Poppy

We are currently reading the last chapters from the novel,  Poppy by Avi.  Many of the children have really enjoyed this novel.   You may want to look for more of Avi's books, during your next visit to the library.  Avi has numerous novels that feature various characters introduced in this first novel:
Ragweed
Ereth's birthday
Poppy and Ereth


...just to name a few.


Who knows you may enjoy them too.

To all the moms

Have a fabulous day.  

Thank you to Robin, Trent's mom, for donating the vases that inspired your gifts.

Cygnus

 Over the past 2 weeks the children have been working on a play about the constellation Cygnus.  We found the play in Wishing on a Star: constellation stories and stargazing activities for kids by Fran Lee.  I asked the children if they would like to do the play.  There was a resounding "YES".  Immediately, they started planning.  They decided they needed costumes, scenery, and props.  My role was to get supplies and to reign in a few ideas, like building a stage.  The children did the rest.


Last week, Imogen watched a dress rehearsal and gave many compliments and a few suggestions.  Very helpful.


Today, we did two performances.  One in the morning, for the kindergarten class and one in the afternoon, for the other 1st and 2nd graders.  We hope to perform it again at graduation for the whole school.  

Sorry I don't have better photos but I was trying to be a stage hand and the photographer.

The future

This month we are thinking about the future.  The poem this week was:

Our Future

by Istiqur Rahman

Our future is hidden
Among the vast forests of our soul.
Our future is waiting
Among the depths of our own ocean.

One’s future is ownself -
You create your future.
Run through the forests,
Swim through your ocean,
And you will find yourself -
You and your future.

During the week, we have been talking about the Voyagers 1 and 2, that were sent into space in 1977.  There is a Golden Record aboard the Voyager with music and sounds from Earth.  We have been listening to greetings in various languages and sounds that were recorded on the Golden Record.  It is interesting to think about what things to include on a record about the earth that maybe found by beings in the future, in a place not yet known to us.  

This discussion will lead us into our next project: making a time capsule.  The children will think about what to put in a time capsule that will be opened in 10 years.  What should be put in a container that will inform people about, who the children who made the capsule are now, and what they hope to be in the future.  We will be putting the time capsule together at school but I am sure the children will want to bring things from home to include in their capsule.  The time capsule will be made out of a large oatmeal container, so space will be limited.

Planetarium

It was a fantastic trip to EMU's new planetarium.  The children were very excited to see the night sky above them and recognize the constellations we have been discussing in class.  

  

Entering the planetarium

After viewing the night sky, we walked across the courtyard to Sherzer Hall.  At Sherzer, we climbed 3 flights of stairs to view the telescope Thomas Edison used.  

Thomas Edison's telescope

Sun dial on rooftop

Then there were more stairs to get to the roof.   
During the day you can see for miles.  

Observatory

At night, telescopes are set up on the roof top and people can observe the night sky. 
But, if you really want an up close look at Space, you can go in the Observatory and look through the mega telescope.  Too bad it was still day light.

 Telescope in Observatory

Thank you Christine Hume, Juna's mom, for setting up this trip for all the 1st and 2nd graders.  It was amazing.

Measuring

In Math, the children have been very interested in measuring the room.  When there is a choice of math activities, they often choose to measure the length of the room using different types of blocks.  Last week, we used more traditional measuring devices: rulers, meter sticks, and tape measures.  We also expanded from just measuring the room to measuring ourselves.  The class is learning the difference between the inches/feet side of measuring tool and the mm/cm/meter side.  It is hard to use the same side consistent but with practice it will become easier.

Writing

 Each week the children have various writing assignments.  There are many ways that the ideas for the writing assignments are generated: monthly themes, books we've read, discussions, and brainstorming. 


While we were studying Tools, we read a story by Chris Monroe,  Monkey with a Tool Belt.   In the story, the monkey uses a variety of very inventive tool such as a "twizzler" and "de-twizzler".   The monkey hears a strange noise in his house.  He guesses what could be making the noise.  One thought was, maybe "a family of very loud squirrels moved in".  I told the class to remind me later to tell them about a story about a squirrel family in the house.


That day's writing project was going to be, to invent a tool, and write a story about it.  Just as we were about to start, one of the children reminded me to tell my squirrel story.  After my story hands flew up around the room.  Many children had their own story about animals in their houses.  Thus, there became a choice of topics for writing, either a tool story or an animal in the house story.  

At writing time, children often get writers block.  We have been working on things you can do when this happens.  We discussed how  stories have characters and usually have some type of problem or conflict to keep the readers interested. One day we thought about how to create a character.  Together we had a brainstorming session.  Niko picked the name for the character and the rest of class told something about the character.  One child noticed that some of the ideas of the character could lead to problems in the story.  For example, his house didn't have a bathroom so this might mean the character needed to look for a new house.  After brainstorming together, each child tried to think of ideas for a character.  Andrés asked if he could make his list into a "wanted poster".  Creativity abounds.

Last Monday, the assignment was to create a planet.  The children could work by themselves or with a partner.  Three questions needed to be answered: what is the name of the planet, what does it look like, and what lives on the planet?  After ideas were formulated, they presented their planet ideas to the class.