Returning to Collaborative Exploration After so many weeks away from each other, it has been such a treat watching Brown Room come back together and share stories from break and explorations in the classroom. During the week, Karen and I have been rearranging the room, so the children were very excited to explore the changes to the room when we arrived! Cal: What’s that? Oh! It’s over there? Ellie: Me want houses (building on the light table) Fay: Oh the couch is here, with books! Coco has a bookshelf. The changes to the classroom gave way to new space for explorations and creative collaboration. Today, the most popular of these explorations were the light projector, the light table and a wire provocation on our new table. We wanted to take todays blog to highlight all the good work and interesting conversations we saw today. Light Projector The light projector quickly caught the attention of some during our morning meeting. With a plethora of materials and transparent images to explore, Seon, Emma and later Fay quickly chose it as their first plan for the day. As the exploration progressed, Emma noticed that by moving the mirror at the top of the projector, she could change how and where the image was displayed (on the screen, the floor, the ceiling). This dynamic addition caught Cal’s attention who came over to check out the projection on the ceiling. Emma, Fay and Cal all took pillows from the cozy corner, spread them out to lay on and shared turns changing the scene on the ceiling and laying back down to take a look at their work! Light Table Much like the project, the light table also captured the attention of some friends today. Ellie and Emma worked together to create a very tall, multi level structure which Fay said “that looks like St. Johns. It’s very tall”. Ellie: Me building house for Aunties (her stuffed elephants). Karen, help me start. Karen: Ellie, I see that Emma is working next to you. Maybe she can help you too. Ellie: Build upstairs. No downstairs. Help me Emma. Need some help Emma. Emma started adding magna-tiles to Ellie’s structure. Ellie: Thank you. Emma: You’re welcome. Ellie. Need more help Emma. Help me. Emma: I did it. Karen: What did you do Emma? Emma: Stuff! (Pointing to her magna-tile design). I’m making a house for mommy. Ellie: Oooo….Emma. It so pretty. Wire Exploration Although this provocation had no light component, it was equally as popular. Seon, Fay and Bailee gravitated towards the variety of materials on the table and each set about working on their individual designs. Fay: It (the bead) came off. Emma: Let me help you! Bailee: This one? (offering Fay a bead) Fay: I’m letting it out like this so I can put this one on. I need this closed. Just twist it. This is gonna be for momma. I’m gonna put it in my portfolio drawer. Seon: Beads! Beads in here (as she stuffed one of the tubes with transparent beads) Emma: I want the tubes! Seon: This is beautiful. Fay: I want this to be for my momma. Will you send this home?
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Working with Wire
Elsewhere in the StudioCal used a variety of strokes to create his painting: I’m doing dots. I made a girl with hands. Mommy, Daddy and Cal.
Mimi began by painting a green shape. She then used different colors to paint around the edge of the shape. It's a volcano! she exclaimed. Bailee began with a golden yellow color and then added green and red. I paint! Mixing Colors in the StudioToday in the studio, children revisited tempera paints and explored mixing colors for the first time. Rachel and Brigitte introduced the idea of mixing colors during morning meeting. When making plans, Rawls was very interested in mixing colors right away. He hypothesized, "...and purple make brown!" The first group to visit the studio and experiment with mixing colors included Charlton, Ellie and Rawls. Charlton: What color is a strawberry? Red! What color is lava? Red! Rawls: (mixing red and white) It's going to make light blue. Later, he made orange and noticed it: Orange!! Rachel: How did you make orange? Rawls: Yellow! Charlton: What color is a strawberry? Red! What color is lava? Red! Rachel: Does your color have a name? (asking about the red/slightly orange mix that he had created). Charlton: (my color is called) Great White (Like the shark)! Ellie enjoyed painting red all over the white paper. She mixed a little bit, adding yellow, but not enough to change the color.
Exploring Light with the Overhead ProjectorThe children have explored light and how it transforms materials at the light table, but today they had the opportunity to try out the overhead projector with a variety of translucent materials. Ford and Rawls explored how the light from the projector and the materials became part of the classroom environment. Emma observed the design that she created on the projector as it shown on the screen: Look! Revisiting Some Familiar MaterialsThe children also had an opportunity to revisit some familiar materials upon returning from the winter break:
Welcome Back!Welcome to 2022, Brown Room! Despite the changes to our schedule, Ellie, Cal, Fay and Mimi kicked off the new year with a variety of materials and explorations. Reminiscent of our luminary walk before the break, children explored light through paper on the light table. Using pins and light and dark paper, children had a chance to create their own designs and watch the light shine through the pinholes. Mimi and Cal shared their delight as the push pins made more and more room for light to shine through. At the studio, Brigitte and Jordan set out with natural materials and clay provocation. In the Brown Room we’ve worked with wood, leaves and shells in the clay, but today children had a chance to explore imprints from feathers, stones, metal tubes and acorns. Using the new materials and familiar clay techniques, the children created a cornucopia of food dishes. Cal created an egg sandwich, Fay a cake and Mimi a sandwich of her own. Ellie went in a different direction creating a boat and then the four worked on constructing houses with the materials. Of course, we had to take advantage of the snow on the ground, so Brown Room went outside and built their very own snowman!
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