Wednesday News

March 13, 2013

We began our morning adventures with a walk to Middle School to visit with our 6th grade friends who were having Science class with Kristin Moyer this morning.  We had made a 'thank -you' card for the class to express our appreciation for inviting us to their Science class a few weeks ago to make flubber. The children were happy to see familiar faces and friends and we even planned our next visit together! We were invited back next week to see the Roly-Poly Pill Bugs which the 6th graders will be studying over the next few weeks.  The Cardinals enjoyed making  new connections with our 6th grade friends and they asked if we could reciprocate the invitations and ask the 6th graders to visit with us in our classroom. We thought we could plan a special art activity to share with our Middle School friends that would reflect the learning that we are exploring in our classroom.   We are so happy to see this meaningful connection develop.... so wonderful for all of our students in all of the grades!

Walking in the hall of Upper School after our visit with Middle School, we bumped into Kristina Denzel! After a warm greeting to all of the children, Kristina said that she had a little open time in her science room and asked if we wanted to stop by and see the changes that have taken place in the fish tanks since our last visit a few months ago.  Our schedule was flexible and we very enthusiastically proceeded to the next part of our adventure. The children loved returning to the Upper School science lab and the familiarity was quite apparent! Stella and Kristina pointed out interesting facts about the fish tanks and we leaned that the tanks held either fresh water or salt water. 

At Art with Sam, the children experienced a sensory form of art as they were introduced to red clay. Sam provided the children with a bowl and guided the children through the process of breaking off pieces of clay and pushing them into the bowl. She explained how sometimes artists create something that we can use, and explained how this was the process that led to making a clay bowl. She made the connection between the bowls that we were about to create and the dishes we eat off of at home. As each child molded, pressed and patted the clay, they seem to become connected with the natural texture and feel of it. Children created balls of clay and placed them in the bowl while others used more of a smoothing technique to create a connected surface. Sam explained that next she was going to place them in the kiln, a large oven that will bake them and make the bowl hard. The Cardinals were excited when Sam discussed the next steps of painting the bowls at our upcoming art class.

The bright sunshine invited the children to explore the outdoor space in such a way that allows us to freely move from one area to the next as their curiosity peeks at each new experience in this area! The children are motivated and independent in interacting in our outdoor space which has led to working cooperatively with each other to play games, build, engage in role play or dig!