Tuesday, November 10, 2020

Pod A Clay Day!

Work on clay animals continued!  Today Maren worked on a unicorn while Cannon created an anteater.  As they worked, children thought about concepts such as relative size and shape, as well as stability.  Is a head shaped like a ball or is it long and pointy?  What size do the legs need to be to support the body?   Should the legs be longer than the body?   They also implemented a variety of clay techniques such as using slip and rolling balls and coils.   We can't wait to fire and glaze these cool creations!  Nora, Dakota, Lane, Palmer, and Gigi spent time exploring clay, a process the children refer to as "do-anything-you-want clay."

Yesterday, Gigi created a  clay puppy while Nora made a  clay  pony.  Here's some images from that work.

Clay Leaves, Continued

Last month, children worked carefully with clay coils to represent the outline and the veins of leaves.   These intricate pieces were very fragile.  Now that the pieces have been fired, children are working to transfer them to a board.  As they worked, the leaves are often reinvented as totally new leaves.  Spatial skills and patience figured prominently as the leaves were moved and glued to a background.

Construction Collaboration

The use of projection in the construction area has been very popular lately.  Today the first three builders were Palmer, Gigi,  and Lane.  They readily agreed that they would like a train video projected . From there, the three took on individual pursuits:  
     Palmer - I need a wall for my grill.  We need a grill so people can eat.
    Gigi - I made farm.  They (people on the train) can visit the animals.  It's a petting zoo.  They can even feed the animals.  You can play with them and pet them.
      Lane - I'm building a home for my toucan.  You can't pet the toucans or feed them.  You can't pet them because their flap might shock you and you can't feed them because they might bite you.  You can do flying races with them.
     Palmer - I'm working on the chimney to the grill.  I'm putting medium size pieces on the bottom and smaller pieces on top.  
 Then,  the play became more collaborative.  
The children worked together, while still incorporating their individual ideas.
     Palmer - Uh, Lane, do you need any pumpkins at the house?
     Lane - Yes, I need three.
     Palmer - Do you need another block, Lane?
     Lane - Yeah, I do.  (Looking at Gigi's structure)  Gigi, cool!  It's like a maze.
 Palmer and Lane work together to build a roof.
      Lane - Perfect.  Now could you get two long blocks to close here?
      Palmer - Here's some rocks.  Gigi, do you need rocks?
      Lane - Gigi, is it okay if I set up some people who are petting?
      Gigi - Sure.
Palmer also joins in and adds some people.    As the day progressed, Cannon came over and contributed his ideas about traveling on the train, while still respecting the work of the three initial builders.

Machines in Pod B

Last week, Pod B took apart a scale and other items.  Their fascination with the pieces and the process has led to a genuine interest in machines.  Yesterday and today, the children worked on a large scale, using materials to form big machine collages in Blake Hall.  Here's some of the ideas that they shared as they worked.
From yesterday:
     Grace - We want it (the machine) to walk all by itself.
     Oliver - It needs controls to make it drive.
    Grace - Mine's "Robota," it's a girl.  It could be like a brand new toy.  (She adds eyes, a "chest plate," a head, and a necklace)  Now all we need is her tummy.    (A bit later...) The heart is pumping the whole.  Something needs to put pressure.  I also need another same arm.  
   Oliver - Guess what I made?  I'm making a shower.  I'm making a drain.  (He starts to revisit his initial idea of an ice machine) It's spinning.
     Grace - Now can we hot glue it together?  Instead of feet, she's going to roller-skate. 
    Oliver - Press G, O: go.  This is where the ice comes out from.  There's water in this thing and it turns the water into ice. It blades it, and pours it into here.   (A bit later, he helps us address a problem with the hot glue gun) I'm helping keeping it plugged in, since it was moving (for Grace).
     Grace - Thank you.  Oliver, this is the last foot and then you get a turn, okay?  Teamwork makes the dreamwork, ya know.
​
 From today:
   (Andy is creating a machine for bad guys which has fire and a jail) 
   Andy: Here is some hot water, and here it pops out.   Cold water, almost like snow.  They turn to ice.
     (Grace continues work on "Robata"; she problem-solves ways of hiding the battery)
    Grace - This could be where she gets her energy. .... I did it! I got it, look!  Only people can access it in here.  Only people who can get the battery working can open it.  She has a big belly.
    (Aida talks about her process creating a crayon machine.)
     Aida: This makes the crayons go bump bump bump so they turn into hardened.  This carries them to the top of here.  It's a tube that carries the crayons up high and down low.
     (Oliver continues work on his ice machine)
     Oliver: (to Fletcher) I can show you which one 'ons' and 'offs' it.  My ice machine made real ice!
​   (Fletcher put a lot of thought and precise work into a "standing car machine" which even has "an elevator like St. Johns".  More to come on this later!) 
      
      
  

Making Music Outside

Pod B enjoyed their full hour outside on this beautiful day.  There was a lot of interest in making music and eventually a marching band formed!

Thanksgiving
At meeting, we reminded the children that Thanksgiving is coming up soon.  Here is a little snippet of their conversation:
Oliver:  At Thanksgiving we eat a lot of food.
Andy:  Yeah and everybody celebrates.
Aida:  And you get to talk about all the things you’re thankful for.
(Everyone nods and agrees)
Grace:  Well, I’m thankful for Aida.  And Melanie, and Olivia, and Rachel, and you (Andy), and Oliver, and Fletcher, and you again, and you again, and you again (she goes around the circle twice).
Oliver:  I’m thankful for Andy.
Grace:  And I’m thankful for drink and food and for God and the sun.  I’m thankful for everything, and for my school.