Personal Interest Projects: How successful are they?

 Just worked with grade 6 and 7 students on a project that I call Personal Interest Projects....or Individual Projects. This is where students choose their own topic to research and create products of learning that demonstrate their understanding and passion of their area of study.

 For teachers in gifted education, a Personal Interest study is a project idea that we encourage classroom teachers to use.  I often tell teachers that it is a great way to extend the learning of their students... and I give them strategies on how to create this process in their class.

 However, I am not really sold on the idea of just handing over this process to a student, and I really wanted to experiment with this project to see how it worked in a span of only four days.

 Although the process is interesting, I think to get a really detailed and stellar project from students, there needs to be a huge teacher directed component to this endeavour.  This includes lots of scaffolding, breaking down the steps, and providing detailed feedback for students. 

 Still, it was challenging.  Although students were able to easily choose their topics, it was more challenging to refine the topic and push for deeper understanding, detail, and a well researched project.

 The topics chosen were:  aliens, photography, the French Revolution, aerodynamics, coca-cola, Theodore Roosevelt, the Hunger Games series, Secretariat (the horse), Hip Hop dance, Mars Exploration, John Lennon, Apollo 13, and chocolate.

 Each student had an interesting take on their subject; most students created powerpoint or PREZI presentations.  It was great to see how versed they were in making presentations using the smart board, researching their topics on line, and comfortably presenting their ideas to each other.

 Yet, I think that my unit on Images of Greatness was much more successful; simply because the topic range was not so huge.....in Images, a student chose an eminent person and I gave specific criteria that each student had to have in their project. 

 However, in this unit, the range was huge....in trying to find out about their topic, many students did not know where to start or what to include.  I met with each individually to help provide the structure and the format. 

The process of researching and presenting a topic of this nature is challenging for students. Some have never done this before, and for others, it is part of their regular curriculum...

 Over the years I have managed this process and the most successful Interest Projects where ones where I had lots of time to work with students.  I required a written report as part of the criteria, and I would spend weeks on teaching students how to take effective notes, how to make an outline, how to write a rough draft, how to edit first drafts, and how to reference resources.  Students would create detailed and well written projects, and then, I would have them make their presentations from here - using powerpoint, etc.  This is so I would at least be guaranteed a well written and detailed document about their project.

However, with only 3 days of work ( needed the last day to do presentations), it was hard to get detailed drafts and I had to shorten the process.

Overall, it was a great experience and the projects were interesting and wonderful!  Thanks PIPer's! 

Teachers, have you done Personal Interest Projects in your class? Did it work for you and for the students?  Was there valuable learning as a result?


I am very interested to know how this process works in other learning environments!

Personal Interest Projects: How successful are they?

 Just worked with grade 6 and 7 students on a project that I call Personal Interest Projects....or Individual Projects. This is where students choose their own topic to research and create products of learning that demonstrate their understanding and passion of their area of study.

 For teachers in gifted education, a Personal Interest study is a project idea that we encourage classroom teachers to use.  I often tell teachers that it is a great way to extend the learning of their students... and I give them strategies on how to create this process in their class.

 However, I am not really sold on the idea of just handing over this process to a student, and I really wanted to experiment with this project to see how it worked in a span of only four days.

 Although the process is interesting, I think to get a really detailed and stellar project from students, there needs to be a huge teacher directed component to this endeavour.  This includes lots of scaffolding, breaking down the steps, and providing detailed feedback for students. 

 Still, it was challenging.  Although students were able to easily choose their topics, it was more challenging to refine the topic and push for deeper understanding, detail, and a well researched project.

 The topics chosen were:  aliens, photography, the French Revolution, aerodynamics, coca-cola, Theodore Roosevelt, the Hunger Games series, Secretariat (the horse), Hip Hop dance, Mars Exploration, John Lennon, Apollo 13, and chocolate.

 Each student had an interesting take on their subject; most students created powerpoint or PREZI presentations.  It was great to see how versed they were in making presentations using the smart board, researching their topics on line, and comfortably presenting their ideas to each other.

 Yet, I think that my unit on Images of Greatness was much more successful; simply because the topic range was not so huge.....in Images, a student chose an eminent person and I gave specific criteria that each student had to have in their project. 

 However, in this unit, the range was huge....in trying to find out about their topic, many students did not know where to start or what to include.  I met with each individually to help provide the structure and the format. 

The process of researching and presenting a topic of this nature is challenging for students. Some have never done this before, and for others, it is part of their regular curriculum...

 Over the years I have managed this process and the most successful Interest Projects where ones where I had lots of time to work with students.  I required a written report as part of the criteria, and I would spend weeks on teaching students how to take effective notes, how to make an outline, how to write a rough draft, how to edit first drafts, and how to reference resources.  Students would create detailed and well written projects, and then, I would have them make their presentations from here - using powerpoint, etc.  This is so I would at least be guaranteed a well written and detailed document about their project.

However, with only 3 days of work ( needed the last day to do presentations), it was hard to get detailed drafts and I had to shorten the process.

Overall, it was a great experience and the projects were interesting and wonderful!  Thanks PIPer's! 

Teachers, have you done Personal Interest Projects in your class? Did it work for you and for the students?  Was there valuable learning as a result?


I am very interested to know how this process works in other learning environments!

Product versus Process

I am always fighting the battle of the learning process versus the learning product.  It is important that students learn process, but I also want students to be able to pull together a project that focuses on detail and precision:  nice visuals, nicely coloured drawings, printing or computer rendered work.  

As I straddle two teaching systems (I teach in a public system and my sons attend the Catholic School system), I find that each tends to focus on either the product or process more exclusively.  The system I teach in is focused primarily on the process of learning, which is very important.  The system my sons attend focuses more detail on the product of learning.     I think both are not mutually exclusive, and go together.  Form and function.

Above is a sample of my son's grade two project that parents were encouraged to help out with.  However, the students were taught how to write the particular categories, and then type them out on the computer, how to draw pictures of each category, and how to present their work in poster format.  This standard of work has continued to be the focus in each year of school.  What I love about it is that my sons know how their work should look as well as the detail and standard that is expected of them.  All their projects are rubric based.  They are required to print neatly, or by grade four, handwrite.  They are required to colour their work, and outline their projects in fine liner. 

Now, I know many educators would think that this level of detail is unnecessary and is too product orientated. What if a child has written output issues, or cannot draw, or work does not visually adhere to the standard of the class?    I disagree. Technology is there to help students not only with the process but the product.   Furthermore, the skills and attention to detail that is required of my sons work makes them better learners.  It is not wasted effort and time.  All project work is considered important, and worthy of this time and effort. 

How can we focus on processes but also value the product we have students create?   How do we get students to put these skills together? Can and should teachers focus on the output or look of work over the process the students have undertaken?  I know that I love the look of good work, and this doesn't mean that it has to be neat, but it has to look "pulled together" and be clear to the audience what is going on.  Sometimes I wonder if the standards I have are too high, as sometimes students will say, "do I have to colour this?".  I will usually explain that I want colour to show the audience what is going on...it will help to explain the project, and make their project look complete.  This is important to some students, but not to others.  And, I guess this is the key; for some learners the look of their project and their work is very important, while to others, it is the ideas that they can explain, regardless of the end result or product. 

Individualization, customization, and standards - trying to put it all together.

Product versus Process

I am always fighting the battle of the learning process versus the learning product.  It is important that students learn process, but I also want students to be able to pull together a project that focuses on detail and precision:  nice visuals, nicely coloured drawings, printing or computer rendered work.  

As I straddle two teaching systems (I teach in a public system and my sons attend the Catholic School system), I find that each tends to focus on either the product or process more exclusively.  The system I teach in is focused primarily on the process of learning, which is very important.  The system my sons attend focuses more detail on the product of learning.     I think both are not mutually exclusive, and go together.  Form and function.

Above is a sample of my son's grade two project that parents were encouraged to help out with.  However, the students were taught how to write the particular categories, and then type them out on the computer, how to draw pictures of each category, and how to present their work in poster format.  This standard of work has continued to be the focus in each year of school.  What I love about it is that my sons know how their work should look as well as the detail and standard that is expected of them.  All their projects are rubric based.  They are required to print neatly, or by grade four, handwrite.  They are required to colour their work, and outline their projects in fine liner. 

Now, I know many educators would think that this level of detail is unnecessary and is too product orientated. What if a child has written output issues, or cannot draw, or work does not visually adhere to the standard of the class?    I disagree. Technology is there to help students not only with the process but the product.   Furthermore, the skills and attention to detail that is required of my sons work makes them better learners.  It is not wasted effort and time.  All project work is considered important, and worthy of this time and effort. 

How can we focus on processes but also value the product we have students create?   How do we get students to put these skills together? Can and should teachers focus on the output or look of work over the process the students have undertaken?  I know that I love the look of good work, and this doesn't mean that it has to be neat, but it has to look "pulled together" and be clear to the audience what is going on.  Sometimes I wonder if the standards I have are too high, as sometimes students will say, "do I have to colour this?".  I will usually explain that I want colour to show the audience what is going on...it will help to explain the project, and make their project look complete.  This is important to some students, but not to others.  And, I guess this is the key; for some learners the look of their project and their work is very important, while to others, it is the ideas that they can explain, regardless of the end result or product. 

Individualization, customization, and standards - trying to put it all together.

Project Specifications

 Like all projects in the Challenge Centre, clear objectives are set out from the beginning; there is always structure amongst freedom and open ended learning.

 For this project, the students were to envision designing, finding, or colonizing their own planet, in this universe, or in another galaxy.  They had to create inhabitants, human or otherwise.

 They had to create a government structure, and have goals for the society. This student below, really thought about and planned the goals.  Other students found this challenging, as some said they had no goals.  As the facilitator/teacher and only being with the students for four days, I encourage them as much as possible, but I do not force them; I present and model the ideas as possibilities.  Some students naturally go to this level, others don't.

 I also want them to think about the types of technology that may be present.

Some students were thematic in their approach; one student loves dragons, so he organized a planet around the concept of dragons.  His project was very sophisticated and well thought out.

On the last day, students shared their work.  They created passports, and they visited each others projects and got a stamp or drawn symbol from each person's project.
While visiting projects, they were to ask questions, and the students were to explain main ideas and concepts of their work.

Project Specifications

 Like all projects in the Challenge Centre, clear objectives are set out from the beginning; there is always structure amongst freedom and open ended learning.

 For this project, the students were to envision designing, finding, or colonizing their own planet, in this universe, or in another galaxy.  They had to create inhabitants, human or otherwise.

 They had to create a government structure, and have goals for the society. This student below, really thought about and planned the goals.  Other students found this challenging, as some said they had no goals.  As the facilitator/teacher and only being with the students for four days, I encourage them as much as possible, but I do not force them; I present and model the ideas as possibilities.  Some students naturally go to this level, others don't.

 I also want them to think about the types of technology that may be present.

Some students were thematic in their approach; one student loves dragons, so he organized a planet around the concept of dragons.  His project was very sophisticated and well thought out.

On the last day, students shared their work.  They created passports, and they visited each others projects and got a stamp or drawn symbol from each person's project.
While visiting projects, they were to ask questions, and the students were to explain main ideas and concepts of their work.

The Word Try

 

I have always taught my kids to "try" their best.  As long as they are working toward something, and putting in the effort, I am happy.  So, it was with great interest that I read this article in the Huffington Post about parenting and the word "try" not being part of the vocabulary and an excuse: Battle Plan of the Tiger Daughter

When my son comes home with a not so perfect score, and he sees my questioning look, he will tell me "Mom, I tried my best." 

I know that this is true; my sons (both of them) will put in the effort and do their best.  They do not make excuses, they work hard in school, and they love their school.  I am trying to teach them the value of the process of learning, rather than the end result, or grade, or mark.  To value learning intrinsically.  

I am learning in the process too; when I was first a parent, I was very competitive and wanting the best for my sons; however, my eldest son, the true leader and teacher in our family, is not competitive.  He is like his father.  Someone else scores higher on a test....that's great for them!  Someone else is in a faster ski group....great; I'm not ready for that yet.    His younger brother reads faster and bigger books; great, I am reading something else.

Trying is important, the process is important, letting our kids word hard is important, but parenting our children to value learning and where they are in that learning process is the most important thing.  Learning to ask questions, learning to think for themselves, learning to take charge of their ideas and to understand frameworks, processes, and where they fit into it all is valuable.

I especially think this is true for our gifted students.   These students need to learn processes and how to think and how to question and how to make learning their own.  This is only learned by experience, and risk taking, and trying new things.  

I will give an example; I had a student in my program who on the test scores, was completely at the high end of the scale.  When I began working with her,  she was the student that kept coming up and asking, "Can I do this...." or "Is this what you want...." or "Should I do this...".  It seemed like every 15 minutes she had to ask permission from me to do something.  So, I sat her down, and told her that I wanted to see her ideas and that there were no "right answers" here; that she needed to follow criteria, and be creative, and come up with her own ideas.   This was a huge struggle for her.

Then I asked about her school week...what she did at home, was she involved in any extra-curricular activities, and so forth.  And then it all came out:  tutoring,  intense music lessons, studying.  Wow, this student was busy.  But what I wonder and what I come away with is a feeling that perhaps this student just needed time to read on her own, reflect on her own, play with friends, and experience being a child rather than being involved in outcome based activities all the time.

As we reflect on our parenting styles on Mother's Day, let's remember that "try" is important.  It is not an excuse.  It is part of the process that will get us to higher level thinking and help us understand who we are and where we are as learners.

I applaud the author Deanna Fei, who at the end of the article, discusses how she will raise her child:  

"My husband and I made some modifications to our battle plan. We'll emphasize basic diligence and rigor, along with personal choice. We'll probably deploy my mother's line about the word "try," but only if our kids bring home a grade below, say, 92. We won't care if our kids can't play piano for their lives, as long as they pursue some kind of passion. "

This is the process of learning in action:   looking at our parenting as a process and learning from the past, and moving forward with how we will live our lives.

The Word Try

 

I have always taught my kids to "try" their best.  As long as they are working toward something, and putting in the effort, I am happy.  So, it was with great interest that I read this article in the Huffington Post about parenting and the word "try" not being part of the vocabulary and an excuse: Battle Plan of the Tiger Daughter

When my son comes home with a not so perfect score, and he sees my questioning look, he will tell me "Mom, I tried my best." 

I know that this is true; my sons (both of them) will put in the effort and do their best.  They do not make excuses, they work hard in school, and they love their school.  I am trying to teach them the value of the process of learning, rather than the end result, or grade, or mark.  To value learning intrinsically.  

I am learning in the process too; when I was first a parent, I was very competitive and wanting the best for my sons; however, my eldest son, the true leader and teacher in our family, is not competitive.  He is like his father.  Someone else scores higher on a test....that's great for them!  Someone else is in a faster ski group....great; I'm not ready for that yet.    His younger brother reads faster and bigger books; great, I am reading something else.

Trying is important, the process is important, letting our kids word hard is important, but parenting our children to value learning and where they are in that learning process is the most important thing.  Learning to ask questions, learning to think for themselves, learning to take charge of their ideas and to understand frameworks, processes, and where they fit into it all is valuable.

I especially think this is true for our gifted students.   These students need to learn processes and how to think and how to question and how to make learning their own.  This is only learned by experience, and risk taking, and trying new things.  

I will give an example; I had a student in my program who on the test scores, was completely at the high end of the scale.  When I began working with her,  she was the student that kept coming up and asking, "Can I do this...." or "Is this what you want...." or "Should I do this...".  It seemed like every 15 minutes she had to ask permission from me to do something.  So, I sat her down, and told her that I wanted to see her ideas and that there were no "right answers" here; that she needed to follow criteria, and be creative, and come up with her own ideas.   This was a huge struggle for her.

Then I asked about her school week...what she did at home, was she involved in any extra-curricular activities, and so forth.  And then it all came out:  tutoring,  intense music lessons, studying.  Wow, this student was busy.  But what I wonder and what I come away with is a feeling that perhaps this student just needed time to read on her own, reflect on her own, play with friends, and experience being a child rather than being involved in outcome based activities all the time.

As we reflect on our parenting styles on Mother's Day, let's remember that "try" is important.  It is not an excuse.  It is part of the process that will get us to higher level thinking and help us understand who we are and where we are as learners.

I applaud the author Deanna Fei, who at the end of the article, discusses how she will raise her child:  

"My husband and I made some modifications to our battle plan. We'll emphasize basic diligence and rigor, along with personal choice. We'll probably deploy my mother's line about the word "try," but only if our kids bring home a grade below, say, 92. We won't care if our kids can't play piano for their lives, as long as they pursue some kind of passion. "

This is the process of learning in action:   looking at our parenting as a process and learning from the past, and moving forward with how we will live our lives.

The E word

Evaluation:   How do we evaluate students when they come to the Challenge Centre?

When students attend the Challenge Centre it is not just an opportunity to have fun and play (although play is very important, and I will talk about play in another post).  

I am evaluation students over the four days of the program.  Because I only see them for three-four days on average, I try to get a "snapshot" of what they are doing in relation to the program objectives.  

In the past, I was very hesitant to do any type of formal evaluation, as my reasoning was that I only saw the students for 4 days, and I didn't really know them extremely well, and I felt that this was just a fantastic opportunity for them to try new projects and work with new ideas.  So, when a student finished the program, I wrote a paragraph on what the student did and how they did in a general format.

However, upon further reflection, I felt that this wasn't sufficient.  And, the team of teachers in the gifted education program did not feel that it was benefiting the students, as the information given back to the schools was general and vague.  So, last year our team got together and we brainstormed what our program is about and came up with objectives.  These objectives are clearly stated in the report card that I send home to the student and school.  

What are the objectives?

When a student attends the challenge centre, I am looking for a set of five behaviours or trends.

1.  Process:  how does the student handle the topic or area they are studying in the challenge centre?  Does s/he notice hidden relationships?  Improvise or adapt ideas?  Apply learning in unusual or unexpected ways?  Basically how does the student think.

2.  Motivation:  how motivated is the student in relation to the area of study?  Does s/he show energy, enthusiasm, and an interest in challenging him/herself?
Does s/he show persistence in overcoming obstacles in learning. Does s/he go beyond what is taught and initiate own learning?

3.  Problem Solving:  All of our challenge centres have problem solving embedded in the learning.  How does the student handle solving problems individually or in a group situation?  Does the student contribute to group-problem solving?  Does s/he employ a variety of unique problem solving strategies?

4.  Products:  although process is very important in learning, I also want to see that the student is able to create a project or product of some kind. This may be a piece of writing, it may be a poster-board filled with information, it may be a contraption that they build.  The students have a great deal of freedom to create products, however, the students are given lots of scaffolding and criteria to help them be successful with their creations. With regards to what they create, is s/he adventurous, take risks and experiment readily?  Does s/he execute ideas to completion that exceeds developmental level?

5.  Interpersonal Factors:   how do the students do on a social/emotional level in the program, particularly in that the student is being grouped with "like-minded" peers?  Does s/he communicate ideas effectively?  Does s/he give constructive feedback?  Does s/he demonstrate both cooperative and leadership skills?

I use a checklist that determines whether or not the student meets these objectives "rarely", "sometimes",  or "often".    If one of these objectives does not apply to a particular challenge centre, then I will check "not applicable".


As well, I write a paragraph detailing what the student has done in the program, and overall, how they performed, and what I observed.  


Are the students made aware of the objectives of the Challenge Centre Program?

The students are made aware of the language of the objectives, and the five areas they are being evaluated on.  I think it is very important not to put undue stress on students and tell them they are being formally evaluated while they are here.  So, when I tell them why they are here, I explain the type of learning that will go on in the program:  problem solving, lots of process work or how things are done, lots of thinking and interacting with others, creating things, working as a team, and being motivated to do their best and stretch their thinking.  


Each child does a self-evaluation while they are here, and furthermore,  they give me feedback so that I can improve upon what I do.  


The students are also made aware that a report will be sent home and to the school.


Why do I evaluate in a challenge centre program?

In the challenge centre, I am here to provide wonderful programming, but also to evaluate the child in terms of gifted/talented/enrichment education. I will provide added information about this child that sometimes is not evident in the classroom environment.   Is this a child who may need more servicing? Is this a child who has areas to work on or improve on in his/her learning?   Overall, how did this child do in relation to the expectations of a challenge centre program?

I am always interested in evaluation, so please contact me if you need more information, or want to continue the conversation!

The E word

Evaluation:   How do we evaluate students when they come to the Challenge Centre?

When students attend the Challenge Centre it is not just an opportunity to have fun and play (although play is very important, and I will talk about play in another post).  

I am evaluation students over the four days of the program.  Because I only see them for three-four days on average, I try to get a "snapshot" of what they are doing in relation to the program objectives.  

In the past, I was very hesitant to do any type of formal evaluation, as my reasoning was that I only saw the students for 4 days, and I didn't really know them extremely well, and I felt that this was just a fantastic opportunity for them to try new projects and work with new ideas.  So, when a student finished the program, I wrote a paragraph on what the student did and how they did in a general format.

However, upon further reflection, I felt that this wasn't sufficient.  And, the team of teachers in the gifted education program did not feel that it was benefiting the students, as the information given back to the schools was general and vague.  So, last year our team got together and we brainstormed what our program is about and came up with objectives.  These objectives are clearly stated in the report card that I send home to the student and school.  

What are the objectives?

When a student attends the challenge centre, I am looking for a set of five behaviours or trends.

1.  Process:  how does the student handle the topic or area they are studying in the challenge centre?  Does s/he notice hidden relationships?  Improvise or adapt ideas?  Apply learning in unusual or unexpected ways?  Basically how does the student think.

2.  Motivation:  how motivated is the student in relation to the area of study?  Does s/he show energy, enthusiasm, and an interest in challenging him/herself?
Does s/he show persistence in overcoming obstacles in learning. Does s/he go beyond what is taught and initiate own learning?

3.  Problem Solving:  All of our challenge centres have problem solving embedded in the learning.  How does the student handle solving problems individually or in a group situation?  Does the student contribute to group-problem solving?  Does s/he employ a variety of unique problem solving strategies?

4.  Products:  although process is very important in learning, I also want to see that the student is able to create a project or product of some kind. This may be a piece of writing, it may be a poster-board filled with information, it may be a contraption that they build.  The students have a great deal of freedom to create products, however, the students are given lots of scaffolding and criteria to help them be successful with their creations. With regards to what they create, is s/he adventurous, take risks and experiment readily?  Does s/he execute ideas to completion that exceeds developmental level?

5.  Interpersonal Factors:   how do the students do on a social/emotional level in the program, particularly in that the student is being grouped with "like-minded" peers?  Does s/he communicate ideas effectively?  Does s/he give constructive feedback?  Does s/he demonstrate both cooperative and leadership skills?

I use a checklist that determines whether or not the student meets these objectives "rarely", "sometimes",  or "often".    If one of these objectives does not apply to a particular challenge centre, then I will check "not applicable".


As well, I write a paragraph detailing what the student has done in the program, and overall, how they performed, and what I observed.  


Are the students made aware of the objectives of the Challenge Centre Program?

The students are made aware of the language of the objectives, and the five areas they are being evaluated on.  I think it is very important not to put undue stress on students and tell them they are being formally evaluated while they are here.  So, when I tell them why they are here, I explain the type of learning that will go on in the program:  problem solving, lots of process work or how things are done, lots of thinking and interacting with others, creating things, working as a team, and being motivated to do their best and stretch their thinking.  


Each child does a self-evaluation while they are here, and furthermore,  they give me feedback so that I can improve upon what I do.  


The students are also made aware that a report will be sent home and to the school.


Why do I evaluate in a challenge centre program?

In the challenge centre, I am here to provide wonderful programming, but also to evaluate the child in terms of gifted/talented/enrichment education. I will provide added information about this child that sometimes is not evident in the classroom environment.   Is this a child who may need more servicing? Is this a child who has areas to work on or improve on in his/her learning?   Overall, how did this child do in relation to the expectations of a challenge centre program?

I am always interested in evaluation, so please contact me if you need more information, or want to continue the conversation!

Operation Civilization

I just finished working with two groups of students on a project called "Operation Civilization" - one of my favourite challenge centres!  Here, the students designed their own country, based on Earth. 

 I made the parameters "based on Earth" so that the students would not veer off into fantasy land realities, but instead, look at concepts that are real to us on Earth:  concepts of government, leadership, economics, trade, national identity, and nation building.

 So, students had a great time designing and thinking about their countries...

 This student placed her country near Italy and thought about government, and trade, and natural resources.  Her motto was "A nation of peace"

 All students made a quiz about their nation that the other students had to complete after each student went around the classroom and read about each others projects.

 Many of the students created island communities.

 This student created an underwater civilization...the criteria was "as long as you can justify and speak to it... and take questions from the audience" then you can do it!!!

 Some students created models.

 Others drew detailed maps...

 Most importantly, they all LOVED sharing their ideas with each other!

Thank you my creative OPCIV students who joined me this year in designing your own country.  You were all magical and wonderful to work with.