Friday, February 25th

What Is Valuable?

After our trip to see the Transformer sculptures, KW has been inspired to create guardians of our own to protect what we value most at St. Johns.  How can we determine what is valuable at our school?  What would children identify as important enough to guard?  Would the things they value reflect the school's values?  In order to better understand how the children envision these guardians, we discussed what valuables the guardians would be protecting.

   Jack - The day we talked about the transformers, you said we could use tools like hammers - Jack
   Jill - That's right, but before we build, we have to think about what we want to build. If we have guards for the school, they would guard things that are valuable. What do you think are valuable things here at St. Johns? 
   Lochie - Like, if bad guys come and steal our portfolios.
   Jill - That's a great idea.  Maybe we could put it on top of the portfolio drawers.
​    Lochie - No, it stands in front of the portfolio drawers.  And if we need to put something in, we move the guard. 
     Jill - Are there other things in our school that a guardian should protect?
    Sylvie - Like the constellations. (Sylvie is referring to the fabulous constellations made by the Tucker Room.)
     Lochie - Because making that was hard work.  Maybe someone could stand and guard everything.
     Jill - Would it be boring for a person to stand and guard things?
     Lochie - It won't be boring when they fight (a robber). 
    Reed - We could build our own guards and we can choose which ones would be a guard (for specific valuables). 
      Nora - (Gesturing to indicate all the drawings and work around the room) All the pictures (on the walls are valuable). 
      Jack - Are we going to choose a person to guard or build a guardian or make a fence or just ideas? - Jack
     Lochie - Remember the bad guys like shiny things.  We have shiny things in our collage area, so we should have a guard for them.
    Nora - Then it's going to be a sculpture. Then it's going to be metal. They used a lot of steel (for the transformers.
       Jack - Like silver stuff or clay sculptures. Robbers would steal them so we need a guard.
        Nora - And for little jewels (in the collage area or message center).
       Marley - The guard (for shiny things) could have jewelry on it. 
        Sylvie - The plates (are valuable)! If people take them, you can't eat.  (This is similar to jade's idea that there should be a snack guardian.)

Lochie - It's a robot.  It's a guardian for the portfolios.  It's made out of metals and gears.  It's strong and it has lasers, too. 

Maxon - This guardian protects everything in the school.   He shoots lasers.  He protects things from monsters, goblins, and bad guys.  

Marley - This is the guardian for shiny stuff.  He's made of gold and he has diamonds.  

Here's two more guardians from Lochie.  The both guard the constellation work in the Tucker Room.  The one on the left hangs from the ceiling.  The one on the rights stands under the constellations.  

Violet - This is the guardian for the shiny stuff.  He's got diamonds inside of him. 

---

Drawings that Transform

Children were presented with the challenge of making a drawing that could transform into a partially hidden image.  While this seemed difficult at first, children soon became enthusiastic about the process.  Some children did multiple transformations.  What started as a tricky task transformed into a engaging game.  We noted how children used the sliver of an image to suggest new possibilities.  
​C.C. returned to this work today and was able to explain the process:
    C.C. - So you color what you want on the outside.  You get to pick what's on the inside. 
Also, note that C.C. brought a current Tucker interest to her work...rats!

Puzzle Pals

Have we mentioned how much this group likes puzzles?  

Some more of our favorite things....

We also love to build!  Yesterday's big ideas included roads. barricades, and homes.  Today was about crystal enclosures and bridges.  Also, our group games seem to be more fun now that we have Jordan back!
Enjoy these images and have a great weekend!