It was a short, but wonderful week! We packed a pile of writing, reading, art, and math into three days. On Friday, we had a special visitor, Ms. Jenifer, who came into the classroom with a mystery bag of tools and utensils that she challenged the children to describe and identify.

Tuesday, November 28th

In Theme Time on Tuesday we began building monolithic communities using our shoebox creations. The children connected them with tunnels, doors, balconies, windows, and an intricate web of yarn which made up a combination communication network and method of travel for the citizens of the megalopolis.

Wednesday, November 29th

On Wednesday, Mr. Anthony read the book Beautiful Oops to the class. The book celebrates the opportunities presented by mistakes and illustrates how smudges, tears, splatters, and holes can be leveraged to add an unexpected depth to a piece of art. After the reading the children went to the art space and explored their own, intentional, mistakes. It was an awesome experience!

 

Friday, December 1st

On Friday, the class were presented with an assortment of tools and utensils from around the kitchen, workshop, and garage. Ms. Jenifer, a special guest, presented them to the students and challenged them to examine, draw, and figure out what the strange items were. Turkey basters were found to be paint squirters. Mesh tea ball infusers became lemon squeezers and lemon aid makers. The children had an awesome time discovering their own uses for sometimes puzzling utensils.

We had a full and wonderful week! Reading groups really took off with the children buddy reading, discussing characters, and delving into the settings of the books. On Monday Mr. Josh worked with the class on a model-sailboat project. Thursday we celebrated Aria’s birthday and her parents came in to sit with her as she read two books to the class. On Friday Estee, our Architecture teacher, introduced the concept of scale to the children through an activity where they created a bed for a mouse.

Monday, November 13th

My Math group began exploring 2-dimensional patterns this week. We worked with manipulatives, colors, letters, sound, and other discrete units to build and challenge each other with patterns of increasing complexity.

Tuesday, November 14th

In Theme Time on Tuesday we paused in our shoebox room construction and reflected on our progress. The children wrote about their space, commented about what they would like to add, and thought about how they would know that their creation was done. We also had time to make some of the additions that they had written about.

Wednesday, November 15th

Mr. Anthony presented the children with two projects on Wednesday. He presented playing card designs and then provided materials and guidance so that they could make their own cards. Their designs featured Emojis, unicorns, Minecraft figures, and even Jokers! We also had an opportunity to play with the idea of colorblocking using watercolor paint, permanent markers, rulers, french curves, and other tools.

Thursday, November 16th

Thursday morning Aria’s parents came to the classroom to celebrate her birthday. Aria read two books to the class and we all sang Happy Birthday. We completed most of the additions to our shoebox rooms that had been reflected on earlier in the week. The children cooperated wonderfully during cleanup, bringing a length of bubblewrap from table to table to collect unused materials at the end of our build time.

Friday, November 17th

How big would a bed for a mouse be? The same size as for a person? No! Estee introduced the concept of scale by showing the children chairs sized for small children and adults. We discussed that a mouse is roughly the size of a person’s clenched hand and that a bed for them would likely be no larger than a sandwich. The children worked with brightly-colored cardstock and were challenged to use two different construction methods (gluing, taping, stapling, folding, etc.) to make the bed. They then used fabric scraps to make a fluffy mattress and pillows for the bed.

Mr. David’s LE classroom had a excellent, albeit short, week. We expanded our understanding of what makes a room inviting and cozy by incorporating more fabric and furniture in our shoebox designs. Mr Anthony presented the art of Julian Beever, a Belgian artist who creates trompe-l’œil chalk drawings. The children used his technique to draw a 3-D butterfly on the playground.  Unfortunately I needed to be out on Thursday.

Monday, November 6th

We opened the week with Ms. Hannah and Word Work. The children expanded their vocabulary and understanding of different vowel sounds. Ms Vanessa challenged the children with a variety of yoga poses from Downward Facing Dog to Plank, to Mountain Pose. We also began reading groups on Monday. During these groups I meet with 2-4 children each day to read and reflect on books.

Tuesday, November 7th

Our shoebox rooms began to exhibit a more cozy, warm side as the children created more furnishings. Some of the children collaborated on multi-box spaces connected via tunnels and doors. We discussed how we could set up these miniature spaces so that they could become a model of a place that we would be comfortable spending a few days or a week in.

Wednesday, November 8th

The children were excited for the first week of their new Creativity Morning choices. They enjoyed printmaking, sewing, knitting, and performing music. In the afternoon we worked on our trompe-l’œil Butterfly on the playground. It was chilly out, but the children loved drawing and painting with chalk. After the butterfly, the children worked on their own 3D artwork on the blacktop.

 

Mr. David’s LE classroom had a wonderful week; building shoebox rooms, planning sailboats, learning new words, and delving into math. We also had an EXCELLENT Halloween Parade! Unfortunately I needed to be out on Thursday to take care of a minor plumbing emergency at home.

Monday, October 30th

In Word Work, we continued matching words to their beginning sounds, writing the words we were learning, and sorting words by short, long, and ‘oddball’ vowel sounds. The children are really enjoying discovering and sounding out new words. We practiced yoga with Ms Vanessa and played some movement games; Night at the Museum being a particular favorite. In this game, Ms. Vanessa chooses a particular theme for the museum (scary creatures, rainforest animals, etc.) and then challenges the children to hold the pose while she’s looking. The moment she looks away, they can change their pose and she has to figure out what new character they have taken on!

 

Tuesday, October 31st (Haloweeeeen!)

The children loved wearing and parading in their costumes today. There were many inventive and thoughtful costumes to be seen across the school. In the afternoon, at theme time, they began using a multitude of materials (fabric samples and scraps, clear plastic sheet, string, cardboard, etc.) to furnish and decorate the interior of the box that they had brought to create their ultimate room!

 

Wednesday, November 1st

This was the last week for the first session of Creativity Morning. On November 8th the children will begin a new 4-week session of new activities. The children wrote songs, created multi-media art involving batteries and LEDs, and built towers, robots, and other creations in Free Build. In the afternoon, Mr. Anthony introduced the Day of the Dead (Día de Muertos) by presenting a slideshow of art. We then worked on creating Day of the Dead banners for our classroom. The children folded and cut many layers of tissue paper to create intricate and delicate panels.

 

Friday, November 3rd

Friday LE had Construction time with Mr. Josh. He shared with the children a model sailboat from his childhood. They discussed the various features (mast, keel, bow, stern, etc.) and then Mr. Josh showed the children how to draw a design for their own craft. Over the next few weeks the children will complete their plan and then bring it to realization using their burgeoning shop skills. We enjoyed Game Friday in the afternoon with a wide selection of games from our library and games brought from home. The children enjoyed being the ‘expert’ and showing their friends how to play a favorite game.

This week we created some spooky features to incorporate into our burgeoning neighborhood model and also focused on transit options with train tunnels, maglev track, and an underground structure! Ms Vanessa led the class in Yoga, Mr. Anthony inspired the students to furnish a room with their favorite things, and we began a new type of writing Grab Bag Stories. It was an exciting week and one full of discovery and friendship. Please check out the collages below!

October 23rd – Math and Yoga

October 24th – Spooky Structures

October 25th – Art with Mr. Anthony

October 26th – Tunnels and Tubes

October 27th – Game Friday

Another wonderfully full week in Mr. David’s class. We discussed our home neighborhoods and the neighborhoods that we’ve been building in class. We expanded on the neighborhood theme and began talking about how a village develops. We incorporated streets, railways, bridges, theaters, and parks into a larger entity on the rug. In Mr. Anthony’s art class we created lifelike animals and people using plasticine. Literacy saw Mr. David’s class responding thoughtfully to the characters and themes in books. During Game Friday we explored favorite games that friends brought in, games that challenged eye-hand co-ordination, and games that challenged the mind. I’m looking forward to another awesome week. Enjoy the collages below!

October 17th – Structures and Word Work

October 18th – Art with Mr. Anthony

October 19th – Planning a Village

October 20th – Game Friday

Another short, but full week in Mr. David’s class. We worked constructing card stock structures and neighborhoods on Tuesday and Thursday afternoon during theme time. Literacy saw Mr. David’s class delving deeper into word work, sorting words based on vowel pronunciation and beginning letters, writing, and discovering new words. In Mr. Anthony’s art class we explored perspective through the examination and discussion of visual artwork and the creation of our own. During Game Friday we worked with cubelets, designing robots that move, respond to the external environment, and even draw! We also played games in Ms. Maria’s Mystery Room! Enjoy the collages below!

October 10th

October 11th

October 12th

October 13th

Last week was busy, short and exciting! We explored Yoga with Ms Vanessa; crossing streams on stepping stones, posing, and making bridges. Literacy time saw a focus on Word Work; discovering pronunciation, spelling, and sorting of words based on different variables. During Art with Mr. Anthony the children continued working on their rock art. We spent a little extra time in the afternoon before pickup each day building our classroom community on the Playground. It was a wonderful four days!

Monday, September 18th

In Literacy, we began talking about rules both at home and at school in preparation for making a classroom constitution. Ms Vanessa introduced some mindfulness activities and the children learned some yoga moves.

Tuesday, September 19th

In Literacy, we continued preparing for the writing of our constitution. We built structures using coffee stirrers and clay; the goal was to suspend a cylindrical block above the table’s surface. The children had some inventive solutions!

Wednesday, September 20th

The second week of Creativity morning was quite successful. The children enjoyed building, coding, designing, and making. Mr. Anthony talked with the children about Symbols and worked with them to create their own. He also introduced them to stone stacking.

Thursday, September 21st

We nearly finished up the children’s presentations of their Five Things bags. We continued our constitution by hunting for rule sticky-notes around the room. We enjoyed a number of games in the afternoon, from Chess to Tell-a-Tale, a story-telling game.