Thank you, Steph R!!

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Thank you, Steph R!!
By Risa

Your PM made my day... my week!!! I was so thrilled to read that you got the same type of response I have gotten each time I do this activity. As I said in the original thread, reading their comments reminds us that we aren't
working with a robot who has to be trained to fill in the right circle or with a recording device that merely recites the names of the fifty states. We are working with children who truly are the light and the sunshine in the lives of their parents.

I keep their papers and refer to them occasionally throughout the school year. They are good reminders about why I truly am there

when I get frustrated with all the demanding pressures that are a part of the teaching day.

A little side note for those who may try this for the first time: If you are not familiar with Circle Maps, use whatever graphic organizer (webbing, clustering,) you use with your students during pre-writing. I used a Circle Map, in part, to show parents how we use them and to give them that same experience. I think the key is to leave it as open-ended as possible and accept all answers. Some responses will be more heart-warming, while others may be more matter of fact. All of them will give us insight into the parent-child relationship and that, too, provides more information as we begin to know each student.:s)

P.S. Thanks, Stretchberry, for providing the link to my original post. I think that explains how this activity worked for me in a lot more detail.