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"Today we give Remy her present. Later, outside." - Bea
For her special birthday snack, Remy didn't only bring watermelon to share with everyone but also mermaid themed paper plates and napkins, that she passed out before snack. Remy said she chose watermelon as her birthday snack because "I thought they (her friends) liked them." (Remy) "So thoughtful! Juicy juicy juicy." - Luke "It's the best in the world." - Saul
More wonderful presents that have been created for Remy this week...
Happy October! A little conversation about Halloween and the perception of time... "I wore my fuzzy jacket this morning at home (...) When it's winter and it's cold outside I wear my fuzzy jacket." - Cate "Is it winter right now?" - Ines "No, it's Halloween!" - Cate "Halloween is in October." - Lily "Do you know that the month of October starts tomorrow?" - Ines "Tomorrow is Halloween?" - Cate "No, the month of October has 31 days and Halloween is on the 31. day, at the end of October. So there are 32 days left until Halloween." - Ines "32 days? That's long!" - Cate "For children it is. For grown-ups it isn't." - Lily We have made some more discoveries in the outdoor classroom related to the seasons changing....
Some of the children's thoughts and ideas about their findings: (They are) Vegetables or Pears - Wilder Apples - Hugh My apples look like this and they're ready - Daniel (referring to the pale green, yellowish color) When apples are green it means they're sour. - Hugh I think they're apples and apples need to change blue. That's the kind of apple that change to blue. Bright blue. - Daniel    The fruits on our persimmon tree are growing and ripening!
Just over the course of this week we have noticed significant changes. "That one is more orangy!" - Daniel, on Thursday, comparing the color of the persimmon to his observations from earlier this week We will keep observing their color change in the upcoming days and weeks. If you have a favorite recipe that includes persimmons, please share it with us. We would love to try it out!
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A Birthday Committee for RemyThis week, Bea, Cate, and Luke have been working together to prepare a birthday portrait for their friend Remy. As a part of our Rainey Room birthday preparation process, we dedicate a morning meeting conversation to begin discussing what we as a class know about the birthday child. Our friend Remy also shared some ideas with us about her favorite things. What types of things does Remy like? A slinky! For the stairs. And rainbows. All sparkly things and all rainbow things too. - Remy And she loves going in photo booth. - Wilder Yeah. Dancing. - Remy You love to dance in photo booth? - Bea Yeah and we pretend we’re getting married (in photo booth). - Remy Small Group Committee Work Bea, Cate, and Luke To begin the birthday committee process, we reflect on the information discussed as a class and shared by the birthday child. Our reflections and continued dialogue help the committee determine how to proceed with the first steps to begin portraiture work. What do we recall Remy telling us about things she likes? A toy. - Bea Oh right, she mentioned she had a slinky at home. - Sam I don’t have one. - Bea I don’t have one either. - Luke Me either. - Cate Well I think she mentioned she likes other things. - Sam Sparkles! And rainbows. She likes sand!- Bea That’s right, she told Bea when we were outside that she likes playing in the sand. - Sam We could take sand and we could do like how you guys did those like kind of like how you did for my birthday when I was turning three here in Brown Room and there was some sand on it (her birthday present). - Bea That’s right, you did have sand on your birthday present. - Sam *Bea’s 3yo present was a clay camel placed on a sandy base* If we are taking a portrait photo of Remy, how do you think we could get sand in the photo? - Sam Yeah! See, that’s the question! Hmm, we could bring a box of sand? - Bea So maybe we could bring sand inside? What if we brought the photo outside? Do you think we could take the photo outside? - Sam Yeah! - Bea Outside in the sandbox. - Cate Maybe that could be our setting. Do you know what a setting is? - Sam Like setting up a present. - Bea Like we can set up the area where we will have the photo shoot. - Sam Rainbows We could draw the rainbows. We could do anything like drawing or painting. - Bea We could make it like this (“drawing” a rainbow arch shape on the table with her finger). So it will fit in the box. The birthday box. - Cate (pointing to the picture frame for the birthday portrait) Remember when we talked about foreground and background when we learned about Finlay’s birthday portrait? - Sam Finlay had legos. And Michael had trains. - Bea Right. What should Remy have? - Sam A rainbow! - Bea At this point in the conversation, both foreground and background terms were revisited. The committee referred to Finlay's birthday portrait to use as a reference point for observing how foreground and background items are placed in the portrait setting. Ideas about the proportion and size of the materials needed to create potential foreground and background objects were shared. It was agreed that the background is larger than the birthday child so that "you can see it behind them" (Cate). We could do it like this so Remy can be in the middle. The rainbow could go around her - Bea (after observing that Finlay sat in the middle of his portrait background) Bea then suggests an idea to draw rainbows. The committee can then begin to generate ideas for the rainbow background by using their drawings as inspiration.
Collecting MaterialsLet's go find some shiny stuff now! - BeaThe committee decided to use the atelier (an area of the school that we are becoming more familiar with) to search for materials that Remy would like. The focus was to collect items that fit into a category of "shiny, sparkly, and sand".
Next, the committee asked to visit the sewing table in our hallway where we gather and store many types of fabric in hopes of finding rainbow colors. Bea, Cate, and Luke began selecting different fabrics that "fit" a rainbow palette. After some disagreement on which shades of color fit the rainbow vision best, it was decided that the fabric should be "shiny" because that's what Remy would like most.  Painting a Rainbow Background
Mixing Paints I’m gonna make this color. - Luke (adding white to his blue jar) Oh, what will happen if you add white? - Sam It’s gonna turn light. - Cate I’m starting with red because purple has red and then blue. - Bea We need orange. - Cate How do we make orange? - Sam I don’t know. - Cate Would you like to check the color chart? - Sam We need yellow and red. - Cate I need to make light purple. I need red and blue and red and blue and red and blue. - Bea We need green! That’s it. There’s different kinds of green. - Bea Blue and yellow make green. - Cate Luke, could you make green for us please? - Sam Blue and… (grabs yellow bottle) - Luke I need more yellow. - Cate (adjusting shade of orange) If we want a color to be lighter, what could we use? I remember Cate said that a certain color makes “light” - Sam White! - Cate That’s what I actually needed. That’s what I did last time. - Bea I did! Make green! - Luke (mixing colors) It looks like a heart. - Cate I kind of made it like a heart because I wanted to shape like a heart because I love her (Remy). - Bea Wearing a RainbowWhen are we gonna sew the rainbow? - Cate Did we decide what type of rainbow we’re going to sew. Yesterday you mentioned a dress. - Sam A rainbow dress and a unicorn horn. - Bea And unicorn hair. - Cate Looking through the fabric collected during the committee's search for materials, a discussion began about what the rainbow dress should look like. If all of the fabric was sewn together in it's found shape and size, what would that look like? Did any of the fabric need to be altered to better fit the costume design? We need it to be smaller. At the end of this (base piece). - Bea (indicating that the selected fabric needs to be cut to size to match the size of the body of the dress) And how wide should each piece be? - Sam I don’t know… - Bea As big as the base. - Cate It’s too big. - Luke If it’s as wide as the base, I don’t think we will be able to fit all of the colors you’ve chosen. - Sam I think this long. - Bea (spreading fingers out to show width) We can get a ruler out to measure that. - Sam *Measure width ~ 3inches* If we want each piece to be the same size, we can measure each to be 3 inches. - Sam Yeah. All the colors. - Bea Once all of the colors were cut to size (width and length) to create rainbow strips, then it was time to sew the rainbow onto the body of the dress!
Once the body of the dress was assembled, it was time to create the unicorn "crown" complete with hair and a horn. How did the children decide to incorporate a unicorn into Remy's portrait attire? "Because she has a unicorn on her shirt. She likes unicorns." - Cate Modeling the Finished Costume
Finishing the Background - Adding Embellishments Maybe we can fill in all the white space with shiny stuff and sand. She (Remy) likes shiny rainbows. - Bea  *after looking through collection of shiny paper* Or… match the color on the rainbow. The red can go here. To fill in the red space by the red (places red piece of paper next to the red painted arch in the rainbow). - Bea
I think she’s gonna love it! She’s gonna be so proud of us. - Bea The Photo Shoot! It's good! I just love sparkles, you know?! - Remy Remy seemed more than pleased with the work that the committee had collaborated on to put together an incredible birthday photo shoot for her. You could feel (and hear) the excitement, energy, and love between Remy and her committee friends throughout the process. Happiness abound!     
You look so pretty! - Bea The Final Committee Work Process of Elimination and Editing the Birthday Portrait  Observations made by the committee as to why we should not choose certain photos: She’s looking sidewards. - Bea She’s looking down. - Cate Not good because her closing her eyes. - Luke No… too blurry. - Cate We can’t see her body! - Cate How to select a "good" portrait: It’s good. She’s not covering the rainbow and her eyes are open. - Bea She's smiling so pretty! - Bea Happy! - Cate I think it's perfect. - Bea  Sharing Family FavoritesAs part of our ongoing work to develop and foster children's unique identity in the classroom, we asked families to record and share songs they enjoy together at home. A large part of children's identities are their families and the traditions and experiences they share with them. The family environment is the context in which authentic identity begins to develop. Learning about family backgrounds provides meaningful ways for children to both learn about themselves and to consider their similarities and differences with others. In the past few days, children have shared recordings of them and family members, such as siblings, parents and grandparents, singing and dancing to their "family favorite" with the classroom. Teaching their songs to the class brought the children great joy and a strong sense of pride and ownership. Thank you to everyone who has shared their recordings with us so far! If you haven't had a chance to send your family favorite yet, there's still time! We will continue to share and learn new songs from each other in the upcoming weeks. We'd love to eventually combine and share with you everyone's favorite song in a classroom playlist. Finlay's Family Favorite Finlay and his mom, Camille, have a great time dressing up and moving to "This song is gonna get stuck in your head" at home. After sharing this video with everyone during snack, Finlay observed his friend's reactions and concluded "I think they really like it" as they wiggled and giggled in their chairs. Together, we decided that this would be a great song to add to our classroom dance party playlist. Remy's Family Favorite    The song Remy shared with us is part of a family tradition that has been passed down from her grandmother to her mother and now to her. The song originated from making cinnamon toast together. The needed steps are: mix "cimanon and sugar" in a bowl, "put the bread in" the toaster, "spread the butter" and then you "sprinkle it on, sprinkle it off, sprinkle it on again". And then don't forget to eat it ;)
Saul's Family Favorite "The Forklift Song" is one of Saul's favorite songs. Saul's interest in construction vehicles also shows at school, as they are one of his preferred choices in the outdoor classroom. Him and his sister, Riva, sang and performed "The Forklift Song" for us, including an amazing guitar solo from Saul. The catching melody and movement aspect quickly turned this song into a new classroom favorite as well. Today it was our turn to lead our first Sing Along of the year! In addition to some of our old favorites like Baa Baa Black Sheep, Rags, and The Firetruck Song (which was also taught to us by our friend Bea and her family at the beginning of Brown Room) we included the new songs we learned this week from our friends Remy and Saul in our Sing Along. It was so much fun seeing our families on the screen and singing and moving together! Snack with LucasWe have been missing our dear friends Lucas a lot! That is why we were excited to have a snack date with him on Monday. As special guests, his sister Zoe, mom Megan and dad Dan joined us as well. His dad was also our Mystery Reader! Thank you for reading, Ada Twist Scientist to us! It was wonderful to chat about the different foods we're having for snack and exchanging our plans for the day. Lucas, we can't wait to see you again soon! We love you!    Projections for the Week |
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Sometimes, at the end of a hard day of work and play, you just need to take a cozy minute to relax with your buddies.
We hope you all enjoy the gorgeous weather this weekend.
It is truly a mood booster!
It is truly a mood booster!
September is a busy month in the Rainey Room - four of our friends celebrate their birthday this month! Taking the special emphasis we place on birthdays at St. John's into consideration, we decided to only celebrate one birthday per week.
As we shared with you last week, every child will receive their special birthday portrait as a gift this year. Our hope is that every birthday portrait will represent each child's uniqueness, their interests and true personalities. As a result of that no one birthday committee process, work and birthday present will be the same. In our conversations with the committee and birthday child themselves we explore different approaches and ways to best show and highlight the individual child and her/his passions. Through this ever-changing and adapting process our understanding of portraiture and of each other will evolve and expand throughout the year and beyond.
What is a portrait?
Bea: It’s where you make yourself differently.
Finlay: You take a picture.
Bea: Make yourself different.
Finlay: That’s a selfie (when you take a photo of yourself).
Bea: I’m saying someone takes a picture of you.
Bea: It’s where you make yourself differently.
Finlay: You take a picture.
Bea: Make yourself different.
Finlay: That’s a selfie (when you take a photo of yourself).
Bea: I’m saying someone takes a picture of you.
This week, Hugh, Jade and Cape collaborated on a birthday committee for our friend Michael, who turned 4 years old on Sunday. In this blog post we want to highlight their process, thoughts, ideas and work as part of the committee. They met every day this week as a small group, gathering and sharing information about Michael, collecting and discussing materials, setting up for the photo shoot and selecting Michael's birthday portrait.
Gathering information in large and small group settings
At our Morning Meeting on Monday we began collecting information about Michael.
Sam: Michael, do you have any favorite colors?
Michael: Green!
Sam: What does our friend Michael like to do in the classroom?
Bea: He likes to do photo booth.
Sam: What do you like to dress up in?
Michael: Builder.
Sam: What does a builder look like?
Bea: Like a construction.
Michael: A hat!
Daniel: A yellow hat! With letters. With black letters that says construction.
Sam: What other things do you like, Michael?
Michael: Cape and me.
Sam: You like Cape. Cape is one of your best friends.
Cape: I really like him, too.
Jade: I know he likes trucks and building.
Sam: Michael, do you have any favorite colors?
Michael: Green!
Sam: What does our friend Michael like to do in the classroom?
Bea: He likes to do photo booth.
Sam: What do you like to dress up in?
Michael: Builder.
Sam: What does a builder look like?
Bea: Like a construction.
Michael: A hat!
Daniel: A yellow hat! With letters. With black letters that says construction.
Sam: What other things do you like, Michael?
Michael: Cape and me.
Sam: You like Cape. Cape is one of your best friends.
Cape: I really like him, too.
Jade: I know he likes trucks and building.
After our initial large group conversation, the birthday committee discussed the information gathered about Michael and his interests and how to best integrate them into the portrait.
Ines: How could we include his favorite color, green, in the birthday photo?
Hugh: With trees. Trees are green.
Jade: And bushes, bushes are green.
Cape: We could use lettuce trees.
Hugh: We have real trees outside but we don’t have real trees inside the school. Plants are trees. That could be on the side.
Jade: Bushes can’t be in here but like plants can be in here.
Ines: How could we include his favorite color, green, in the birthday photo?
Hugh: With trees. Trees are green.
Jade: And bushes, bushes are green.
Cape: We could use lettuce trees.
Hugh: We have real trees outside but we don’t have real trees inside the school. Plants are trees. That could be on the side.
Jade: Bushes can’t be in here but like plants can be in here.
Ines: What do you think he would like to see in the photo?
Hugh: He likes Thomas the Train.
Cape: When we go back into the classroom we should ask him if he likes that.
Hugh: We could put like cars or trains.
Jade: Like trucks.
Hugh: Maybe one of his very special toys or something.
Jade: Maybe cars. Maybe dinosaurs?
Hugh: I really like to play trains with my dad.
Cape: I have built trains with Michael at my house.
Hugh: He likes Thomas the Train.
Cape: When we go back into the classroom we should ask him if he likes that.
Hugh: We could put like cars or trains.
Jade: Like trucks.
Hugh: Maybe one of his very special toys or something.
Jade: Maybe cars. Maybe dinosaurs?
Hugh: I really like to play trains with my dad.
Cape: I have built trains with Michael at my house.
collecting relevant materials around the school
Hugh: Maybe, look there’s some green trees over here.
Jade, Hugh and Cape sort trees they found in the middle room by color (green or brown)
Jade: And trucks. I think maybe, in the Rainey room.
Jade leads us from the middle room into Rainey room to look for trucks in our construction area
Hugh: The trains! And Thomas the Train. And maybe we can find some other trains? I know which trains he likes.
Jade picks out a train wagon
Hugh: He doesn’t like the backs.
Jade: Yes, he does.
Cape: Is that one of the backs?
Hugh: We should ask him if he likes these.
Jade, Hugh and Cape sort trees they found in the middle room by color (green or brown)
Jade: And trucks. I think maybe, in the Rainey room.
Jade leads us from the middle room into Rainey room to look for trucks in our construction area
Hugh: The trains! And Thomas the Train. And maybe we can find some other trains? I know which trains he likes.
Jade picks out a train wagon
Hugh: He doesn’t like the backs.
Jade: Yes, he does.
Cape: Is that one of the backs?
Hugh: We should ask him if he likes these.
    | While collecting trains in the classroom we observed differences between the pieces (train wagons and engines) and defined closer what we are looking for. Hugh: This is an engine. Jade: This is a kind of engine he really likes I think. Ines: How can we tell that it's an engine? Hugh: Because of this. It has the steam thing and the back (small knob pointing up) and the wheels. Ines: This wagon has wheels, too. How are they different? Hugh: It doesn’t have the steam part. Cape: Is this the part where the steam comes out? (pointing to a circle on top of a wagon piece) Hugh: No, because it has coal in it. And engines don’t have any coal in it except when it burns. |
involving Michael in selection process
The next day, the birthday committee presented their collected materials and ideas for his portrait to Michael and asked him some clarifying questions like ...
Jade: What’s your favorite train?
Hugh: Do you like these trains? Do you like this particular kind of train front?
Ines: What is your favorite outfit? The builder or the police men? We noticed that you wear both outfits in the classroom.
Hugh: And remember the other question was, do you like the back of the trains?
Jade: Or the front of the trains?
Michael let us know that he prefers the yellow construction vest and helmet and the the train engines ("I want the front." - Michael). During our time with Michael in the middle room we noticed his heightened interest in the train pieces as well as a yellow construction crane that he found in the room. This gave us some more ideas for the set-up of his portrait.
Hugh: Let’s get more trains. I think more trains would be better.
Jade: Let’s put that in the birthday committee because I think he likes it (observing Michael playing with the construction crane).
Jade: What’s your favorite train?
Hugh: Do you like these trains? Do you like this particular kind of train front?
Ines: What is your favorite outfit? The builder or the police men? We noticed that you wear both outfits in the classroom.
Hugh: And remember the other question was, do you like the back of the trains?
Jade: Or the front of the trains?
Michael let us know that he prefers the yellow construction vest and helmet and the the train engines ("I want the front." - Michael). During our time with Michael in the middle room we noticed his heightened interest in the train pieces as well as a yellow construction crane that he found in the room. This gave us some more ideas for the set-up of his portrait.
Hugh: Let’s get more trains. I think more trains would be better.
Jade: Let’s put that in the birthday committee because I think he likes it (observing Michael playing with the construction crane).
setting and composition
In this step we ask ourselves the question "How can our choices of props, outfit, setting and composition best support and depict the birthday child?" Based on our close observations of Michael, we explored options and places for taking photos outside of the photo booth, which was used by the last committee.
Ines: Where do you think would be a good place to take Michael’s birthday photo? That’s called a setting. The place where the photoshoot takes place, where we take the picture.
Jade: Construction area? Because he’s in construction area right now.
Ines: Where in construction area should we take the photo?
Jade: Looks like he’s in that side of construction area right now. I think he likes the blocks there (this shelf contains our building blocks compared to the other shelf which contains animals, and other building materials) and he can play trains there and then he can be close to them (when taking the photo).
Jade: Construction area? Because he’s in construction area right now.
Ines: Where in construction area should we take the photo?
Jade: Looks like he’s in that side of construction area right now. I think he likes the blocks there (this shelf contains our building blocks compared to the other shelf which contains animals, and other building materials) and he can play trains there and then he can be close to them (when taking the photo).
Ines: In the photo, do you think should Michael sit or stand?
Jade: Stand! Because I think he wants to be tall.
(reconsidering her choice while setting up the area)
Jade: (we need) A stool! I think he should sit. Because maybe he should sit because I don’t think he would like to knock down the tracks.
Ines: When we talk about taking photos we also talk about the background and the foreground. What’s the background in a photo?
Hugh: Behind you.
Jade: Books are behind my back (pointing at the bookshelf behind her).
Ines: And the foreground, what is the foreground?
Hugh: In front of you. On the table.
Ines: We thought about using the construction area in the classroom as our setting for the photo shoot. What should be in the background and what should be in the foreground of the photo?
Hugh: I think a foreground would be better than a background. Because you can see it better. Because it’s in front of you.
Jade: No, I think we should put it in the background. Because if the person, the other person’s birthday, they can’t see their present.
Ines: You think it should be in the background, so Michael won’t see what’s in his photo for his present. You would like it to be a surprise.
Cape: I think it should be in the middle.
Hugh: What about if we put it all around?
Jade: What if me make a big present all together and the we can put it all around the sides.
Ines: What would Michael be surrounded with?
Hugh: Construction, cars and trucks and trains.
Cape: What is surrounded mean?
Hugh: You can be surrounded by sharks. Like you can be surrounded by anything.
Jade: We are around this table.
Hugh: Behind you.
Jade: Books are behind my back (pointing at the bookshelf behind her).
Ines: And the foreground, what is the foreground?
Hugh: In front of you. On the table.
Ines: We thought about using the construction area in the classroom as our setting for the photo shoot. What should be in the background and what should be in the foreground of the photo?
Hugh: I think a foreground would be better than a background. Because you can see it better. Because it’s in front of you.
Jade: No, I think we should put it in the background. Because if the person, the other person’s birthday, they can’t see their present.
Ines: You think it should be in the background, so Michael won’t see what’s in his photo for his present. You would like it to be a surprise.
Cape: I think it should be in the middle.
Hugh: What about if we put it all around?
Jade: What if me make a big present all together and the we can put it all around the sides.
Ines: What would Michael be surrounded with?
Hugh: Construction, cars and trucks and trains.
Cape: What is surrounded mean?
Hugh: You can be surrounded by sharks. Like you can be surrounded by anything.
Jade: We are around this table.
Preparing the selected area for the photo shoot
| On Wednesday the committee began creating the photo shoot setting. Jade decided to work on the background by arranging green materials and blocks on the shelf. She decided the crane should be on top of stacked blocks. "It should be up there because cranes need to be tall." - Jade Hugh and Cape constructed a landscape including a valley (long blocks arranged vertically around the left side of the chair), a silo, a train station for animals and train tracks. "The trains can ride from the silo to the chair." - Hugh "Let's test of they can work." - Cape, testing if train engines can find underneath the bridge |  |
| Discussing landscape/portrait orientation While preparing for the photo shoot, we discovered that our tripod is adjustable in many ways. We can change the height of the tripod and the orientation of the camera itself (horizontal or vertical / landscape or portrait) To help us decide which way the camera should be attached for this project we compared the orientation of the camera to the picture frames on the birthday calendar. Hugh: They’re up sideways! (comparing camera and picture frame orientation) (It should be "upright") because the picture frames are like this. (holding the camera vertical next to the picture frame) |  |
the photo shoot
At first the children asked Michael to sit in the chair they had prepared for him. The committee quickly noticed Michael's interest in the set-up they had created for his portrait ("I want to build in there" - Michael), and invited him to engage and play with it. This way the photo shoot moved from a more formal setting into an informal setting where the birthday committee took candid ("not staged") photos of Michael. Cape and Hugh explored the zoom function on the camera and continued to adjust the frame with great enthusiasm and success, as Michael explored the area. This shows the children's adaptability to an evolving situation and their motive of truly capturing their friend Michael instead of a constructed version of him.
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selecting the birthday portrait
 | Today, Hugh, Jade and Cape discussed the photos they took on Wednesday and offered their opinion and reasons for preferring certain photos for the birthday present. Jade was focused on lighting and exposure in each photo ("The lights are on." - "This part isn't too bright." - "It's too bright." - "I don't like the bright lights on the wall."). While it was important to Hugh that the materials in the background can be seen properly ("You can see the green on the shelf.") |
Together they decided on the birthday present...
Jade: I like this one. I like about it that he's getting comfortable. He's playing.
Cape: I like that photo.
Hugh: I like the crane. You can see it up on the shelf.
To begin each school year, we (Ines and Sam) create welcome messages for children to find in their school mailbox. This year, we thought it would be fun to explore our own classroom provocation (intended for the children's use) to create these messages for them.
The motivation behind the provocation was to encourage children to explore the idea of self-identity.
Who am I?
How can I can I take an existing image of myself and alter it?
How do the materials I choose and the alterations I make to my photo express my unique interests, preferences, and personality?
Who am I?
How can I can I take an existing image of myself and alter it?
How do the materials I choose and the alterations I make to my photo express my unique interests, preferences, and personality?
Once everyone had received their personalized message from us and had expressed interest and excitement in the provocation, we spent a morning meeting sharing the images with the entire class.
For the past two weeks, each child's portrait (printed on transparency paper) has been available at our light table as well as a large variety of materials to play with, enhance, and alter their images.
Some children were inspired to change their existing physical appearance based on personal preferences such as favorite colors or favorite objects.
 I like blue (pointing to the necklace placed around her hair). And I just wanted those eyes. Lily |  Because I liked it like that. Because it’s good because I switched it. I mixed it up. (changed his image) The feather because Molly put it on and I liked it like that. Some kind of long things and buttons because they looked spikey. And they’re cool. The blue ones (gems) is my favorite color. And the red gems. And those pink ones. I like all those colors. And a floating dot. (laughing) Daniel |  I added buttons because I have buttons on my dress and I want to change it. I added earrings and sparkly gems on my bow. I have a unicorn horn because it’s part of my bow. I really like unicorns. It’s because they can do magic. Cate |
Some children made connections to their personal life and their existing self-perception.
 Look! I have earrings. I wear clippy earrings (at home). I have seven eyes. And a seed in the middle of my mouth. Remy |  I did like purple feathers at the bottom and I’m full of jewelry. Sometimes I wear shirts with jewelry on it. I thought it would look funny with jewelry in my hair. I want the blue stuff around my hair because I liked it. Bea |  I made two glasses. It looks like glasses. I got some buttons and some hooks (pointing to his shirt in the photo). Those are sunglasses (pointing back to his eyes). Michael |
Luke found a butterfly charm to represent his school symbol that he included in his photo.
Children's symbols help develop a sense of belonging, ownership, and identity within the school community (and beyond).
Children's symbols help develop a sense of belonging, ownership, and identity within the school community (and beyond).
 It’s my symbol! I’m gonna put it on my head. (compares butterfly charm to a stamped version of his symbol) Blue! I have a mustache. *giggles* (bends blue pipe cleaner) Is a headband. (wooden ring) Luke |  Luke "matches" the found butterfly charm to his symbol on the birthday calendar. |
Many children found the experience to be humorous and enjoyable.
It can be both entertaining and exciting to take on a completely different persona!
 Googly eyes. Look, isn’t it funny? I have wings and sunglasses. I’m pretending that I’m flying. I found a hat. See my eyes? Three more. And more glasses. Look, now I’m bigger than you (Jordan). I have beautiful diamonds on me. Saul |  Look at my spikey hair! And I changed the mouth (giggling). I’m just being silly. I gave myself a feather like I’m a duck. Cape |  I choose it to make me look funny. I choose all the ring to make it look fun. Take a picture of it for the blog. Lucas |  It’s a space helmet (wooden rings). I need to stack it. This little button is for candy in space. Candy in space! And this is a wood-pecking nose. (giggles) Frances |
Some children created a scene around their photo or took on an abstract form.
 Those are lightning bolts and I put a microphone. And some eyeballs on my head. I thought it would be cool! Finlay |  I am making a wolf mask. And these are wolves for the wolf mask. Those are black eyes susan. It’s a type of flowers. I moved it to make it a nest for the wolf. (changes from mask to nest) They like it so they can eat it (the flowers). I use it (the feathers) for the baby wolf. I’m trying to make the wolf nest all the way on the top of my head. Jade |  I made it look like a ghost. The ghost of a mountain. Because I asked mommy and her favorite color is yellow so I put on yellow (yellow pipe cleaner). Wilder |
The thought of changing his image did not particular intrigue nor excite Hugh. Instead, he decided to alter his image by including his new dog, Zuzu, in the photo with him!
To do so, he needed to find materials that he believed accurately represented his puppy.
 I want it to look normal. I don’t want it to look silly. Maybe we can cut out fabric that looks like Zuzu, like my doggy and put it on. That kind of reminds me of Zuzu (beige fabric). His nose (brown button) we could put his nose here.His eyes are green so I will take this green button and it kind of is the green like a dog. We need the same green to match it. We need to cut this fabric into small pieces. This could be the inside of his ear. Now he needs to get his little body. And in this picture (comparing to a photo of Zuzu) he’s wearing a blue collar. No, a red collar and a button. Slide it on top (of his photo). So Zuzu is in front of me. Hugh |   Hugh compares the color of found materials to the color of Zuzu's fur. |
Children have also been exploring identity, adopting new personas, and "changing their image" in our classroom photo booth area!
Please look forward to more documentation on these experiences in the future.
Please look forward to more documentation on these experiences in the future.
Week of September 20-24, 2021
Please remember, our Rainey Room Picture Day will be on Wednesday, September 22 !
What happens at a birthday celebration at St. John's?
Bea: Blowing out the candle.
Wilder: We sing. Yeah, we sit down and then we sing.
Luke: We make a present.
Finlay: You look on people online. Like your family. We got treats. We got like special snack treats.
Wilder: We sing. Yeah, we sit down and then we sing.
Luke: We make a present.
Finlay: You look on people online. Like your family. We got treats. We got like special snack treats.
| Today we got to celebrate our friend Finlay! Four the special birthday snack in the classroom we enjoyed Finlay's favorite snacks: Pirate Booties, Cheerios and CheezIts. During the celebration outside, Hugh mentioned "We are missing a screen", remembering birthday celebrations in Brown Room, for which families joined the celebration via zoom. We are excited to announce that for this year's celebration family members will be able to join us outside or in Blake Hall! It was a wonderful surprise to see Finlay's mom, Camille, waiting for us outside on the front lawn. We are thankful for the opportunity to include families in the child(ren)'s special moments at school! |  |
Camille shared an incredible story about Ninjas from the city on Ninjago, one of Finlay's greatest interests. For this story we used our great imagination and traveled into the world of the Ninjas. We learned where they live and how they train to become Ninjas. Camille and Finlay even shared special tools with us that she got to borrow from the ninjas for this occasion.
Thank you for a wonderful first birthday celebration on our Rainey Room!
Celebrating a birthday at St. John's is an intimate, intentional, and highly collaborative experience.
Today, we would like to share with you the process that goes into planning, preparing, and partaking in a birthday celebration in the Rainey Room.
Specifically, we will highlight the meaningful work of a Birthday Committee.
Today, we would like to share with you the process that goes into planning, preparing, and partaking in a birthday celebration in the Rainey Room.
Specifically, we will highlight the meaningful work of a Birthday Committee.
What is a birthday?
Cape: It’s a party.
Finlay: Birthday is when you get presents.
Bea: Is like a celebration for kids' birthdays. It’s like they get presents. And it’s fun.
Hugh: Did you know grown-ups can have birthdays too?
Daniel: Presents.
Ines: Who gives us presents?
Frannie: Our friends. And our nannies
Finlay: Birthday is when you get presents.
Bea: Is like a celebration for kids' birthdays. It’s like they get presents. And it’s fun.
Hugh: Did you know grown-ups can have birthdays too?
Daniel: Presents.
Ines: Who gives us presents?
Frannie: Our friends. And our nannies
Ines: What do you celebrate on a birthday?
Finlay: You turn a different age. Like 60 or 17. You can turn 16 or 19.
Finlay: You turn a different age. Like 60 or 17. You can turn 16 or 19.
The Rainey Room Birthday Calendar
The gift of a custom portrait
Stemming from our interest in photography that began at the end of our Brown Room year, continued through summer research work, and has expanded into our photo booth area in Rainey Room, we have decided that each child will be gifted a custom portrait for their birthday.
What is a portrait?
Lily: It’s a painting of a person.
Sam: Does it have to be a painting?
Lily: No. It can be a drawing.
Finlay: It could be a picture of a lego.
Remy: (a picture of) Your legs. Your face.
Finlay: Your hair?
Our friend, Finlay.
Finlay's birthday was yesterday, September 15th. This year in Rainey Room, we have decided that Fridays will be best to have our school birthday celebrations! We have been working all week to plan and prepare for his birthday celebration tomorrow.
A big part in preparing for a birthday celebration is to gather information about the child who is being celebrated. Some things we may already know about our friends. Such as, what are some of their favorite things? Other things we learn through intentional dialogue.
On Monday, Finlay shared some information with his classmates that gave everyone insight into types of things that he likes.
A big part in preparing for a birthday celebration is to gather information about the child who is being celebrated. Some things we may already know about our friends. Such as, what are some of their favorite things? Other things we learn through intentional dialogue.
On Monday, Finlay shared some information with his classmates that gave everyone insight into types of things that he likes.
Finlay: Lego lollipops is my treat. Everyone gets them. You can eat the legos. And they are hard.
Ines: Why did you pick legos for your treat? (for his special celebration snack)
Finlay: I don’t know. I just wanted to.
Daniel: Do you like legos?
Finlay: Yes, I do!
Bea: Finlay also has legos in his hands right now. My brother really likes legos.
Sam: Do you think legos are a favorite toy of yours?
Finlay: It’s my favorite favorite.
Sam: Does anyone else like to play with legos?
Remy: Me! I have giant legos.
Luke: I got little legos.
Jade: I got little legos, too.
Wilder: My legos are very very very very very very special.
Luke: And mine are very tiny.
Sam: Do you have a favorite lego set?
Finlay: Yeah, uhm it’s the one with the one that comes with the ultimate chain.
Sam: What is the ultimate chain?
Finlay: It’s like, it’s a chain. Like going again and again.
Ines: Is that from Ninjago?
Finlay: Yes! And the ultimate chain is my favorite piece. Anything Ninjago.
Ines: Can you tell us what Ninjago is?
Finlay: It’s basically legos that is ninjas.
Sam: What are ninjas?
Bea: I know what ninjas are.
Finlay: So like ninjas fight serpentines. They fight like bad guys. They try like save people. Like if one of them get captures they try to save him. And the serpentines want to rule the world.
Sam: It sounds like we learned a lot about Finlay. He likes legos, he likes ninjago. Does anyone else know something about Finlay?
Remy: I know about Finlay, legos.
Finlay: I got legos yesterday.
Sam: Does anyone remember what Finlay said his favorite color was?
Finlay: RED!
Wilder: And you have a red lego!
Finlay: And green is my favorite color. And golden and golden.
Wilder: I love all kinds of color.
Finlay: You know the green ninja turns into the golden ninja.
A Birthday Committee
Lily, Lucas, and Wilder
For each celebration, a birthday committee is selected.
The birthday committee collaborates to create a personalized meaningful gift for the birthday child.
During the committee's first meeting, we began our discussion by thinking about how we would create a portrait of Finlay.
We can draw one. - Wilder
We can paint one. - Lily
What if I suggested that we use a camera to take a photo? - Sam
That would be great, but how do we put the camera on the portrait? - Wilder
Well, if we use a camera we can take a type of photo that’s called a portrait. - Sam
We then reflected on a previous large group discussion when we first introduced the word "portrait".
The birthday committee collaborates to create a personalized meaningful gift for the birthday child.
During the committee's first meeting, we began our discussion by thinking about how we would create a portrait of Finlay.
We can draw one. - Wilder
We can paint one. - Lily
What if I suggested that we use a camera to take a photo? - Sam
That would be great, but how do we put the camera on the portrait? - Wilder
Well, if we use a camera we can take a type of photo that’s called a portrait. - Sam
We then reflected on a previous large group discussion when we first introduced the word "portrait".
Portrait Photography (portraiture): aimed toward capturing the personality, expression, and mood of a person by using effective lighting, backdrops, and poses.
a portrait is special
When discussing the meaning of a portrait photo, the idea of it being a "special" photograph was understood and communicated.
If we want to make this photo special for Finlay, what things could we include that he told us he likes? - Sam
Green and red. - Wilder
And golden. - Lily
So how do we make red and green and golden? Do we have any gold markers? How do we make it special? - Wilder
Oooo! We could hide the camera and still take a picture, but he can not see what we’re doing? - Wilder
Oh. Like a surprise? - Sam
Maybe we can put a camera behind a paper but the camera can shine through the paper and still take a picture. - Wilder
Wilder thoughtfully wanted to keep the photograph a surprise in order to make it special for Finlay. After further discussion with the committee, we agreed that if we wanted to capture a special portrait of Finlay then we would not be able to hide the camera.
If we want to make this photo special for Finlay, what things could we include that he told us he likes? - Sam
Green and red. - Wilder
And golden. - Lily
So how do we make red and green and golden? Do we have any gold markers? How do we make it special? - Wilder
Oooo! We could hide the camera and still take a picture, but he can not see what we’re doing? - Wilder
Oh. Like a surprise? - Sam
Maybe we can put a camera behind a paper but the camera can shine through the paper and still take a picture. - Wilder
Wilder thoughtfully wanted to keep the photograph a surprise in order to make it special for Finlay. After further discussion with the committee, we agreed that if we wanted to capture a special portrait of Finlay then we would not be able to hide the camera.
conventions of portraiture - background
Has any one ever heard of a background? Do you know what that is? - Sam
It’s like a color on the back! - Lily
Do you think we could create a special background for Finlay’s portrait? We know his favorite colors. Do we know anything else that he likes? - Sam
Legos!- Lily
Hmm how could we get legos on the background of our photo booth when we take Finlay’s photo? - Sam
I think we could take a picture of the legos and put it on the background. - Lucas
I have a great idea! I could not be in the picture but my arm could be in the picture reaching out with the legos! Oooo ooooo oooo. We could use that crane! (Pointing to crane in middle room) To hold the legos! - Wilder
Maybe we could stick them? - Lily
Maybe we connect them together with glue. - Wilder
Have you ever used legos? Do you need glue to connect them together? - Sam
Umm you need a extra lego… - Lily (stacking her hands to represent her idea of connecting them)
Like something on the bottom? Do you know what that’s called? - Sam
A base!- Lily
We do have lego bases - Sam (gets lego bin out of closet)
We can connect them together like this. - Wider (uses flat lego pieces to connect the bases together)
It’s like a color on the back! - Lily
Do you think we could create a special background for Finlay’s portrait? We know his favorite colors. Do we know anything else that he likes? - Sam
Legos!- Lily
Hmm how could we get legos on the background of our photo booth when we take Finlay’s photo? - Sam
I think we could take a picture of the legos and put it on the background. - Lucas
I have a great idea! I could not be in the picture but my arm could be in the picture reaching out with the legos! Oooo ooooo oooo. We could use that crane! (Pointing to crane in middle room) To hold the legos! - Wilder
Maybe we could stick them? - Lily
Maybe we connect them together with glue. - Wilder
Have you ever used legos? Do you need glue to connect them together? - Sam
Umm you need a extra lego… - Lily (stacking her hands to represent her idea of connecting them)
Like something on the bottom? Do you know what that’s called? - Sam
A base!- Lily
We do have lego bases - Sam (gets lego bin out of closet)
We can connect them together like this. - Wider (uses flat lego pieces to connect the bases together)
choosing which lego pieces to include
This one! - Wilder
I see you chose a red lego. Does Finlay like red? - Sam
Red and green! - Wilder (starts sorting the legos to find red and green)
I found a golden! - Lucas
I see you chose a red lego. Does Finlay like red? - Sam
Red and green! - Wilder (starts sorting the legos to find red and green)
I found a golden! - Lucas
Knowing that Finlay named red, green, and golden as his favorite colors, the committee naturally began sorting the legos to choose pieces that matched Finlay's favorite colors. There was some debate regarding if shades of colors (ie. shades of green and "gold") should be included or not.
There was also some questioning about whether or not some "cool" pieces should be included in the selection if perhaps they didn't fit the color palette.
Ultimately the committee decided that Finlay could be consulted on the final decisions about what to include in his portrait.
 | That counts. - Wilder (finding a darker green piece that’s different than other shades) Does Finlay like brown? - Lucas I remember Finlay saying that he likes red, green, and golden. - Sam That’s kind of golden? - Wilder No, that’s pink. - Lucas Oh this one! - Lucas (finds spider web) That will scare him… - Wilder Maybe we could save some pieces that we think Finlay might like and we can ask him about them. - Sam Ooooo this is special! - Lucas (finding pieces to show Finlay) We can ask him (Finlay) if he thinks its so special. - Wilder Whoa. This is so cool. Want to ask him about this?- Wilder (seeks validation from Lily and Lucas about his findings) We HAVE to ask him him about that. - Lucas Yeah. We HAVE TO! - Lily |
collecting fabric
| When the committee finished choosing their lego selection, there was continued discussion about background. It was agreed that Finlay's favorite things (colors and lego) should be included in the portrait, potentially as a background, but there was uncertainty about how to effectively display the lego pieces in the background of the photo. Sam suggested that some backdrops are made of fabric. Where could we find a selection of fabric at school? The committee made a trip to our sewing table where there is a large collection of fabric pieces. They began to find items that they agreed were both "beautiful" and fit Finlay's color palette. |  The "birthday hat" It has two of his favorite colors! We should definitely use this! - Lily |
selection of fabric to use as potential background color or attire for Finlay to wear
Committee Meeting #2: An Interview with Finlay
A time to revisit and receive feedback on the materials the committee selected to include in the portrait.
| | Lego Selection I like all the colors. - Finlay This spiderweb? - Lucas I like any pieces. - Finlay Do you like this lego boat? - Wilder Um. Yeah. Anything. Everything. - Finlay If we included legos in your birthday photo, how would you feel about that? - Sam Good! - Finlay Fabric/ Attire/ Backdrop Finlay, do you like this birthday hat? - Wilder No thanks. - Finlay Your friends chose this because it has green and golden colors, so they thought you might like it. - Sam But it has to have red too… - Finlay I had to tell Finlay something. Sam thought that we could make the purple on the back of your head so you don’t see the purple side (in the photo). - Lucas (demonstrates how to wear it to hide the purple) I can still see it... no thanks. - Finlay |
| When providing feedback and his own personal input about the selection of materials, Finlay had two requests for the committee. 1. He wanted the legos to be in front of him so that you could see them in the photo. 2. He wanted the background to look like he was inside of a tent. (he chose the red and gold fabric to be the fabric for constructing the tent.) | We wanted a fort. - Wilder Like a tent. - Finlay And legos. He (Finlay) wanted them in front of him. - Wilder |
 |  |
Lego will be used as props in the foreground of the photo (per Finlay's request).
Though the mini scenes were each built by individual committee members, they were connected through a story told by Wilder.
Wilder: Do you know what these are? they light up at night so motor boats and sail boats know where the really deep parts for motor boats and the shallow parts for sail boats are. When it’s morning these lights go off. They’re only used for nighttime.
Lily: It has trees and a boat and it’s a outside scenery.
Finlay: It’s an attack. Somebody’s attacking the scenery.
Wilder to Lily: Your boat right there can get out into the darkness so my lights show the way!
Wilder to Finlay and Lily (connecting all scenes): his (Finlay’s) person can walk into lily’s boat and go out into sea when it’s dark.
The lights can show the way and they can be safe from the attack!
Though the mini scenes were each built by individual committee members, they were connected through a story told by Wilder.
Wilder: Do you know what these are? they light up at night so motor boats and sail boats know where the really deep parts for motor boats and the shallow parts for sail boats are. When it’s morning these lights go off. They’re only used for nighttime.
Lily: It has trees and a boat and it’s a outside scenery.
Finlay: It’s an attack. Somebody’s attacking the scenery.
Wilder to Lily: Your boat right there can get out into the darkness so my lights show the way!
Wilder to Finlay and Lily (connecting all scenes): his (Finlay’s) person can walk into lily’s boat and go out into sea when it’s dark.
The lights can show the way and they can be safe from the attack!
Committee Meeting #3: Preparing the Photo Shoot
 |  |
During the photo shoot the committee explored how to use the tripod and features on the iPod camera such as focus and zoom.
We just can’t see the bottom. - Lily (looking into screen)
Maybe we have to lower it. - Wilder (trying to reposition camera)
I can see everything I need. - Lucas
We just can’t see the bottom. - Lily (looking into screen)
Maybe we have to lower it. - Wilder (trying to reposition camera)
I can see everything I need. - Lucas
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You put it in the favorites so you have it on the phone. - Lucas (demonstrating how to favorite an image)
I got a good Finlay picture! - Lucas
I see everything I need. - Wilder (using digital camera)
1,2,3, Cheese. - Wilder
Finlay! Look over here! - Lucas
Committee Meeting #4: Selecting a Birthday Portrait
When selecting an image to be framed for Finlay's birthday portrait, the committee discussed what they liked and disliked about each image and narrowed it down to the top 3 to then be edited as the final step.
Here is some feedback during the selection process:
Not my fave. He looks too mad. Too grumpy. - Lily
A little too crowded. I can't see Finlay and the legos and I can't see Finlay's other arm! - Wilder
I can see perfectly! - Wilder
It's plain... too plain. - Lily
We have (can see) his ninja shirt. That ones good. - Wilder
Let me see closer detail. - Lily
No. We can't see his legs. He's hiding his body. - Lily
He looks like strong. - Lily
And he wanted to look beautiful and that (one) is pretty beautiful so I like that one. - Wilder
I can see my finger. - Lucas
It gets so blurry. - Wilder
After narrowing the selection down to the top 3 choices, the committee used simple editing features (saturation, tint, temperature, sharpness, crop, border) to play with color and size of the photo.
It was challenging to not choose all three, but the favorite was decided!
It looks dark and beautiful. Like a ballet stage. - Lily
I like the border. - Wilder
It keeps it in it. Like a box. - Lily
I like the border. - Wilder
It keeps it in it. Like a box. - Lily
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