Manifesting Our Dreams through Research

How Do I Relate to the US Open?

As the 2022 US Open continues from New York through our small screens here at AYTEF, the children practice tirelessly to improve their skills on and off the court. And even as they participate in the same sport as our country's renowned athletes, isn't it surprising that most of the AYTEF children were unaware of the widely recognized championship that is the US Open? A wild revelation I learned! So my focus question this week was "how can I educate the children about an event that relates so closely to what they're doing while also bringing in some connections to their lives?" As we all know, teaching is meaningless if the content isn't meaningful to the learners.

Rapid Research

To begin, we had to learn how to do research. Using this presentation

we reviewed some tips on making our research concise, relevant, and most importantly ours. After reviewing these tips, the children worked to find the answers to some research questions provided.

Research Handouts!

What Is My US Open?

To find the relationship between our US Open research and our lives, the children and I discussed what it really means for a player to qualify for the US Open. We discovered that we had to "practice really hard", "work on our backhands and forehands", and "be really good at tennis". To these players, being at the US Open represents a goal. An ambition that they have worked endlessly for. It requires determination, grit, and dedication to the dream, and for the children, I wanted them to reflect on how they all possess their own US Open; their own pursuits, goals, and ambitions.

To actualize these ideas, we created Dream Vision Boards. With magazines and picture books, the children thought hard and long about the visual ways in which they could display their goals. What started as a fun and crafty activity, turned into a long process of careful contemplation. Our children were so engaged and loved putting their dreams onto paper.

With just two and a half hours, we produced vision boards representing future astronauts, engineers, athletes, marine biologists, dancers, and so much more. So what started as "random research" as one of the children called it, turned into beautiful artwork depicting our own US Open. Check out the abundance of dreams that lies at AYTEF!