My girls have been busy this week with their Arabic exams which leaves me with some much needed time to reflect on my blog. This is important since I am now developing a class activity for my students where they will also create a blog for their writing and "compelling" experiences. I have them interested but they are skeptical since our Internet access at school is limited, at best. I think that a blog, just as a good novel, or play will make a memorable learning experience for them.

I am considering elements of "meaningful learning" and what it means to leave a lasting impression or memory on a student. I am forced to consider what I remember from middle and high school which should not be difficult since it's only been about 12 years since I graduated. Looking even further back, I recall becoming a Green Lake "Kinderbean" and wearing a super cool t-shirt to prove it, the "Stone Soup" activity in grade 3, and the "Bluebird Company" in grade 5 of which I served as the secretary. Later in middle school, things were not nearly as interactive. I do remember a social studies project where a local Hmong girl told the class her very fascinating family history story. She showed us an amazing quilt her grandmother had sewn and carried with her from Cambodia as a refugee.

High school presented some opportunity for more memorable or compelling "school" moments such as plays, trips, creating a yearbook but nothing was more compelling than a "Life History" project conducted at a local nursing home where we were paired with a resident and asked to write his or her life story. It was incredible. I want to create those memories for my students especially in Saudi Arabia since I will also come out of it with something immensly unique and compelling on both a personal and professional level.