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The Virtual Classroom

Journals and gratitude

3/31/2021

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I want to start today's blog by thanking all of the parents who show up to each zoom call and "make this happen" for all of us.  It does not go unnoticed, and I could not possibly hope to thank you adequately.  I know that some calls are easier than others, but I am grateful for all that you do "behind the scenes"; though I see you (figuratively and literally). 

Today's call unexpectedly required a lot of your assistance.  It was a great reminder that not everything translates well to our virtual space, but you all have been there to support and encourage the children (and me) each step of the way!  So thank you! It truly takes a village, and this is why our parent -teacher relationships, and team work, are so important!  The virtual space only amplifies that in many ways!  

Maybe our journals can become gratitude journals!  What are we thankful for in life? How can we represent that in our journals through drawing, collaging, sewing, paint, watercolors, etc.?  
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Creating a journal 

True, this turned out to be a slightly more difficult experience over zoom than I had anticipated, but we all created a beautiful journal to use however we'd like.  It was originally intended that we might use them to track the growth of our seeds, and we can certainly still do that, but it could also serve many purposes.  

Tegan, Audrey's sister and St. John's alum, shared with us that during her Rainey Room year they created books and wrote stories as part of their birthday committee work!
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​ Saul used his journal to write his name and draw.  


​“I made my letters. Look what I made. I wrote my name.” - Saul, 3.7  years
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Maren was sewing in her journal after she decorated the cover with her family member's names. 
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Audrey and Tegan used fabric, scissors, glue, and drawing tools to decorate the front of their journals. 
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Giacomo is planning to decorate his later this week, but he did share a different kind of hole punch that was new to some of us! 
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Maren's Birthday Gift

Maren also shared her pot and plant that she received from her birthday committee in Tucker Room! 

"This is my birthday gift I got from St. John's." - Maren, 5.6 years
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April Projections

3/31/2021

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Please keep in mind that projections are not set in stone plans.  They have been written down based on recent conversations, the children's interests, life of the school/entire St. John's committee, etc.  They are subject to change as our work and time together progresses! 
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Welcome back! And welcome spring!

3/29/2021

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We had a rather large crew today for our first day back! It's so wonderful to see friends we haven't seen in a while!  Maren and Audrey have been on campus, and it was great to see them and their sisters (Tegan and Lily)!  Riva, Saul's sister was also able to join us to plant seeds!  A full house for sure! 

Today, we followed up on Giacomo's process and idea for planting seeds for spring!  We've had a few conversations about what it means for it to be spring, and this was our first zoom call since we celebrated the spring equinox!  

“That’s what I tried to tell you.  When you said it wasn’t spring, a flower in our yard was already growing.” - Giacomo

​I have since learned, from the Tucker blog, that there is an astronomical spring (equinox) and the meteorological spring (when it feels like spring, but technically it's still winter). 


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We had a rather large variety of seeds that were planting today! 

Maren brought arugula and snap peas. 
“I’ve got some beautiful flowers here.” - Saul
Audrey had green lentils to sprout. 
Riva was using sunflower seeds.
Elyse had lima beans. 

Maren and Lily even thought to bring their gardening gloves! 

As a reminder, Giacomo slayed out these steps for the seed planting process: 
 “First, get seeds from somewhere.  Number two, get a pot. Number three, get dirt. Number four, seed in dirt.  Number five, water it. And then six is sun!” - Giacomo.

So, what do we need to do first? 
"The dirt to the middle [of the planter]." - Maren 
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Put your seeds in! 

“Do I cover the seeds with more dirt?” - Riva

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​“I’m watering them (seeds), but you can see them from the side.” - Maren 


​Then we add water. 

“Yay! Can I plant the seeds again? I’m planting them in my home in Connecticut.” - Saul


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Have we seen signs of spring? 

“I’ve seen flowers blooming. I know one is purple.I can show you, but you can’t really see them because I’m on a computer.” - Maren

“Yes! I have some flowers in the grass though at the eastern shore. Purple, white, and yellow.” - Audrey

“You’re next to a lake?” - Giacomo 

“It’s the bay because we’re at eastern shore.” - Tegan

“The earth has a million thousand gazillion trees.” - Giacomo 

“I have these trees down the street that are exactly the same.” - Giacomo [magnolia trees]

“I saw some flowers like the color of my shirt, but darker.” - Maren

“I forgot tot ell you the actual steps. Get a seed. Get a little thing to hold the dirt inside, then dig up a hole.  Then put the seed in, and then cover it up.  Then squish it, and then just water it and it needs time. Anytime you feel that the dirt is dry, then you water it.” - Giacomo
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Sleeping Bunnies

Audrey chose bunnies, and Giacomo wanted to be sleeping plants who grow! 
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St. John's Pajama design

3/16/2021

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We have discussed the "Pajama Project" a few times in the virtual classroom, and most of our questions and interest centered around the process of transferring the original drawings/watercolors to the computer and then onto the fabric.  During our first conversation, we looked at a "Photo Riddle" of St. John's, and there was a lot of excitement around Toad, and during our second conversation, we drew with sharpies and added watercolors for enhancement.  

Today, we started our conversation by looking at some of the "final" designs from the on-campus pods. 
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“It’s toad!” - Giacomo, 4.2 years
C.C. drew this, and Toad is going to be on our St. John’s pajamas!
“That is fun!” - Saul, 3.7 years
We have to choose a color for toad.  What color should he be? 
“Red because he looks good with red.” - Giacomo
What if he were purple? Would he still look good? 
“Yeah. But it can’t be green because we already have a green toad.” - Giacomo
If toad is red on our St. John’s pajamas, will we know it’s our St. John’s toad. 
“We would know.” - Giacomo ​
Then we have this design.  Tucker room had three different designs that three children drew, and they worked hard over a couple of days to combine it into this design. What do you notice about this design?
“I see yellow.” - Saul 
“I see the face.” - Giacomo
The information that I was given about this design was that the yellow face in the middle is a sun, and the circles going around it are the planets.  It represents a mobile that’s hanging on the ceiling of the Tucker Room. 
“They need to make more, more, more, more so that it [solar system] never ends.  Because I don’t want it to ever end. The earth is moving forward, you know.” - Giacomo 
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We were looking at the Brown Room design when Giacomo said, 
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“Now it’s time to do it with Saul.”
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Giacomo's first design
“It’s a secret.” - Giacomo
“I’m done. It’s the lamp.” - Giacomo 
Were you thinking about the lamp in the Brown Room? 
“Yeah.” - Giacomo
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“I’m going to draw something similar to what I already drawed.” - Saul, 3.7 years
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We put them here on the wall so that he can look at it. - Naama

Last week, when we used black sharpies/pens, filled in with watercolors, to draw our pajama designs, Saul chose a rainbow.  Today, he was looking at  his original design as we worked on the digital drawings.  This helped inspire our final, collaborative design.

Rainbow design for the Pajama Project

[looking at Saul's rainbow drawing/watercolor]
You can recreate your rainbow.   A rainbow on the St. John’s pajamas would be beautiful.  We have so many rainbows at St. John’s. 

“But we don’t have enough space for the rainbow.” - Giacomo
What if I clear the whole screen and you and Giacomo can work together on a rainbow? Would you like to work together to create a rainbow design?


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“Do you want it totally red?” - Giacomo, 4.3 years
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Important information is that we only get four colors.  The whole school has to decide together.  Today, we can make our drawing any colors we want, but eventually it will only be four colors.  Rose drew the red.  Giacomo did yellow. 
Saul, what color would you like to put under the yellow? Do you want to choose green [he was making green lines]?
“No, red.” - Saul 
What’s your favorite color Saul? 
“Green.” - Saul  [he added green arc]
“Green arc, I did not know that.” - Saul 
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“I’m going to add some blue because blue is my favorite color.” - Rose
“I want to show you the rainbow colors.” - Saul [trying to hold something up to the screen]

“I like the colors. Do you like it?” - Saul 
I think it’s a beautiful design for the pajamas.  I want to make sure that you agree. 
“Yeah.” - Saul
Together, Saul, Giacomo, and Rose filled in the colors of the rainbow. While Rose started with the red and yellow, Giacomo added the large green and blue, while Saul filled in the green and discussed color choices for the "final" design.
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I have one question for you about the rainbow. The rainbow we just drew, we can only have four colors.  If you could only have four colors, which ones would you choose.
“I would choose green, pink, and red.” - Saul
“I helped you to make the rainbow with the pen. I’m bringing my colorful ideas back to you.” - Saul, 3.7 years
Now I’m going to take your ideas, and Giacomo’s ideas, back to everyone at school.
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Memories of St. John's

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The beginning of the bell tower.  [yellow is the round bell by Giacomo]
Rose, you went to St. John’s.  If you were going to design something for the St. John’s pajamas, what would it be? Something special about St. John’s, or something you remember. 

“Well, I remember when I was about in the RR, like the end of the RR.  I went with my teacher to the bell tower.  So maybe I”ll draw a bell.” - Rose 

I don’t think I’ve been up inside fo the bell tower yet. 

“It’s very dark so I would do blue.” - Rose

“Rose, it’s my school.” - Giacomo
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“It’s also my school.” - Rose
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Clay, magnifying glasses, and the microscope.

3/15/2021

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We had a beautiful time together this morning, and we had a special treat of both big sisters joining us!  Riva and Rose were each able to sit and work with us.  We got messy with our hands, learned a bit about the the process of clay after we're finished creating, and took a close look! 

We explored looking up close with our magnifying glasses, and I introduced the digital microscope! It was a lot of fun to "zoom in" on our clay, and other things that we could find! 
“I’m so excited to see you guys, but I’m working now. It’s a special day today. It’s a special day for clay.”
​- Saul, 3.7 years

What a special treat for us today!  Rose, Giacomo's big sister, and Riva, Saul's big sister worked with us today! We loved having you, and we'd love to see you again soon! 
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“I’m working on my things so I can plant a tree because there’s so many holes. Look at all these holes.” - Saul 

Are those holes for the seeds? 
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“It’s holes for the trees.” - Saul 
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“I’m making a dog. I’m doing its head right now.”  - Riva 
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While working with his own clay, Saul had been observing Riva's work on her dog.
“I’m cutting a dog.  I’m making a dog so that everyone will notice that the dog is made out of clay.” - Saul  
What kind of body parts do you need for your dog? 
“I’m cutting eyes.” - Saul
“I’m gonna make a snake. I’m going to make some scales for the snake.” - Rose​
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“Now I’m making a dog.” - Rose 
“I’m working on the head.” - Riva 
“Riva is working on a dog too!” - Saul 
“I’m going to make a tongue so it looks more like a dog.” - Rose


“I have a magnifying glass.” - Saul, 3.7 years
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If you have it, do you want to look closely at your clay and tell me what you see?
“I see some clay. It’s way bigger.” - Saul
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“I can see you big.” - Saul [looking through his magnifying glass at the screen]
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“Is that another magnifying glass?” - Saul
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“So you see, inside of clay there is a soft thing.  When you put water on it, it melts like ice.  When it melts into water, so that can get harder.” - Giacomo, 4.3 years
Did you say the clay melts? 
“Yeah!” - Giacomo
What makes it melt? 
“I don’t know. I don’t know what happens next. It just happens at night.” - Giacomo
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Introducing the digital microscope

I can help us see closer.  I have this microscope that will help us look closer.
“Can we use it right now? Will you show it to us?” - Giacomo
“Is that another magnifying glass?” - Saul 
I can show it to you.  Saul, this is called a digital microscope. I can use this end right here to look even closer than you can with the magnifying glass.
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What do you notice about the clay when it’s up close? 
“I notice that it’s big. That the clay is big.” - Saul 
“Can you get a teensy big closer?” - Giacomo
I think that’s as close as I can get. 
“I notice that there are a lot of little specks.” - Rose

Does the clay look smooth or bumpy? 
“Bumpy. Bumpy.” - Saul
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“Is that you?” - Saul
Saul, this is my clay board. 
“Is that you showing it to me?” - Saul
That’s me showing it to you. I’m showing you the details of my clay board.
“Is that a video of it?” - Saul
No, it’s the microscope.
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“Wait, now do your face.” - Giacomo
Here, I can show you my hair. 
“Whoa!” - Rose 
“That’s creepy!” - Reeva
To me it looks like raw spaghetti. 
“To me it looks like hay.” - Rose
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“What’s that?” - Riva
“Oooh, that’s her shirt.” - Rose
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“What about your computer?” - Giacomo
I can do part of the computer.  A part that’s silver.
“There are lots of little bit and it seems a little bit like broken glass all mushed together.” - Rose
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I wonder if I hold it over your face on my screen.
“Whoa!” - Giacomo
“That’s your face!” - Rose
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Saul, I’m holding it over your face.  Do you see your eyes?
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I have on green shorts. 
“Whoa. That looks kind of the same.” - Rose
I looks woven, like when we do weaving. 
“But with grass.” - Rose
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“What about your plants? Like these.” - Giacomo
“It looks like water.” - Giacomo
“Green, yucky, slime water.” - Rose 
“Lime water!” - Saul
“Slime water.” - Giacomo
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“Ew, what’s that?” - Rose
“What is that?” - Giacomo
What do you think it could be? 
“An octopus.” - Rose
Saul, what do you think? 
“Soil.” - Riva
“The soil.” - Saul
“I thought Octopus because one part looked like the head.” - Rose
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“Can you put it on your eye? Oh wow, that’s really creepy!” - Rose

What about saving our clay?

“Elyse, does the clay dry or do we need to put it in the oven?” - Riva
If you’d like to keep something, you can dry it on some paper and cover it with plastic so that it dries slowly and won’t crack.  If you leave it sitting out in the open air it will crack as it dries. 
“I want it too!” - Saul 
Let me show you something that I sent to school. When I took it to school, Jen fired it in the kiln, which is a really big, hot oven for clay.  Now it looks like this. 
“A circle?” - Saul
Do you see how it’s really white? I made it from this [holding up ball of clay].  This is our white clay. Once it’s fired, it looks like this. 
“Then you can paint it.” - Rose
The special paint is called glaze. 
“I remember.” - Rose
“I’m not sure I want to paint it.  Is there a way to put it in the fire thing and not make it white? I like it gray." - Riva
You can let it dry on paper, under plastic, you can just keep it and it won’t be gray.  if you fire it in the kiln, it will be white. 
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Photos from home

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Riva's clay dog
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Sewing

3/12/2021

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“Hello Elyse! Are we going to sew today?” - Saul, 3.7 years
“Well, today is sewing, and I even brought something to show you.” - Saul 

Saul began carefully arranging his pieces on top of the fabric before choosing a needle. 

“I’ve already got my design.  I'm starting to sew.” - Saul, 3.7 years
I did notice that you were arranging your pieces first.  You were being very thoughtful about where you were putting those black rings. 
“These are special things that you can use when you’re bigger.  You can use them too.” - Saul
Are you planning to sew them onto your fabric?
‘I’m planning to share with you.  That would be great if we share.” - Saul​

Saul is very methodical with his sewing.  He has mastered putting the needle through the fabric and object he is sewing on (fabric scrap, plastic circle, black hoops, paper, buttons, etc.), and flipping the hoop to pull the needle through.  
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“I brought two things like these.” - Saul
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“I’m working on sewing.”
​- Saul
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“Sewing is amazing.” - Saul, 3.7 years
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“I want to show you all the thread. This type of thread is…hmmm…this type of thread is good.” - Saul
Do you know the name of that?
“Thread.” - Saul 
It’s a type of string called twine.
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Can I wear it?
“No, only when it’s finished sewed.”  - Saul

Do we know how they make clothing? How did somebody make your shirt, Saul?
“I do not know.” - Saul
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I’m trying to sew fabric scraps together.  Would you want to wear pajamas like this? 
“Yeah!” - Saul
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How long do you think it would take me to sew a shirt like this? 
“For ten minutes!” - Saul 
“No, ten days.” - Giacomo
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Saul's work towards the end of our time together.

What did we do on our day apart (yesterday)?

“Did you know that at times, there were two giants that lived on the earth.  Just two giants alone.” - Giacomo

“Saul, did you know that two giants used to live on the earth?” - Giacomo
Are you thinking of the story we read yesterday? - Elyse
“Yeah.”- Giacomo
I don’t know if Saul knows that story.  Maybe we should share with him so he knows what we’re talking about.
“I want to show the video. We did watch two videos about it because we were just interested.” - Giacomo
It felt like research to me. - Elyse

Giacomo, do your remember the two options for how it was made? The giants, and the second... - Elyse
“The volcano eruption.” - Giacomo​
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Can you tell Saul about the giant video while I find it? Maybe why we’re going to watch it? 
“Because we…it’s actually about a small person and a big person who is the giant.” - Giacomo
Why did we watch a video about giants?
“Because we readed it.” - Giacom

“Can we watch the last one with the boot and the girl talking about that boot.” - Giacomo 
“I really want to watch the giants.” - Saul
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“Maybe we should show him the picture. Of his big face.” - Giacomo 
“That is Finn MacCool and the other is Benandonner, I think. I just really like it a lot.” - Giacomo
"Where is everybody?" - Giacomo (yesterday when Saul was not with us)
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Saul, who did you see? Who are these people? Do yo know who this is?
“Mike!” - Saul 
Who are these friends? Do you remember?
“Can you help me?’ - Saul 
I know that this is Ines. 
“I was using that basket to make a truck.  I couldn’t have a wheel.  Can I see that [video]?" - Saul
“That’s not mine. They’re not my friends. I have Melanie and Jordan.” - Giacomo
That was the new Brown Room friends. Those are his friends and teachers on campus. 
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Saul, did you tell the Brown room that this is your favorite color? Silver?
“Yeah.” - Saul 
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Spring, plants, and giants!

3/11/2021

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Yesterday, we took a few minutes to think about when spring is going to start.  Giacomo noted that we are already seeing signs of spring outside, but we also looked at the calendar and it says that the Spring Equinox is not until March 20th.  How can this be?
“I thought it was called the ‘nox’. The ‘nox’ thing.” - Giacomo, 4.3 years
The equinox? There will be the spring equinox, but I was thinking a lot about how you said that spring is already outside a little bit. 
“Like, I’m telling you it’s just at number one, but when it’s at number 100, all those plants will be full grown.” - Giacomo
Maybe we’re seeing a little bit of spring already?  Some of the flowers are blooming already?
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“Yeah. Just this much. [photo on right] Cause today is a hot day, nice for water. We have a hose and this is a very real: sometimes instead of doing the bath, we use the hose to wash ourselves outside.  It’s cold!” - Giacomo ​

Can we plant seeds together? On zoom?

After our spring break, do you think we could plant some seeds together over zoom? 
“First, get seeds from somewhere.  Number two, get a pot. Number three, get dirt. Number four, seed in dirt.  Number five, water it. Yeah, and then six is sun!” - Giacomo
Do you think that we could do numbers 1-5 together with Saul while we’re on zoom? 
“Well, I don’t know what that means. You have to get seeds, number two a pot. Number three put dirt in it.  Number four water it. Number five…wait. Number four is actually…number four is…” - Giacomo
You put the seeds in the dirt?
“Yeah, and then number five you water it. Then number six…” - Giacomo
Do you remember what number six was? 
“The sun.” - Giacomo
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“I like it this way. One big hand and one small hand [thumb].” - Giacomo
You and I are counting on our fingers in the "European way". - Elyse
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So, my question to you was, ‘These first five steps that you named, do you think we could do these five steps together with Saul on zoom?  
“We could, but first you have to find a seed, which is pretty hard. You have to find a seed factory. You could do an apple.  You could get the seed from the apple and plant the apple.” - Giacomo
I’m just wondering if we could do that on zoom from our own homes? 
“You could do that, but you have to have a lot of soil.  It’s easy.  Find a clear spot where there’s no plant.  Dig and give the ground soil to the plant.” - Giacomo 
It sounds like you have a pretty clear plan on how to do this.  

Are giants real?

“Is there a video of him? - GIacomo, 4.3 years
If you don't know the story of Finn MacCool and Benandonner, the giants who created the "Giant's Causeway", then the short version is that there are two giants who want to fight each other, but they must cross the water from Northern Ireland, to the Isle of Staffa in Scotland. Finn MacCool is said to have created the great causeway by throwing trees into the water to create a pathway.  Eventually, they decide not to fight each other and the "Causeway" is destroyed. All that remains are hexagonally jointed basalt columns both in Scotland and Ireland.
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[below] Illustration of Finn MacCool, the Irish giant
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[above and below] Illustrations of Benandonner, the Scottish giant
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Giacomo, do you know where Scotland and Ireland are? 
“Well, they’re somewhere in space. But before, a long time ago, they were the whole earth.  There were two caves and a home, and a rumbling sound like a volcano cracked their things apart.  A huge way went so high and took it into space to float away to never seen again.” - Giacomo 

“Mostly giants are actually bigger than the great blue humpback whale, so they lived about 100 years ago. They lived on the first day; the first day of the earth.  That’s when the giants lived.” - Giacomo
“Where is the place where the Giants were?” - Giacomo, 4.3 years
Can I show you on a map where the story we read takes place? - Elyse
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We live here. If i zoom out, and we go all the way across the Atlantic ocean, all the way up here.

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If we go up here where this red dot is and the white dot…the Red dot is where Finn MacCool, the Irish giant, lived.  The white dot is the Isle of Staffa where Brenandonner lived. It says they built a pathway across this water.

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“Go this way. I want to go that way.” - Giacomo [wanting to zoom in on the image]
“Wait, let me see the picture of the place where the giant lived.” - Giacomo 
This is the Isle of Staffa.
“Where is him?” - Giacomo
I don’t know if he’s around anymore. 



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“Is there a picture of him?” - Giacomo
This might be a little bit like the Loch Ness monster where maybe everybody’s looks a little different.
“Is there a video of him? - GIacomo
There’s a video about the causeway.
“No, I want to see a video about him.” - Giacomo
I don’t know if there is a video of him, but there are videos about the pathway that the giant’s created.  Would you like to hear a little bit about that?
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We watched two short videos about the "Giant's Causeway".  Each retold the story of the giants in a slightly different way, but also told us about the scientific explanation behind the rock formations. 
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The narrators presented the two theories and used a lot of helpful vocabulary: scientific, geological wonder, volcanic event long before humans were on earth, volcanic eruption, and fissures (describing the rocks)
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The narrators also described the giant's version of the story: mythology, home of a mythical giant, and legend.
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This rock is believed to be a giant's boot left behind.
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[left] Illustration of Finn MacCool from one informational video

[right Illustration of Benandonner from one informational video
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It sounds like he said that we can believe that the giants built it, or a volcano made it. What do you think? The scientist said that maybe it was created by the giants, or maybe by a volcanic eruption.  Which do you think is true?
“I think eruption is true because eruptions happen often when scary things are around. I saw a face that looked a teensy bit like him [in the video].” - Giacomo 
The name of this book is “Scottish mythical creatures”, and our story was about a giant, so he must be mythical.  What do you think mythical means? 
“It means things that lived a long, long time ago that don’t live anymore.” - Giacomo 
Maybe the giants really did build it. Is that possible? 
“No, I think the eruption made it. I’d like to see some more. Okay, so then I want to see another video of how it was built.” - Giacomo

The whole world 

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“No, I want to see the whole, whole world.” - Giacomo
Like a globe?
“Like the whole circle.” - Giacomo
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Spring is coming

3/10/2021

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Molecules​

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“Magic rocks have teensy tiny…mole…the thing that starts with ‘cules” that’s in your body that’s tinier than microscopic. No, it’s not microscopic.” - Giacomo
Like our bones? 
“No. They spread apart and bones are big, not small.  But these are soft. Mole…mole…” - Giacomo
“So, what starts with ‘ma ma ma”? - Giacomo
And it’s inside of your body? 
“Yeah. Molecules. Magic rocks inside of them are molecules.” - Giacomo
The magic rocks have special molecules?
“Yeah, but normal molecules.” - Giacomo

Loose parts sculptures

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Saul brought circles from old film and used them to recreate wheels. 
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We briefly used the blog to reflect on our paper sculpture playgrounds/parks.  
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Spring is coming! OR is it already here?

Giacomo suggested that we take a break from our sculptures, so I offered to read a book called And then it's spring​.  This lead to a conversation about the upcoming spring equinox and the changes that we will begin to see in our outdoor environment.  
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Can I show you some of the flowers that I found outside that are blooming for spring?
“I found more than you did!” - Giacomo
I only found a few.  Spring is starting to show up. 
Have you been outside to see spring starting to bloom? 
“The only thing that I know is that is a different year.” - Giacomo, 4.3 years [pointing to his calendar]
There should be, on your calendar, on March 20th.  If you can find the date, 2-0. 
“Two, zero.” - Giacomo
It should say, “spring equinox.”, and that is the beginning of spring. 
“So, that one?” - Giacomo
I know that you go outside a lot, so you might see some of the first signs of spring. 
“I made a spring house.” - Saul , 3.7 years
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“It’s already spring!” - Giacomo
It is so close. Today is March 10th, and spring equinox is March 20th.  That means we have ten days.
“On my calendar now it’s spring.” - Giacomo
The twentieth will be our first day of official spring.
"Elyse, but spring is when plants come out of the ground.” - Giacomo
That’s true.
“And i’ve seen lots of plants come out of the ground.”  - Giacomo
It sounds like you’re saying that we’re already seeing some different signs that spring is coming. 
“When it’s summer, or there’s other days, the bulbs are in the ground, but when it’s spring, they come out.  That means it is already spring.” - Giacomo
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“My new visitor [plant] is spiked. And I have him for a scary monster just in case.” - Giacomo
Saul, do you have any plants that you take care of? 
“No.” - Saul 
What would you guys think about planting something together?

A plan for next week

“What I like the most is clay.” - Giacomo 
What about on Monday, we can do clay together?
"Yeah, I have clay!" - Saul
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A new drawing technique

3/8/2021

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‘I’m starting to watercolor my drawing.” - Saul, 3.7 years
Today we worked with a new design technique inspired by Rainey Room B who used sharpie markers and watercolors to illustrate their design ideas for our school wide pajamas project. It's a two step process where you draw with the sharpie marker/black drawing tool and then add watercolors to enhance your drawing with color. 

Before we started drawing, we revisited the pajama documentation that is hanging in the hallway at St. John's.  
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“They turn all of the trucks into tiny trucks.” - Saul, 3.7 years
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Lou Lou shared this example with us. Can you see how she draws them with the outline and filled them in with watercolor? - Elyse
“I want to see the tiny ones.” - Saul, 3.7 years
“I want to see all of the tiny trucks closer to my mind.” - Saul, 3.7 years
“If you put them a teensy big closer they’ll get bigger.” - Giacomo, 4.3 years [referring to zooming in on the image]
Do you remember what happens next, after it’s on the computer? Where does it go after it’s on the computer?  - Elyse
“To the fabric!” - Saul, 3.7 years
What was her first step? - Elyse
“Paper.” - Giacomo, 4.3 years
Just like what we’re doing today. - Elyse
“That black thing reminds me of the pictures that we hang out in the hallway.  It looks a lot like it.” - Giacomo, 4.3 years
Giacomo, this is the board that hangs in the hallway at St. John’s.  These images and this fabric are hanging in the hallway at St. John’s. - Elyse

​What would you like to draw as your idea for the pajamas?

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"You’ll see. You’ll see it when you’re done.” - Giacomo, 4.3 years 
“I’m gonna draw you!” - Saul, 3.7 years
You would put me on the St. John’s pajamas? - Elyse
“Yeah!” - Saul, 3.7 years
Well, let’s start drawing then.
“Before I do my own everything, I’m going to draw a teensy plant inside of the holes of the darkness.”  - Giacomo, 4.3 years
You’re thinking about a plant? - Elyse
“Yeah.” - Giacomo, 4.3 years 
We do have a lot of plants at school. - Elyse
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‘I’m starting to watercolor my drawing. I’m choosing green, and red, and blue. Now I’m going to add a similar color to mine. I added some more colors that I want to show you. It’s a painting, watercolor rainbow. I was thinking of the rainbow that I did like you.” - Saul, 3.7 years
“This is you! This is you [Elyse]!” - Saul, 3.7 years
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“You see my colorful rainbow? I wanna show you my rainbow. This rainbow is very big.” - Saul

Reflecting at home

Saul's parents sent these photos below of his work from our call this morning.  Over lunch with his family, Saul shared a bit about how he drew and watercolored an image of Elyse and a rainbow for the pajama fabric.
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[top] : "A Rainbow" by Saul, 3.7 years

​[bottom]:"Elyse" by Saul, 3.7 years

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“Do you know what my surprise is?” - Giacomo
I don’t. Are you ready to share? - Elyse
“When I say it’s done, then it can come out.  I will hold it up so that you can see.” - Giacomo
“Do you see it’s something with grass.” - Giacomo
I did see some green, but I didn’t know it was grass.  There are so many things that are green, so I didn’t want to assume that it was grass. - Elyse
“I’m using a lot of white to make clouds because my drawing is outside. It’s outside in the forrest.” - Giacomo
“It’s ready! It’s a cave with scary animals and monsters.” - Giacomo

What kind of scary animals and monsters? Can you tell us more? - Elyse
“The T-Rex because that’s the biggest predator that roamed the earth.” - Giacomo
The blue reminds me of the sky. - Elyse
“And that white is the clouds.” - Giacomo ​

A Tornado

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“This is going around and around and around. [switches directions].” - Giacomo
“What is big and stormy and wind.  And it’s so big and so windy that you can never escape that moves oh a teensy teensy dot.” - Giacomo
Is it a hurricane? - Elyse
“No, but a kind of going around and around.  Moving.  Whoo whoo.” - Giacomo
Is it a tornado? - Elyse
“Yes!” - Giacomo
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Giacomo also added green watercolor dots to his windy tornado.

Sleeping Dragons and Universes

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Saul chose Sleeping dragons who "hoo'd" like owls, and Giacomo thought that maybe they could also breathe fire! It's a hybrid owl, fire breathing dragon!

Then, Giacomo decided that we would be Sleeping Universes who floated! 
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Giacomo showed us how to make "floating arms". 
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Shadow Dancing/Riddles

3/3/2021

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“Want to know what I have here? An orange fresco, a fish, and a truck.” - Saul, 3.6 years
Let’s invent a story then. 
What if we said, ‘A long time ago there was a dragon.’ What would his name be? 
“Dragon!” - Giacomo
So, a long time ago there was a dragon named, ‘Dragon’, and he found a rocket ship. 
[pause]
And on that rocket ship, there was a red car. Where would they go on their rocket ship with the red car? 
“On the rocket ship you move the car away so there is more space to walk.” - Saul 
“The would move the car away to make more space to walk.” - Saul

Where are they going? 
“They jump out to swim in the pool.” - Saul 
They’re swimming? Can you make your shadow swim? 
“No! Actually, rockets aren’t used for swimming.” - Giacomo
We can pretend.
“No, they only go to the moon. They blast off and go to the moon.  That’s what they’re for.” - Giacomo

Oh, can we blast off? Saul, can your car blast off? 
“I can blast off this shadow, but it might be small.” - Saul 
Yours might be small? How can we make our shadow small? 
“Elyse. Go closer to the wall. Did you see it got smaller? Now go back. Did you see it now got bigger?” - Giacomo
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“I wanna show you my shadow dancing.” - Saul

Shadow Riddles

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“A bird!!!”- Giacomo
“You could be a small bird, a big bird, or a medium size bird.” - Saul 
“You could be a baby bird.” - Giacomo
Can you see my wings? ‘Tweet, tweet.’ - Elyse


What animal is Giacomo going to be? 
[Giacomo stomps]
“What makes that big bang that’s the king of the dinosaurs? The biggest dinosaur that ever roamed the earth? [Roars] It stands up on two legs, teensy arms, big legs, and a long tail.” - Giacomo
“It may be a monster.” - Saul 
“It’s a dinosaur. [roars]” - Giacomo
So that Saul and I can remember your clues were, ‘It stomps, has teeny arms’. - Elyse
Saul, what kind of dinosaur do you thin she’s being?  - Elyse
“It has enormous tracks.  It’s tall.  Its teeth are strong to bite through bone.” - Giacomo 
Saul, do you know what kind of dinosaur this is? What’s your guess? - Elyse
“He lived with the rhinosaurus.” - Giacomo 
“It lays eggs, but it grows up to be the biggest creditor to roam the earth.” - Giacomo
Could it be a T-Rex, Saul? - Elyse
“Yesss!!” - Giacomo
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