We were very pleased that the weather cooperated with us this week, as we did not want to miss Choice Time on Thursday. The children finished the bases where their tiny tree houses will start emerging in the weeks to come. By chance Mr. Anthony introduced weaving this week, and the Lower Elementary students thought that they could use the finished tapestries in the little homes.

The students were shown images of many different fairy tree houses which used ladders, rope swings, and handmade furniture. The structures used moss, pebbles, sea glass, birch bark, and leaves. They were multi-story and elaborate, set outside and inside. The images were shown to spark individual ideas before we begin construction in earnest. Measurement, storytelling, writing, spelling, and the physics of simple machines are easily incorporated into this theme!!

Math

 

Ms. Vanessa and I have begun a fraction unit with our students by introducing the idea that fractions are about sharing one thing equally, or sharing many things equally between friends. The children have really connected with the sharing and the fairness aspect and already noticing equivalence “1/4 and 1/4 make a 1/2” and “58/10 and 1/5 makes one whole”.  We are making colorful designs with each of the red metal fraction stencils 1 whole to 1/10, so that the children can have the time to work concretely with the material before we start adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing.