November 04th, 2020

Pod B
"We're Inventing Some Machines" -Grace

At morning meeting, we showed children images of the technology parts we've been deconstructing over the past few days, in addition to some other parts like pipes and cogs.  We asked them to reflect on what similarities they saw.  As the discussion progressed, we reflected on 'machines' that we are aware of in our daily lives.

Oliver: (reacting to pictures) I see this part that was clogged in the clock.  And this is part of the computer.  This is part of the school camera.  And this is part of the scale.  This is part of the calculator.  This is part of the batteries.  

(What is the same about these images?)
Olivia:  There’s circles here, and circles here.  They’re grey and grey.
(What are they made of?)
Oliver: Metal.  Metal, metal, metal.  (He points)

(Have you heard the word ‘machine’?)
Aida: I think it’s something that makes crayons or something.
Olivia:  There are difference machines.  Like the ice cream thing is a machine.
Oliver:  A machine doesn’t make anything, cause it’s very important with batteries.
Grace:  It does make things.  Aida, remember when Daniel Tiger goes to the machine where he gets his crayons?  Remember, Aida?

(Do you have machines at your house?)
Aida:  I have a machine that makes cabbage.
Oliver:  I have a machine which you make messages and then you scan it on and then it takes all the art off, and there’s paper inside it which puts the decorations on it.  It makes the same.  (Mommy) writes notes on her paper and puts it in.  It makes bows.  It says ‘bmmmmmm’.

(Do some machines make loud or soft noises?)
Oliver:  My machine is soft.  It has a funny button, you press it, and it’s so quiet.
Grace: My machine doesn’t work with any decorations, it works with food.  It puts toppings and it makes food.
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With this conversation in mind, we used these images along with drawing materials to transform the technology parts into a machine of our own invention.

Take a look at some of our works-in-progress... We have plans to continue collaging and drawing our plans tomorrow.

Oliver: "It's an ice machine. You put water in this hole and it goes through the 'snower', through the ice tube. You spin it around, the batteries makes it heavy, which makes the whirling around."

Olivia: "Mine is going to be a crayon machine. First we have to fit the batteries. The batteries are under the blowing thing. This makes everything move. The crayon comes into this, into here, and out. There's the crayons and the wrappers."

Aida: "I'm making a scale machine. It weighs the groceries. Cucumbers and carrots."

Andy: "I will draw the wires. When you go inside, it bounces you back out. They go inside and bump down. It will just attach." (He explains how people come out of the tube and splash into the water)

Grace made a "gummies machine" by combining drawing with 3D collage materials. Gummies are cooked inside using three ingredients which we found online: Water, gelatin, and flavoring. The ingredients are mixed in a pot and cooked in an oven before popping out. She chose a wooden bead and said, "This will be the pot, that goes over there."

Pod A
Backwards Day!!

A large part of backwards day was spent using the playground as the setting for dramatic play. Six children played together and the theme of the play was pets. Lane was the owner, Gigi was a puppy, Maren was a cat, Cannon was an anteater, Dakota was a giraffe and Palmer was a monkey. 

Lane took good care of her pets, even when they were being cheeky.  She sang them lullabies before putting them to sleep. When they woke up she noted, “​​They have a lot of energy in the morning.”

At that point, Gigi suggested that they (the pets) might need exercise - that was how they ended up heading to the lake for a swim.

Lane took them to swim in the lake (the sandbox) and later made and fed them their favorite treats. Lane told the pets, “I’m gonna make your favorite treats, everyone can help!” The children used the climbing structure for their home but the play extended to many parts of the playground.

It was wonderful to see the children play together around a common theme. For example, Dakota joined after the play had already started. Dakota asked, “Can I play?”  Lane welcomed Dakota by explaining, “We’re playing pets. Do you want to be a pet or a owner?” When Dakota responded, “pet,” Lane asked, “What kind of pet?” Rather than assigning her friend a role, she took Dakota's plan into account.

All the children were collaborators in making contributions to the narrative.

Message Project & Illustrating Animals

Work continued on making a message for Molly's niece Hanna.  Children explored formatting options for the images they collected yesterday.  Children also made drawings to support their work leading up to creating clay animals, which begins tomorrow.