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Rainey Room 

See you all in 2021!

12/18/2020

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The last Brown Room project of the year...
Building a House in the
​Outdoor Classroom!
Video from today's building process. It was a huge group effort!
Such a nice way to spend our last day (for a while) together.
A final comment from Daniel as we reviewed our work before heading inside - 

It's a good house. It's better than that one! - Daniel 
(comparing our "BR House" to the Cob House)
To wrap up our day we could think of nothing more fun than playing a new favorite movement game -
Hot lava pillow dancing to holiday music! 

Happy Holidays from the Brown Room! 
Thank you to all of our families for your constant support
​and the thoughtful ways you show your appreciation.
It means so much!

Enjoy the next few weeks with your loved ones! 

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A quick, but really fun, Thursday!

12/17/2020

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Our last chapel until 2021

We began our day with Chapel. There was a big crowd with lots of faces to look at on the computer and projector screen. Guess who was in the crowd? Ines and her family in Germany! We also recognized some Brown Room friends at home and a couple of our parents too. 

So far during all of the chapel's we have had in 2020, the Brown Room assignment has been to sing "This Little Light of Mine" for the school.
​We might have a new responsibility in the new year. We shall see! 
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Special guest and substitute helper today - Tim!
​(Jade's Dad)

Tim has excellent read aloud skills and really knew how to captivate his audience!
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We have been so lucky to share our days with amazing helpers this week! Jen spent the day with us on Monday, Jennie (Tucker Room friend Palmer's Mom) helped us on both Tuesday and Wednesday, and today Jade's dad joined us! 

Brown Room wants to shout a HUGE THANK YOU to all of you for the help you have given us this week. 
It has been a lot of fun having such kind people from our community spend the week with us!

Handmade Paper 

What can you do with paper pulp? Use it for making paper! 
The process ...
Explore the materials
Fill the paper screen with pulp
Pressing
Self-expression / Customization

Self Expression
Unique Approaches and Techniques




​​Arrangement
(intentionally
creating a
​specific image)


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Crumpling 


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​Compressing 

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Filling
the 
Surface Area







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Layering


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Choosing to work
​with
similar shapes

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​Spacing
Between
Placement 







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Minimalistic 



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Any idea which piece of paper represents your child's creative style?
They look forward to "surprising" you! 

Enjoy tonight's Luminary Walk!

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Wednesday, December 16th

12/16/2020

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Continuing our work with paper (and water). 

At Tuesday's morning meeting, we reflected on our work from the previous day and observed some of the paper artifacts that had been saved and left out overnight. Were the materials still wet? Were any physical changes evident?  

The children made observations about the "soup" (a wide variety of paper materials compressed together in water) that some of them had created in the glass vase on Monday.
​When saved the day before, the paper materials were still submerged in water. 
​
The plant sucked the water up! (Hugh)
The water drained. (Remy)
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As we continue working with the language of paper, explore its properties, and experiment with its chemical makeup,  it is apparent that combining paper and water creates a new substance.
​
Is it still paper as it begins to disintegrate in the water?
A new term was introduced during our morning meeting reflection and discussion - pulp!
A jar of paper pulp (small pieces of paper materials and water blended together) was also passed around during meeting for children to examine closely.

How was this pulp substance similar and/or different than what had been created so far during the previous days paper + water exploration?
​

The following text is a conversation between some of our children (Tuesday) who were intrigued by the pulp and  interested in being involved in the paper pulp making process as we expanded on our work from Monday's initial paper + water exploration.

​ A large bowl of already blended paper pulp was  provided in the studio for further investigation as well as additional paper and water. 
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Making pulp step 1: Tear the paper materials into small pieces and combine with water
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I'm making more "soup". Now I'm making little pieces little. (Daniel)
We're all making pulp and they're making soup. (Bea)

Jennie: Are soup and pulp the same?

No. (Bea)
Because that one's big  and this is small. (Lily)
(Making comparisons between the makeup of the "soup" - paper pieces submerged in water -
and the pulp - blended paper & water)
You get little pieces and then you put it in. (Bea)
These pieces work and these pieces don't work. (Bea) 
(Bea compares different types of paper products as she works on tearing)
You can put that in. Make it littler and littler. (Daniel)
(Daniel notices Bea tearing paper and asks her to add  it to his bowl of paper + water) ​
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Additional observations about the paper pulp as Daniel continues to explore the material - 

It feels wet. It's water. It's kind of water. It looks like sausage! Let's smush all the water. (Daniel)
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Hugh was interested in working with paper that had not been blended yet, but had been left intact and  added to a tray of water. 

Hey, look! I'm ripping it now! Hey! Look what happened! It ripped it! (Hugh observes the physical changes that occur as the materials are combined)

Daniel & Hugh - A Collaborative Effort Exploration
Combining a bowl of blended pulp with additional torn paper & water.

You can have some of mine.
You can have a lot and I can have a little.
(Daniel to Hugh)
​And we can mix this one up and pour that in.
Hugh, can we pour that in?
​It's really heavy!
(Daniel)
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We added one paper towel and water and now we pour it in this tray.
It's mixing time!
(Hugh)
Now it's time for mixing it up! (Daniel)
Now it's water time! (Hugh)
Now it's time for mixing up the bowl. (Daniel)
Mix it up, mix it up, mix up the water!
​(Hugh and Daniel singing about their process)

Later in the day during our outdoor time ... 

Brigitte came outside and showed the Brown Room that her friends in Rainey Room are also exploring paper pulp.
Rainey's pulp looks different! They colored their pulp to make it look like the sun. They are currently researching the sun and the moon. Brigitte explained how the water needed to be drained from the pulp in order for Rainey friends to use the material to create their own paper suns. 

So Brigitte, you're telling us that pulp can be used to make paper?
Didn't we just work so hard to deconstruct this material?
Should Brown Room friends also try using their newly created pulp to make their own paper?
​Hmm. Now we've got an idea!
​

Sneak Peek ... using pulp to make our own paper!

Keep your eyes on future blog posts this week as we continue this exciting new process!

Mystery Readers - Remy's Grandparents! 

What an exciting treat to have extended family members join us as mystery readers. 
Remy's grandparents read us two different stories! 
Sneezy the Snowman by Maureen Wright
&
The Littlest Reindeer by Brandi Dougherty 
They even had snowman and reindeer props to make the experience that more exciting. 
Thank you both for a lovely story time!

It's a snowy day! - Remy 

The perfect ending to a great day.
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Only 3 more days of school ...

12/15/2020

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And we can feel that holiday energy, excitement, and anticipation in the Brown Room this week. We have been so busy and it's only Tuesday!

Not one, but TWO surprise calls today!

Mystery Call # 1 - Cape and Dave, Cape's Dad!
This was our first time having a BR child be our mystery reader and it was so exciting! 
If you didn't already know, Cape is a big fan of everything that is related to a farm. He knows so many interesting things about the machinery you can find on a farm and the jobs that the different machines are responsible for. So, of course, Cape and his dad started with a book all about being at a farm!
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Next up, Cape helped read The Polar Express by "Albert Einstein" (according to Cape).
Actually written by Chris Van Allsburg. 

Many of our children were familiar with this story because they have either read it at home or watched the movie version recently. Cape was in the perfect setting for this story as we admired his beautiful Christmas tree in the background at his house. 
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Thank you Cape and Dave!
Mystery Call #2 - Ines!
Yesterday we communicated with Ines via email and sent her some "selfies" to say hi and show her how much we missed her! Today, we were able to chat with her all the way in Germany via zoom.
​It is obvious that we are all missing Ines here at school, but we are so lucky to have such great helpers join us in the classroom this week! Whenever someone has asked about Ines, children are quick to reference the globe in our classroom to show where Ines is currently located in Germany with her family. 
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We chatted with Ines during snack time today and made sure she was all caught up on the exciting things that have been happening in the Brown Room so far this week. 

Paper + Water - A new exploration 

Speaking of catching up on all of the hard work we have been doing in the classroom so far this week,
​let's talk PAPER & WATER.
​
Stemming from our last staff workshop, we decided that the next "language" we would introduce in the classroom would be paper. Paper being both a familiar material for our children, yet also a material that provides endless amounts of potential for deeper exploration. 
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Please view the following PDF to take a deeper look into this weeks exploration. 

*This file was originally a Keynote presentation that included some video clips.*
​
​The presentation was shared at yesterday's staff meeting as we continue to reflect on the learning that is taking place surrounding the language of paper ​in all of the classrooms here at school.
paper_and_water_-_12.14.20.pdf
File Size: 99622 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Stayed tuned for the continuation of our work with paper & water in the Brown Room this week. How will these materials be used in conjunction to create something beautiful?
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Friday, December 11th

12/11/2020

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Is it time for music? - Lucas

Enjoying another Friday morning sing along in the outdoor classroom.
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We decided to keep some music playing while enjoying our extended outdoor time for backwards day.
We decided on a holiday music playlist! 

Children shared their enthusiasm while listening ... 

Susana has these songs in the car! - Lucas 
Sam: Which is your favorite? 
All of them! - Lucas

Mom plays this song for me at home. - Finlay 
(listening to Frosty the Snowman)

This is about Santa! It's a Christmas song. I like 'Elves in the Pool'. - Cape 

Some of us did some dancing too!
The dancing and music didn't end there.
​We brought our holiday spirit inside the classroom too!

Working on an image for a "Holiday Card"

Last week, our friend Jen visited the Brown Room and explained to some of us that our school creates a holiday card every year. We discussed some things that come to mind when we think of "holidays" and the children quickly shifted  the conversation to focus primarily on Christmas.
Christmas makes us think of ... Presents, Christmas trees, cookies, reindeer ... 
After our conversation, some children offered to cut paper strips with the thought that these materials could be used to create a holiday image for the school's holiday card. 
Children wanted to glue their paper cuttings to a base. A plexiglass base was provided and the gluing process began.

It didn't take long before an interesting discovery was made by our friend Hugh. Hugh noticed that he could "draw" with the glue on the plexiglass and began to use the glue to create a reindeer. After expressing concern that they glue would dry (and this would change the image he created), Hugh was offered sand to add to his glue drawings so that his work would become more visible. He continued working on his holiday scene today and was also joined by his friend, Bea. 
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This deer is perfect. It's a baby deer. - Hugh
Hugh uses the glue to "draw" a baby reindeer. ​
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Bea decides to add "snow piles" and "snowflakes" to the scene using glue and sand. 
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It was also observed that the glue on top of the plexiglass on it's own creates an "icy" appearance. 

I make ice with glue because glue is very slippery. - Hugh 
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This is a really good winter. There is snow all over the place! - Hugh
Maybe this project will continue next week, or maybe it's now completed.
​ Either way, we discovered a new way of expressing ourselves throughout the process! 

Christmas in Germany 

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​A globe was sitting on the studio table when we arrived inside and prepared to have snack. We wanted to have a more in depth discussion about where Ines will be when she's not here at school with us next week. 
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Where are we currently? Where is Ines traveling?
Here are some highlights from today's group meeting / conversation:

Is this where we are? (Hugh)
*Noticing an area already marked on the globe*

Ines explained that the blue circle placed on the map shows us Washington D.C.

I live in ... my family live in ... THERE! (Finlay)

Ines then explained how she will be traveling from Washington D.C. to Germany using the globe as a visual tool and told the children how long the travel would take. 

9 Hours? That's like 50 hours! (Finlay)
Do you know what Germany have? Nutcrackers! My mom told me. (Finlay)

Sometimes when you fly in the night you kinda sleep in the airplane because you're tired. (Hugh)
I'm gonna miss you. (Hugh)

Do you know who gonna have Christmas in Germany? You! (Finlay speaking to Ines)




After, Bea sums up the whole conversation for us using the globe. 
​
We will miss you, Ines, but we know it's not goodbye for long!
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Our favorite Friday moments

To wrap up our school day, we asked the children to think about the moments they enjoyed most throughout their day and to share those with us.
​We explained that we would add their thoughts to the blog for parents to read. 
Going home! (Finlay) 
*We tried not to be too offended by this one*
I love to go outside. I play catch. (Finlay)

I liked putting the sand on the glue. (Bea)

Putting sand on the glue too. To make snow. Because for my holiday card. (Hugh)

I like shoveling sand out there. Outside on your guys playground. (Cape)

I like tickle! (Lucas)
​*Lucas was tickled by both friends and teachers today which led to lots of giggles outside*


It's snack time. Cause its gonna make me me hungry. (Michael)

​
Want to know what Ines and Sam's favorite part of today was?

This was definitely one of them ... 
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December 10th, 2020

12/10/2020

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An apple!
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How do you know it's an apple?
Because they're red (Hugh). A stem (Bea). Sticker! Because it keeps it... (Frannie). ...Fresh and good (Bea).

A discussion about ways to use apples started and turned into a conversation about ingredients. 
Hugh: Eat them. 
Bea: To make something.
Finlay: Like you use them for cupcakes.
Hugh: Soup?
Bea: Maybe pie.
Frannie: We mix them into strawberries. 
Finlay: Bake them! They turn into something.

What can you turn apples into?
​We sometimes eat something made out of apples for snack.

Bea: Apples and pears.
Finlay: Apple sauce!

How could we make apple sauce? 
Finlay: Mash it, and then cook it. Then put it in a bottle and you gotta write apple sauce on it.
Bea: We need to cut it.

Apple sauce is one of the Brown Room's favorite snack. Last week during snack time the children finished a big jar of apple sauce and we showed the children that the container is empty. Finlay responded with:

"When you're all out of apple sauce you can MAKE more apple sauce."

That inspired the class to make their own apple sauce one day....


​In order to make our apple sauce today every child used a cutting board and a plastic knife to cut apple slices into smaller chunks. The apples got precut with a special apple cutter into eight slices. We noticed that that equaled to one slice for each child in the Brown Room. Basic math concepts are being explored during cooking and food preparation, such as measuring, counting, volume (is a bowl empty or full? How much more can we fit in it?), size and proportion. 
​Before we started to cut our apples we discussed questions about food preparation and safety, how to use a knife safely and how to handle apples that accidentally fell to the floor (yes, you guessed it, they had to go into the trash).
The children cut their slice into smaller pieces before transferring it into a bowl in the middle of the table. In the end, this bowl got emptied into the crock pot where to apples got cooked in. Sequencing and understanding the reason behind it, is an important part of the process.

"This piece is too big." (Hugh, noticing a bigger piece of apple in the bowl and taking it back out to cut it a little smaller because the chunks had to be small enough for them to cook down in the crock pot)

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​While cutting their apples children worked on their fine motor skills. Cutting fresh apples (especially with the peel on) requires strength and precise movements. The children quickly noticed different ways in which they could use the knife as a tool, e.g. pushing the knife down and moving it in a back and forth motion. 
In order to fill up our big crock pot many apples had to get cut. The children showed a great amount of focus and follow-through during this project. Everyone proudly announced to the rest of the group when they finished cutting their slice and quickly asked for another one. 

Everyone was excited about what our apple sauce would taste and look like in the end. Of course we tasted some of the apples in the process but also worked on our impulse control. It can be so hard to not just eat the apple that is right in front of you... This also requires foresight and the understanding of the process and desired outcome. 
​


​In the end we added the rest fo the ingredients - turbinado and white sugar, water and cinnamon.
​
​We mixed it all together, turned on the crock pot, closed the lid and now it was time to wait for our apples to cook....
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Hugh made sure to get every bit and last drop out of his bowl.

​When it was time to eat snack, the classroom (and really all of St. John's ...) smelled deliciously like apple sauce. Even though the apples weren't soft enough yet to be smooth apple sauce, it still tasted absolutely fantastic!

Mmmh! It's juicy! - Hugh

This apple sauce tastes great, Sam! - Cape

Mmmh, I love it! - Lily

Did you like it? - Lily asking Michael,
who sat across the table from her


You've got to try the apples, Ines! - Finlay
​(later he also invited Molly and Jessica to try the apple)
What a great reward for all our hard work this morning!
And we made enough apple sauce to also fill up two jars for Victor and his mother Lucilla, as a part of their holiday present. Just like Finlay suggested during Morning Meeting
("Then put it in a bottle and you gotta write apple sauce on it.").
​Fantastic job, Brown Room!
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Paper - An Introduction and Reintroduction

12/9/2020

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* Today's blog formatting is best viewed on a desktop *


​If you read our blog yesterday, you are already aware that we are exploring a "new" material in the Brown Room this week. PAPER! Although paper isn't really something that's new to the children, the way in which the material has been introduced this week is a new experience. That being said, some of the types of paper that have been introduced are in fact never before seen and/or explored materials! Also, we have encouraged children to begin to think about paper materials in a different way. Throughout the week so far, children have shared their familiarity with paper products with their peers and have also recognized other materials that we may not have been previously aware are in fact made of paper as well!

We also wanted to take a moment to mention something that maybe our families aren't completely aware of involving the introduction of new materials (languages) to the children. Because of our varied schedules, we typically introduce a  "new" material, technique, or concept twice during a week. Once for the M, T, W grouping of children and then a second time for the W, Th, F, grouping. If a child has already had the opportunity to participate in an initial exploration experience, they are welcome to choose a different area of focus during the second opportunity or may join again for a second time if they are particularly excited about the experience. Therefore, we do our very best to ensure that each child has the opportunity to experience the excitement and value that comes with being involved in something for the very first time. It's an even greater experience to be able to enjoy it alongside your friends!

So today, paper was both introduced as well as reintroduced to some of our Brown Room children. 
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Exploring the properties of paper ... 

​Yesterday, our blog was primarily focused on our familiarity with paper, how children have approached it, explored it, and experimented with its properties. 

Today, we would like to also highlight how the children have used paper in different ways after their initial exploration period. 

I want to draw on it! - Frances

Applications of Paper 

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​

​Constructing




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Writing
Surfaces



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​
​Message
Making 



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​

​
​Something to
Cut




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​Creating
and
Exploring Sounds





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A Canvas for Other Materials / More Paper

​
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Oh what joyful uses for paper!
... And we're justing getting started.


By the way, 

IT SNOWED TODAY!

Did you see it?!?

We have proof!

How exciting!

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An exploration of paper

12/8/2020

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We brought a new book to our morning meeting. What can you see on the cover?

Remy: Paper
Cate: A bunny

Jade: A square
Lily: Rectangle
Finlay: Box


The title of the book is "Not A Box", so could it be a box on the cover? Did you know that boxes are made out of paper? What else can you think of that is made out of paper?

Lily: cardboard
Hugh: Paper to draw on
Bea: A book
Hugh: And and and also a bag
Remy: And also a bowl
Bea: A paper bathroom
Hugh: Toilet paper
Hugh: Blocks (while looking at the construction area shelf with materials made out of paper)

Can you at home think of other things that are out of paper? You might be surprised about how many you can find. How many different items can you find at your home? 

​
In the book the narrator (we talked about that the narrator is the one telling the story to us) shows us that a box can be many different things, such as a robot, a rocket ship or a volcano. 
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In the studio we explored many different kinds of paper or items that are made out of paper, such as magazines, maps, different kind of napkins, copy paper, cups, bowls, and plates, calligraphy paper, crepe paper, paper bags, toilet paper, paper fans, tissue paper, watercolor paper, cardboard, construction paper, or paper towels.
In the process the materials were used for stacking, compressing, rolling up, unfurling, tearing, unfolding and folding, reading, crumbling up and covering other items. Feeling the different textures of paper and listening to sounds it makes. 

Hey! The green part. Look! This is the earth. Yeah, Because of the ocean and because of the buildings. (looking at the colors green and blue on the map) It seems like there's not lots of oceans on earth, but there is, right?
​
- Hugh
(while unrolling the examination table paper or tissue paper roll) Look, I found something. I got a flu shot. - Lily
Lily: What's inside here?
Sam: I don't know. What do you think?
Bea: Open it!
Lily: I feel like... paper. But this is different paper. (Hugh trying to unpack it) No, don't open it.
Hugh: Yeah, it might be something else (shrugging his shoulders). It might be part of materials.
Lily: Can we open it? (starting to unwrap it)
Hugh: I think it's toilet paper, right?
Lily: Yeah. (unwrapping it)
Hugh: It IS toilet paper.
Lily: It is toilet paper.
Hugh: Different kind of toilet paper. I have that kind of toilet paper at home. 
Lily: Oh I don't have. I don't have soft at home. I have hard.


more paper explorations and discoveries:
The children also had ideas on how to use some of the items in other parts of the classroom and brought them over to (mostly) the construction area:
At first Hugh and Lily constructed "New York City" and after it got knocked down, they decided to rebuild it as an obstacle course (which was still in "New York City"). Cups and bowls were used as part of the bathroom (a sink and a toilet) with toilet paper used for "toilet paper" next to the toilet. Remy used toilet paper as her "tape" to tape wooden boards together. 

Why do you think we have the laptop and projector set up?
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Today Jade's mom, Paige, joined us as our Mystery Reader!

The two books she read for us were about things we also enjoy in the classroom.
One book was about colors and color mixing and one book was about a toad and different ways of transportation. We helped the turtle to turn on pipes, pour out paint, fix the machine and get colors flowing by moving our arms and took our toads on a little adventure.

We listened to the books "Colour blocked" by Ashley Sorenson and "McToad Mows Tiny Island" by Tom Angleberger.
'Cause we got a call!  
- Remy
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Paige, thank you for being our Mystery Reader! We loved it!

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Is it backwards day? Yes!

12/4/2020

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Almost daily both Sam and Ines are asked, "is it backwards day?"
​It always feels good to be able to answer, "yes!"

Pool Noodles and Giggles 

We spent tons of time playing with "new" toys outside this morning. We discovered that the pool noodles (which we have seen before, but have never really taken the time to play with) are really fun! They started out as their intended purpose - for swimming. Then, they turned into bumper car like devices and also bumblebee stingers! 
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Bea and Lily also designed with the pool noodles!
More outdoor Friday fun ... 
We're starting to take on more challenges in the outdoor classroom.
​Climbing up the wobbly rope ladder, testing out the climbing wall, and discovering new parts of the play structure to climb/hang on. 
Hugh's first attempts to reach the hanging bar did not look this confident. He was first feeling pretty nervous about getting down and was afraid to let go. When he did let go, he fell on the ground without being able to catch himself or land on his feet. Through trial & error and learning from his first experiences, he soon was confident in his ability to "land on his feet"! He persisted through his fears and seemed quite proud of himself for doing so. 
Watching their peers face new challenges encourages other children to do the same!

A Gift / Message for Victor 

Are you aware of our friend, Victor? He is the extremely talented handyman who helps take care of, build, and fix things here at St. John's.
Sam: Who remembers who Victor is?
He fixes everything at school. - Finlay
He fixed the go round thing outside. - Bea
Blink, Blink, Blink. He fixed the light. - Lucas

Victors mother, Lucilla, typically is in charge of cleaning and caring for the environment at our school. This year, Lucilla felt it was in her best interest and the safest decision to stay home instead of coming to work. Therefore, Victor now took over his mother's responsibilities and is doing the work of two! What would we do without Victor? Not only have Sam and Ines asked for his assistance many times this school year, but some of the BR children have also left Victor messages when they have noticed that things around the school environment need to be repaired. 
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We asked the children to create a holiday gift for Victor. We suggested a "message" that best represents how Victor helps us here at school and provided a large hardware assortment to add to the message. 

If you want to use these, guys, (a variety of nails) you can choose any color.
​Grey, black, silver. Anything! - Lily
I think this is interesting. (a long silver chain) - Bea
You could use this to hang the message up! (small metal clips) - Finlay
Oh! I need a lot of glue for that! (a large Allen wrench / hex key) - Lily
It's like I build a house. Like the book "I build a house" at my house. - Wilder
These are the doors. (placing screws standing up on the board) - Wilder

This looks like a hook. - Lily
We're all working on it! - Lily
I'm putting tools on this because it's for him. (Victor) - Bea
When it's done, he can hang it up! - Finlay
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We miss you, Daniel. 

We reminded the children that we would be delivering all of the messages they made for Daniel to his house today. 
Hugh wanted to take the opportunity to create one more message for his friend to add to the collection. 

He used both his symbol (the "present") and Daniel's (the bumblebees) to inspire his drawings. 
You can see 2 bumblebees and the present/gift represented on the message. Hugh also included a drawing of Daniel holding an ice cream cone (drawn on top of one of Hugh's symbol stamped) and signed his name towards the bottom.  

Lots of time and love went into this one! 
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We hope that everyone has a happy weekend!

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December 03rd, 2020

12/3/2020

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Our Morning Meeting was influenced but the question a few children had for us: Where is Daniel?
Daniel and his family tested positive for Covid-19 and have been quarantining at home. The LaVecchia family is doing fine and only the parents are showing mild symptoms. The Brown Room children noticed Daniel's absence and were wondering about him. Finlay knew and informed the class about Daniel's diagnosis. 


Wait! Daniel is not feeling well? - Hugh
​
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Together as a class we reflected on feeling sick and what we do when we're not feeling well. What makes us feel better?

Finlay: Messages.
Hugh: Hug, hug, hug our stuffed animals. When I'm sick I hug blue bear and gray phant (his stuffed animals).
Lily: When I had a runny nose I did nose spray.
Hugh: One day Elle had a runny nose and I had a runny nose.
Bea: James had a runny nose.
Hugh: But already Elle's runny nose and my runny nose all goed away. Already.

​We decided to make something to make Daniel feel better. But what could that be? What does Daniel really like?

Bea: Bees!
​Finlay: Bumblebees!

(Daniel has the bumblebees as his symbol at St. John's.)
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We shared what we already knew about bees...

It has stripes. And it has wings. And it stings (Finlay)
It has ears. (Frances) - No, they don't have ears. (Bea) - They have antennas. (Hugh)
Yellow. (Bea) - Black (Finlay) - Purple (Frances)
Do you know bumblebees like pretty flowers? (Finlay)

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I want to draw a mail package. - Frances
Picture

​Daniel's finished Bumblebee
Picture
We think this bumblebee turned out so well and we will be sending it to Daniel as soon as it's dry.

We miss having Daniel with us and hope to see him again soon!
We're sending our love to the LaVecchia family and wishing them a speedy recovery. 
​

A Lemonade Stand - Cheers!
Anyone want some of my famous lemonade? - Finlay
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Today a new kind of role play emerged - selling and buying. Finlay used materials from the light table shelf to make "Lemonade" with "chocolate chips. But you can't see them. And frosting" (small clear gems) on top. He lined the 'glasses with lemonade' up on top of a shelf and asked the room who would like to buy lemonade and it costs "Only 1 dollar!".
Before Bea 'bought' a lemonade for herself she used scissors to cut a piece of paper into long strips, folded it up and used those as "money". Round puzzle pieces and hexagon shapes from the light table were used as coins or money as well.
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"That's all of them that I have. Sorry!"  - Finlay​

After Finlay ran out of lemonade Hugh decided to take over and offer food to the class. This time Finlay bought grapes, vegetables, french fries and "All the things. All the food" (Hugh). Hugh explained that it is not a store anymore - "This is a restaurant. He's eating at the restaurant. He's not buying. He's eating." Before we left the classroom to eat snack in the studio, Hugh  pointed out to us that the message center is now a table for eating in his restaurant and the light table shelf is "where you give the food to eat."
​We are excited to see what everyone will create, cook or sell next.

​

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