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Choosing Symbols!

9/30/2021

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Symbols at St. John’s ​

It is tradition at St. John’s that each child chooses a symbol to represent themselves during their time with us. Choosing a symbol that represents them is a step in each child developing a personal identity amongst their classmates. It also helps them develop ownership of the spaces that we call the “Brown Room” and “school.” Once children choose their symbols, their symbols become part of the school environment; used to label our mailboxes at the Post Office, our cubbies, our portfolio drawers for our work and our cubby bags. Our symbols will also be part of our “Message Center” so that children can use them when making messages for friends and family. 


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Symbols were first introduced at Morning Meeting. We reminded children of the messages that Karen and Elena made to welcome them to school.  Elena demonstrated how to use the one stamp at a time process, similar to how we have learned how to use our materials when painting.

First Exploration of Symbols

For our first exploration, children had an opportunity to explore a variety of symbols in small groups in the studio. Here's a brief look into our first exploration.
  • Emma trying out all the stamps, pointed to one and says, “this one’s a crab.”
  • Ragnar discussing symbols in his life remarked “there’s symbols on cars!” When looking at the music note symbol he said it looked like cymbals. 
  • Ford singing the symbols as he stamped: “Paw print! Clock, clock, clock.” “Dinosaur, I can bring this home?"
  • Louisa: "Dinosaur, dinosaur, I like dinosaurs." “Lamby, lamby.” “I like dinosaur, annddd lamb annnnnddd spider annnnddd…."
  • Ellie: "Spider, spider, spider, I’m stamping spiders!"
  • Mimi chooses a frog and says: "I’m doing it for mama, a message. Look at this one!" (holding up a musical note). Mimi also chose to put the symbols side by side for comparison. 
  • Cal: “Mmmm this one? It’s a moon," as he held up the globe.

Choosing Symbols

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At our second Morning Meeting about symbols, Elena and Karen shared their symbols and why they chose them. Elena shared that she chose a seahorse because she liked the turquoise blue color of the picture. Karen chose the sea turtle as her symbol because it is her favorite animal. 


Second Exploration of Symbols 

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For our second exploration of symbols, each child tried out symbols from a carefully curated selection. Karen and Elena examined their first attempts to  determine which symbols each child showed a preference for in their work. Each child had a personalized box of their preferred symbols with which to work. ​

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Ford Chooses
Inspired and encouraged by his older sisters, Ford was eager to choose his symbol. Ford picked up each symbol and said: “Is this my symbol? Yeah!” He eventually picked the scallop shell after trying each stamp individually. As Ford deliberated, Ramsey and Cal looked on curiously. Once one child made a decision on their symbol it seemed to catch on with the rest of our class.
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More Symbol Choices

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Rawls: The spider. It's like Spiderman!
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Mimi: It ribbits. Cal: I like it. Another. Another. There's 2 of them.
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Fay: This one. The umbrella.
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Ramsey: The crab. I like the pinching crab.

The Brown Room's Symbol Box (Tuesday)

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Since Ford was the first to choose his symbol, he was able to place his symbol in the Symbol Box which will become part of the Message Center. At our meeting after snack, Ford ceremoniously placed his symbol in the Symbol Box.  By the end of the day on Tuesday, more children had made choices about their symbols.​

More Symbols! (Thursday)

Today more children joined Karen in the studio to choose their symbols.  Seon and Isabelle joined first. As Seon tried out her personalized box of symbols, she exclaimed, "Fly! Balloon!"  She then used a pencil to circle the butterfly as her choice of a symbol. Pointing the the light bulb, Isabelle declared, "This one. This one!"  Charlton and Ellie entered the studio next. Charlton had a tough time, debating between the crayon and the whale, but ultimately chose the whale. Ellie was interested in a few symbols, but is still thinking her decision over.  To make their choices official each child stamped their symbol on their drawer in the symbol box and then placed their symbol inside. 

Symbols, Symbols, Everywhere!

Our symbols are starting to appear all over our classroom and our school!
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September 29th, 2021

9/29/2021

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Watercolor at the Light Table 

While we have previously worked with watercolor in the studio and outside, today we decided to elevate our watercolor exploration with the addition of light. With everything arranged on the light table, children enjoyed watching the watercolor fall across the illuminated paper. As the exploration continued, two children noticed that they were able to control the light using the switches on the side. For some time, both Emma and Seon delighted in the experience of turning the light on and off, and watching it change the composition of the paint on the page. ​
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Isabelle: I like this one. (Pointing the yellow watercolor).
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Seon: Made dots with orange then made green watercolors. When pointing to the green, she exclaimed “green!” and then dragged her brush through the dots to make horizontal lines.

Emma: Emma paint! Blue! I making a rainbow. Swishy swashy! Wishy washy! Then Emma added orange. Turning orange! Oops I drip! (Making a dot and then spreading it over the paper. What happen the light? (When the light table got turned off). I turn it on!
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Isabelle: Um, this one (choosing yellow). Um, this one. I want this one (Choosing blue). 


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Louisa: I paint. Blue. (Louisa added green to her blue painting).
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Ellie: Clean up this paint. (after spilling some watercolor paints.)

Choosing Symbols 

As referenced on yesterday's blog, Brown Room children are beginning to choose their symbols. After their first encounters with the symbols, we offered the children a curated selection of the symbols the children used the most for their second exploration. Children then chose their symbol and had the opportunity to place it in our symbol box for easy accessibility. While not every child has chosen a symbol yet, we just wanted to highlight some of the discerning processes  we observed today. 
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Louisa and Emma were two of the children who did choose symbols today. Louisa chose a dinosaur and Emma a bumblebee. During their second exploration with the symbols, both children expressed a reverence about the process, choosing only one symbol at a time to carefully ink and stamp. Emma offered Louisa the fly to try when, but Louisa politely refused in favor of "dinosaur again".  After trying several other symbols, Louisa declared the dinosaur was her favorite because "I like dinosaurs".  While Louisa chose first, she stayed until Emma was finished with  her selection, often offering Emma an additional stamp pad or another symbol to try. Emma eventually decided on the bumblebee as opposed to the fly citing "Emma loves bumblebees because it's outside". ​
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Ellie and Seon shared the table during their second explorations. In the image to the left, Seon suggested the mail symbol to Ellie by inking it and stamping it on Ellie's page. Ellie politely refused the suggestion saying "No, thank you!", but she did later ask to try Seon's shell symbol.  Seon stamped the balloon symbol several times both on her hand and on her paper, and later added the balloon, the shell, and the mail symbols to her drawer in the symbol box. Ellie did the same with a bear claw symbol, and both girls expressed interest in choosing their favorite and final symbol another day. 



Both Cal and Isabelle were particularly excited for another chance at exploring the symbols. Cal had explored with some the day before, but hadn't quite settled on any one symbol.  Cal pointed to the grasshopper symbol and remarked "this is the one Mommy likes". He stamped the grasshopper, bear claw and clock several times, but ultimately decided he wanted to wait "to tomorrow" to decide. 

Isabelle expressed excitement when her sister Reed, passed in the hallway and paused to talk with Isabelle about her symbol. Afterwards Isabelle went to the mailbox to see Reed's symbol, and when Isabelle couldn't immediately find it she asked "where's Reed Sterchi?"
As children select their symbols, they are also adding them to cubby bag tags, the mailboxes, portfolio drawers and more as a method of self identifying. Once each child  has selected, we will post a complete list on the blog if for everyone to see! 
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September 23rd, 2021

9/23/2021

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Summer Memories 

Yesterday we began the long awaited sharing of our summer memories. As we’ve added them to our summer memories shelf, children have noticed them and taken moments for some informal sharing, but yesterday each child had a chance in the presence of a friend. To encourage a dialogue, we paired the children up and filmed their interactions. What follows are images and snippets from their conversations. 

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Ford and Seon 

Karen: Ford would you like to share with Seon one of your favorite memories?
Ford: Yes, This is a pictures, my rocket and the gondola pass. 
Karen: oooh a gondola pass. Can you show that to Seon?
(Ford holds up the gondola pass and Seon holds up her purse in response)
Karen: Where did the gondola go Ford?
Ford: In Jackson Hole, there was a gondola and I wear my pass. 
Karen: So seon, Ford went to Jackson Hole and to get to the gondola you have to wear a pass. He wore it to get on the gondola. Seon did you want to tell Ford about your picture?
(Seon holds up her drawing and points to one of the fish stickers in the middle)
(Ford holds up a picture her brought)
Ford: This is a animal, not a baby
Karen: Oh, it’s not a baby. Can you tell us about what you did with your rocket?
Ford: (Gets up and pantomimes a stomp rocket) Watch. You put it on and you have to step, step, step and it blasts off to the sky. 
Karen: Oh, its a stomp rocket? So you step on it and it blasts off to the sky? That sounds like a lot of fun
Ford: Yeah, and I go pool and I go with these goggles



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Fay and Cal 

Elena: Do you remember the summer when it was so hot. And Fay you came to summer camp and Cal it looks like you went fishing? Do you remember? These are the memories you collected (passes out collections)
Cal: (Reaches into Fay’s basket) Oh! A shell, what’s in it?
Elena: Fay where did you find that shell?
Cal: What’s in it? 
Elena: do you think you could ask Fay?
Cal: Hmm
Elena: Fay do you know what’s in that shell? 
Cal: Hmmm would it come out?
Fay: (shakes her head no)
Elena: Fay I see you noticing Cal’s fish.  According to Cal’s summer memories that came form Cal’s summer camp. Cal do you remember how you made that?
Cal: Look at this rock. 
Elena: Yes, my favorite part of this rock is the gold and silver Micah on the rock. Fay, did you notice that?

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Isabelle and Emma 

Elena: Would you like to have a seat at the table? Emma did you notice I put your summer photos on the table? And Isabelle, do you see Mickey Cup?
Isabelle: My Mickey cup!
Emma: What’s your mickey cup? (leans forward to touch the teacup set)
Isabelle: I love it (Pulls photos from Emma’s pile to look at and turns it around  to show emma)
Emma: A puzzle, a puzzle (takes it to the floor)
Isabelle: What puzzle? (leans over to see)
Emma: (struggles with pulling the pieces apart and holds it up to Elena)
Elena: Oh, it looks like someone taped it to keep all the pieces together!
Emma: (Moves onto a picture of her and her sister backed on a construction paper heart) A heart!
Elena: Do you remember who that is?
(Both girls spend some time touching and moving each other’s items around. Isabelle separates Emma’s photos from the backings and Emma pantomimes making tea with Mickey cup)
Isabelle: My Mickey cup!
Elena: That is yours, but you’re looking at Emma’s summer memories so maybe she could hold your Mickey cup for a little bit.
(Both girls continues with the tea pantomime)
Emma: (noticing a picture at the pool) A pool! 
Elena: Yes! Do you remember who you went to the pool with?
(Emma continues drinking tea and sharing it with Isabelle)




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Mimi and Ellie 

Elena: Ellie did you notice that you have shells in your basket and Mimi brought shells too. 
Ellie: Shells!
Mimi: This is a big shell, and these are big shells and this is a little shell.
Ellie: Big shell! 
Elena: Could we lay the shells on the table?
Mimi: Look at this one, if you like this you can hear the ocean. (Brings shell up to ear)
Elena: Ellie can you hear the ocean from your shells?
Ellie: Noooo, noooo seeing the ocean. 
Mimi: Can i try? (Reaches across to grab one of Ellie’s shells)
Elena: It’s not seeing the ocean, it’s hearing the ocean. See, you put the shell up to your ear and listen. 
Ellie: No, too far!
(Both children explore with dropping the shells from up high onto the table)
Elena: Ellie, where did these shells come from?
Ellie: My basket!
Elena: hah yes, but before that. Did you go to a beach?
Mimi: I went to a beach. A vacation beach. 
(Ellie pretends to answer the phone with a the shells)
Ellie: Mama go to beach, Dada go to beach, Kine (sister caroline) go to beach! Too scared. 
Elena: Too scared? What were you scared of?
Ellie: Boat, too scared boat. 
Elena: Oh of the boat? You went on the boat and you were too scared?
Ellie: Yeah 
Elena: What kind of boat did you go on?
Ellie: a dinosaur boat!
Mimi: I go on a giraffe boat.
Elena: A giraffe boat!



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Louisa and Charlton

Karen: So Louisa where did the dinosaur come from?
Louisa: From nobody. 
Karen: From nobody? Do you want to tell Charlton where you got it?
Louisa: From nobody. Noooobody .
Karen: Nobody gave it to you? Did you pick it out?
Louisa: (shakes head no)
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Karen: Charlton did you take any special trips this summer?
Charlton: Yeah
Karen: Tell Louisa, where did you go?
Charlton: I went on a trip, I went to i dont know. 
Karen: Did you go to somewhere with water?
Charlton: I went tomorrow.


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Elsewhere in Brown Room, children enjoyed construction, dramatic play and reading. 
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September 22nd

9/22/2021

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Wrapping Up School Tours

On the last day of "School Tours,"  Ellie and Isabelle explored new areas of the St. John's.  Their curiosity led us to discover the Choir Room in the basement of the church and the elevator nearby.

Ellie and Isabelle
Ellie: Down, down, scared down there!
Karen: Okay then, which way should we go? 
Ellie: Which way go? Which way go?
Isabelle: This way! (Pointing down the stairs towards the Chapel of the Carpenter). As we walked down the steps, a noise came from the hallway and both Ellie and Isabelle looked in that direction. 
Karen: What did you just hear?
Ellie: A teacher!
Isabelle: Which way?
Ellie: That way!
Isabelle: This way! (Pointing into the choir room). 
Ellie: No lights. Turn on the lights.
Ellie: Piano.
Karen: I wonder where this door goes. (pointing to the elevator)
Ellie: The alligator.
Isabelle: Up!
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Introducing the Message Center and its Materials

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Back in the Brown Room, we  focused on intentional use of the Message Center and its materials.  At morning meeting, Cal helped Karen demonstrate how to use  paper and envelopes to create messages for our friends and families. We also learned how to take care of our markers.  Children enjoyed making messages for each other and their families. We are looking forward to introducing and choosing symbols soon. Once symbols are chosen, they will become part of our Message Center and the School Post Office. 

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Spells Emma. Spells Emma. That’s mommy. That’s daddy.
Spells Emma.

That’s Emma.
-Emma

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Isabelle: Have this. (handing a green envelope to Emma).
Emma: No pink. I did not chose green. What about that pink? 
I drawing. I drawing.


Seon made messages for Fay and then delivered them to her in the cozy corner. 

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​Read it! I’m writing it down for you. 

-Louisa


A New Scene in Dramatic Play 

The children were excited to discover new materials in Dramatic Play and enjoyed meals together. 
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September 21st, 2021

9/21/2021

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Continuation of School Tours

Loris Malaguzzi, the founder of the Reggio pedagogy, once wrote “children have the right to be recognized… as both source and constructors of their own experiences, and are therefore active participants in the organization of their identities, abilities and autonomy through relationships and interactions with peers, adults, ideas and objects”.  Following this, it is our intention that the children develop trust in each other, the materials and the school space. To facilitate this, we continued with our school tours this week. Children went in groups of two and chose what in the school they wanted to see. For some it was the bell tower and the church and for others it was the elevator and other classrooms.

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Cal and Ragnar 


Both Cal and Ragnar expressed an interest in seeing Molly’s office on Friday. Unfortunately, by then we’d run out of time so we made it a top priority on Monday. They were thrilled to join Molly, Audrey and Jen on the balcony, and both were quite curious about the office space, the church and their new perspectives. Cal and Ragnar even braved the stairs all the way up to the bell tower to see where the bell sound had been coming from!

“ I see something” - Cal realizing there were steps in Molly’s office that led up to a door. 
“Is this a tunnel?” - Ragnar climbing the steps to the bell tower
“What’s down there?” - Cal noticing the church pews below
“Now, I’m down here” - Cal acknowledges the change in perspective between the balcony and the ground floor
“This feels like an airplane” - Ragnar remarked as he and Cal sat in different pews

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Ford and Rawls

Upon Cal and Ragnar’s return, Ford and Rawls were particularly excited to explore the school. They followed Ragnar’s suggestion to check out Molly’s office, but soon into exploring the balcony Ford remarked “I wanna go to Tucker Room”. Once in Tucker room, Rawls was particularly excited that he was in his sisters classroom, and looked around for evidence of her having been there. He asked “this is Marley’s room?” again and again, and with some guidance from Molly pulled a stool up to the window to see see Marley outside.
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Rawls and Fay

Rawls offered to accompany Fay on her  school tour today. They began exploring the hallway and eventually found the elevator. When they exited the elevator, both noticed the skylight on the ceiling. Rawls reached for it and  upon discovering that he wasn’t tall enough to do so remarked “ I not reach high”. He noticed “rectangles!” in the window pane pattern and was excited about this discovery. Fay enjoyed the tour, and shared Rawls’ observation of the rectangles. ​
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Charlton and Ramsey

Charlton and Ramsey shared an interest in the church, particularly the sanctuary space. They began with an exploration of the balcony, but quickly decided they wanted to be on the church’s ground level. Charlton, speculating from the balcony what might be downstairs suggested, “There might be Spider-Man down there. There might be Leonardo down there from ninja turtles. He can stay late with his brothers”. Below is a conversation between Ramsey and Charlton as they plan how to get down to the sanctuary. 

Let’s not go down there. -Ramsey
But, this is the church -Charlton
How do you think can we get down to the sanctuary? -Karen
I think we need stairs.- Charlton
After the two of them returned back upstairs from their explorations: 
Let’s go back down again. - Charlton
What’s that noise? Check it out. - Ramsey​
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Ragnar and Mimi

Similarly, the sanctuary held interest for Ragnar and Mimi. Ragnar, having been on a tour yesterday, suggested to Mimi that they start with Molly’s office, but from the balcony they quickly noticed the church below. Ragnar offered a comparison of what the sanctuary looked like yesterday and Mimi compared it to a castle. 
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It’s not dark today. -Ragnar referring to the sanctuary.
I see a table (Mimi looking towards the altar). There is chairs. It is a castle. 
We can do the stairs- Ragnar

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Please enjoy this slideshow that contains pictures from the rest of our day! 
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Backwards Day!

9/17/2021

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Our First St. John's Singalong

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Today, the Brown Room children participated in their first St. John's Singalong. Everyone was excited to sing songs, play musical instruments and see their family members who were able to join on Zoom.  


Experiences in the Outdoor Classroom

The Brown Room children love spending extra time in the Outdoor Classroom on Backwards Day.  Starting our day outside is exciting for everyone.
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​Charlton:
Run Isabelle, run! The dragons are in space!
Ford: I'm driving my boat!
Isabelle: Want on the boat.
Rawls: You can on mine (to Isabelle)
Charlton: You are the captain. (to Rawls)
 Rawls: There is the treasure. 
Charlton: I'm am the pirate, ha ha! Captain, captain, move.



Seon and Louisa investigated gravity at the slide. They took turns seeing what would happen when they placed different types of toys at the top of the slide.
Children had their first experience with watercolors on Thursday. Today, some had the opportunity to experience painting outdoors. 
Tap, tap. Painting, painting the mulch. Paint the mulch.- Ellie as she used mulch to add texture to her work.
I’m making drops! I want orange. There’s orange. Swishy-swashy. - Emma

Tackling Physical Challenges!

Ford began the day by asking about the swing. With encouragement, he tried to climb up several times. He didn't get discouraged and by the end of our Outdoor Classroom time, he was able to swing on his own!  For several days, Ragnar has been working on climbing up and down the cargo net. Today he was successful in getting to the top and back down again!


Back Indoors...

Back in the Brown Room, Ramsey, Ellie and Seon created geometric designs with the magna-tiles. 
I build it again!- Ramsey

A Look Ahead for Brown Room:
​Next Week's Projection of the Work

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September 16th, 2021

9/16/2021

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Watercolors 


In a continuation of our painting explorations, today we introduced watercolor painting. Notably lighter and more transparent than the tempera paint we used last week, the watercolor paint provided a different style of painting provocation. To begin we sat at the table, as opposed to the easel, and practiced brush strokes with finer brushes and smaller pieces of paper. Some children made note of the change in texture, when the paint dribbled and ran all over their page

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Karen demonstrates the transparency of the watercolor paint using a spotlight. 
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Ellie: Other color. Look at my rainbow. Put mine on the rack.
Ford: I got blue. Look! I making a rainbow. I making green, yellow, and this (pointing to the pink paint jar). I used 2 hands. Look at my rainbow!




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Isabelle: All done (when finished with the yellow paint). Isabelle then chose green and motioned to Seon for her to sit next to her.
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Seon watched Isabelle and Rawls paint for a bit and then she began painting, first using blue, then green and finally red. Seon also experimented by placing the paint jar lid on her paper to make circular prints in the paint.


Emma: Emma paintbrush! Orange. Seon handed Emma the paint. 
Emma: Thank you. I want red. Seon handed Emma paint. Thank you. It’s special. I’m getting my paper out. As she painted, Emma sang Swishy Swashy, Swishy Swashy over and over.

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Rawls: Dripped paint on the paper from the brush and then pushed the paint around.























Ragnar: (Pointing to his painting) It’s dry? No it’s still wt. You dry it on the rack.




School Tours

School Tours
 In our continued effort to familiarize ourselves with our new school, Brown Room has begun “school tours”. They are entirely child led, allowing the children to explore and examine what they can find in the school space. Today Emma, Louisa and Seon led the charge with our first tour. As per Emma’s suggestion we started at the bathroom as it’s a spot everyone is already familiar with. When we got there, she reminded the group that “we’re just looking,” but everyone ended up using the bathroom anyway. Tucker’s clay workshop in the atelier soon caught our attention, and we took some time to watch. As the tour continued, we explored using the elevator and then enjoyed the light table in the greeting hallway after our long walk back up the stairs. Emma, Louisa and Seon came back to the classroom excited to tell everyone about what they had seen! We will continue the tours with different groups of children tomorrow and into next week.
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Wednesday

9/15/2021

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At The Easel

Today was Isabelle and Seon’s first experience painting at the easel in Brown Room. Isabelle confidently chose yellow and then pink as she practiced the one-color one-brush system for the first time. Seon carefully observed Isabelle’s efforts for a few minutes. When Isabelle noticed Seon watching her paint, she encouraged Seon to join in. 

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As Emma returned to the studio today, she experimented at the easel, trying out the paint brushes in both her left and right hands. 
Where’s my paper? I do yellow.  -Emma

​Ellie has been interested in painting at the easel from day one. As she made swirls across her paper, she exclaimed: 

Pink one, now yellow! Orange! Red! Oh...brown. Blue and purple! Pink one! Yes, pink! I’m done...no one more! -Ellie

Sensory Explorations at The Light Table

Emma, Fay and Louisa explored sand and shells at the light table. Seon joined Emma later on, using the shells to move sand from one tray to the next and back.
 Look at this (seashell). -Fay
 Looks like an ice cream bowl! Looks like a mushroom. -Emma
Look, all the colors. -Emma while holding sand.

Updated Construction Materials

The children noticed some new additions of untraditional building materials today: shells, brass knobs, chess pieces, and varieties of flora. Children used the materials in many different ways. 
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September 14th, 2021

9/14/2021

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Painting

Today we began wrapping up our initial painting explorations. That’s not to say that painting is over, far from it! Now that children are familiar with the technique, the easel will remain open and children will have more autonomy about when and with what they’d like to paint. That said, we some of the children had their first chance with the easel today, and these are their experiences:

Fay and Mimi

Fay gravitated toward the easel when she saw Mimi enjoying it and talking about her paintings from the previous days. Fay began with a turquoise color paintings lines and swatches, and she was particularly mesmerized when the paper became saturated and paint began dripping down the page. She carefully chose colors stating “I want purple” and “I want green” as she switched out her paints. 

Mimi, enjoying paint for the second time, started with big green swatches, eventually channeling her movement into smaller dots. About these she said “it’s like pom poms when i do this! I like it”.

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Cal

Cal enjoyed some painting at the table yesterday as he acclimated to the classroom space, but was initially hesitant to try the easel painting. After watching several friends try it for themselves, Cal decided he’d like to give it a go before snack started. He was particularly keen on all the color offerings and looked at each before remarking “uhhhh green?” as he selected a deep moss tone.

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Rawls and Charlton

Rawls and Charlton paired up and enjoyed painting again. Each shared an excitement for saturating the page and watching the paint drip down. ​
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Light Table

At our light table, today, we introduced a new concept: sand drawing. The intention is and was to draw the children’s attention to the light emitting from the table, so they begin to see it as something more than just an elevated table. Ramsey and Fay were particularly captivated by this and both spent time sitting and drawing. Ramsey dragged the paintbrush through the sand, and then introduced shells to his design. He then used the shells to alternately scoop and push the sand to see the light underneath. Fay drew circles with her fingers and after covering a shell with sand, she remarked “it’s a pancakes”.​
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Family Collages/ Photo Albums

Today the family albums and collages were particularly enthralling. Each took turns sharing what he or she noticed in the family portraits. 

Cal: "I’m going on to the next page”
Mimi pointing at her family collage: “Marte, Mimi, Andy, Mimi, Momma, Andy, Mimi, Dadda….”
Fay: “It’s both of my babies! And Coco!”
Ramsey: A car! 

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Our First Backwards Day!

9/10/2021

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What a beautiful end to a wonderful week! Today was our first backwards day, meaning we start our day with an hour outside. Since we normally end our days with a half hour outside, this was a big change to our schedule. We seized the additional outside time and continued our painting explorations. Using the same one color at a time paint system, several children had a chance to explore our large outdoor easel.
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Emma and Ford 

Ford and Emma shared an easel  during their painting exploration. Ford started with purple and red, painting in a swirling motion, while Emma opted for yellow and turquoise lines. When Ford finished painting, Emma happily spread out to the available spot, making a masterpiece that stretched the width of the easel. 

 “Can I paint? Not on mine. Don’t paint on mine…. Please" - Ford 

“I want Yellow.” “Look it drops!” Shhh...it’s dripping” “I’m making big blue, I’m making drops”
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- Emma


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Rawls 

Rawls started with purple and light blue, painting in big swatches that filled the space. As he continued, he began drawing lines down remarking “These go down stairs, down the stairs, down the stairs, pile pile pile”. ​
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Ragnar 

Ragnar spent most  of the morning very interested in the painting. He would peek in every so often from the playground to see if there was an available spot. When he had the chance, he began with yellow and purple and painted in alternating circle and line motions. When he finished, he declared “I drawed a monster, a real monster!” 

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On the Playground 

For those not painting, there was so much else to enjoy outside! Some children chose to cook with sand and rocks in our mud kitchen while others reenacted favorite movie plots in the sandbox. 

Ford: I’m cooking. This is heavy. 
Karen: I wonder what is in it that is making it so heavy.
Ford: I put rocks in it.
Karen: What kind of pie is it? 
Ford: It’s rock pie!

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Isabelle, Seon and Louisa enjoyed time with the construction vehicles. At one point the construction vehicles even ferried  ingredients to the mud kitchen! Louisa problem solved how to move the vehicle remarking "this will fit in here. Wait, wait, this will fit in here." 
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"Did you find Mufasa? Did you find Simba? We need to find Scar, because Scar kills Mufasa in the movie. " - Charlton to Rawls 
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Have a wonderful weekend! We can't wait to see you on Monday! 
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