly leash
was invented for parents. I only had two children to chaperone but when one
wanted to go left the other wanted to go right, leaving my arms twisted and my
heart racing when they decided to sprint in opposite directions! My scholars
absolutely loved the Perot Museum. It was interesting to see the 5-year old
version of “fun” at a museum. You would think they would have wanted to look at
the ancient dinosaur bones…but what they immediately rushed over to do was to
see how many times they could push the button that described the dinosaur. They
had an amazing time, for some, this had been the first museum experience. It
was exciting to see their faces light up and to see their personalities truly
shine through, throughout the day.
Recently we implemented
“Fancy Friday” at KIPP Destiny to introduce manners and the concept of eating
at a fancy restaurant. In other words, we developed a way for scholars to think
it was their idea to use quieter voices in the lunchroom. It has been a
wonderful compromise. :) At KDE Fancy Friday we use napkins and silver wear
and we even play classical music for them to dine with. My scholars have
absolutely loved fancy Friday! :)
At our latest family
Saturday, KIPPsters and their families and friends came to KDE to help us
beautify our campus as the founding class. We had multiple stations set up for
them to put their handprints on decorated trashcans and even paint their
favorite aspect of KDE on a banner that is now hung in the hallway. We had each
of the classes perform their class college chant for the parents and we all
circled to explain the importance of being the founding KDE class. It was
inspiring to see the amount of families that showed up to bring their children
to the school on a Saturday to further enhance the KIPP experience for their
child.
