An epiphany of sorts

I was thinking about things to write about in our blogs and one thing kept coming back to me: group teaching. I know it's been written about probably a million times now, but seriously: there is so much to say.
I was considering different things about the group teaching, and one thing I got from each group was that their activities made me think. I had to think like that age group, work like that age group, and attempt to be in the age group's mind set to make the activity work properly. Specifically, group three's activity with the 3-part picture that tells a story, but has no separation between actions. In my painting I had three different sizes of trees to show the growth of a tree over time. My painting coincided with Shannon's painting of a house being built (the tree would have been in the yard somewhere). This lesson stuck with me, and was really fun for me. Shannon and I had fun presenting our pictures too.
In my description of Professional Development, I said it was important to keep up with the times. I think, now, that it is also important to relate to the age group you teach, not necessarily just be qualified to teach them. With each activity in class, I saw just how important it was to show us why this, that, or the other was important for children in their growth physically, mentally, and artistically. I feel like over the course of this class I have learned what I think is important, and have been able to make sense of why I think the things I do.

Me painting for group three's activity.