Tuesday, December 3, 2019

"It's a light for when grown-ups come to meetings"
​                                                                                             Louise

Although it's hard to believe, December is here!  It's the season for lights and shiny things everywhere.   Before our significant Thanksgiving break, children worked to discover shiny things inside and outside.  They created a collection of shiny and reflective materials for a collaborative project.   We discussed the possibility of creating a light for the greeting hallway, which would indeed be used for when parents come to evening meetings.  The idea was met with a lot of enthusiasm. Today Louise, Sally, and Joslin visited the space and started working.   Their first step was to create drawings of their ideas.

Louise's drawing, including ladders to reach the light.

Joslin's drawing

Sally's drawing

The small group worked in the middle room with the materials that children had collected, along with others selected by the teachers.   They carefully selected materials, testing each time they used for shininess.  The children decided it would be best to work in the dark to ensure the materials reflected light.  Here's some of the things they discussed as they worked:
    Joslin - (With some shiny beads) I'm thinking about a pattern.   
                  Here Joslin puts to use a recent area of exploration in Tucker Room.... patterns.
    Sally - These things really reflect the light.  I really know about light.  Light is all around us.
Sally also  brought out some things from her Early Bird portfolio because she remembered that she had used shiny things in these experiences.  
Children worked together and shared their knowledge.  Initially, Louise was having a hard time using the wire cutters.  Sally worked with her until Louise mastered the process.  Opportunities for problem solving also presented themselves as children discovered it can be tricky to attach the materials to our base.   We'll keep working and learning together  to complete this beautiful gift!  

Traces of KW's work can be found throughout the school.  Please check out some highlights of our "Shiny Stuff" process in the greeting hallway!

"It tastes like gingerbread."             Austin

That's what Austin said when he tried the persimmon bread before Thanksgiving break.  He also requested that we repeat the cooking project on a day that he would be in Kids' Workshop.  Luckily, we had enough persimmons to make the bread one more time.  Today's bread will go to Brown Room for their snack.  

Here's some pics of children eating the bread last week!

Being Together

It was great to be together again after a long break.   Children spent time building, sharing conversations at lunch, and drawing shiny materials.  There was even a feast during our outdoor time!