Ode to....

This week's poem is an excerpt from "Ode to things" by the Chilean writer, Pablo Neruda. 


from Ode to things

I have a crazy,

crazy love of things.

I like pliers,

and scissors.

I love

cups,

rings,

and bowls -

not to speak, of course,

of hats.

I love

all things,

not just

the grandest,

also

the

infinite-

ly

small –

thimbles,

spurs,

plates,

and flower vases.

I read the class the whole poem of "Ode to things" as well as several other poems by Pablo Neruda, including "Ode to a bar of soap" and "Ode to the dog".  Then the children tried their hands at writing Odes.  Here are a few examples: 

Ode to Outside 

It's good to be outside

It's good to be, 

recess

You can run around

You can jump rope.

by Varvara

Ode to Oliver S.

Oliver S. is terribly

funny and like's honey

Ode to Oliver S.

by Noah

Ode to an Elephant

The Elephant with his 

massive jaws and its

Horns of light white

The feet and its

Sharp teeth.

by Kaden

Book on CD

The novel we are currently listening to is Silverwing by Kenneth Oppel.  For a refreshing change from listening to Elaine read the story, narrator John McDonough reads this book on CD.

In the story a young silverwing bat named Shade gets lost from the rest of the flock while migrating.  He must find his own way south.  The story combines action, fantasy and factual information about bats.

La Luna

We have been getting emails from Viola's grandfather with photographs of the moon.  He has a high power telescope and has been taking photos each night, that is when it hasn't been cloudy.  Here are the ones I received the past two days that I did not get a chance to show the class.

I hope you and your child have enjoyed watching the moon wax and wane.

"Took this shot quickly as I ran out this morning!  I allowed the light that was reflecting off the moon to show up much more prominently so that the "dark" part of the moon would also be visible.  a good example of how the moon is all there however we can only see the part the sun is shining on and reflecting back!  Also notice stars in background. First day we did not have clouds for last 3-4 days."  

                                                                                                                              Johnny Reising

The Mask EB

        

Week 1:  We talked about the variety of reasons people make and wear masks. We read Carl's Masquerade and the children decorated masquerade masks. 

Week 2: We went on a trip to the University of Michigan Art Museum to see their African Mask collection.

Week 3: We looked at my sister's mask collection from various areas of the world. The children made sketches of the masks they wanted to make.

 

Week 4 and 5 The children constructed their masks with amazing diverse results.  

Migration project

Friday, each child took home a packet that explained a research project.  Every child chose a migratory animal.  These projects are to be worked on at home.  At the end of the migration unit, each child will present what they have learned to all the other 1st and 2nd graders at school.

This is a 3 part project to include:

A brief written report (perhaps one paragraph, or just written in Q and A form) that should answer the following:

-animal's name
-why the animal migrates
-route

-timing of migration

(Additional information about these topics are found on the handout.)

A map should also be included, which shows the route the animal takes.

Finally, your child should thing of a creative way to present the information to the class  (clay models, posters, dioramas, etc.)

Please let me know if you have any questions. I'm looking forward to hearing and seeing these projects, and I hope your child enjoys the process, and learns even more about migration.

Out and About

This month we are taking a few trips into the community.

The first trip is this Friday (February 10).  We will be attending the Sphinx Competition at Hill Auditorium.  The concert will be held from 12:00-1:00.  Our class will be having an early lunch, at 11:00, in order to  arrive to the concert on time.

Next, Friday (February 17) we have two trips.

Our first excursion is to attend the Sweet Honey in the Rock concert at Hill Auditorium.

In the afternoon, we will have our annual, all school skating bash at Buhr Park.  We hope you can join us, if you are available.  There will be lots of skates to lace up. 


(Karen will be sending you an email with the details about the skating trip, soon.)

We always have a great time!

Chapter books

After finishing reading Paddle to the Sea,  we watched a film by Bill Mason, based on the book.  Afterwards we discussed similarities and differences between the book and film.  They understood that it would be too long to include all of Paddles adventure in a movie, because it would be too long, but there were scenes from the book that they thought should have been included.  They also recognized that there were scenes in the movie that were not in the book.  Everyone was disappointed in the ending of the film because it did not tell that Paddle did finally make it to the sea. 



We are currently reading a book by Sara Pennypacker.  The book, Clementine , is the first in a series about, you guessed it, a girl named Clementine.  Clementine gets in some unusual predicaments but always as a result of the best intentions.

Teachers come in all Shapes and Sizes

At Summers-Knoll we strive to move away from the traditional teacher in front of the class.  The children learn by going out into the community, learn from each other,  and learn from people from the  community coming to them.  

The first teachers of the day on Friday were the 5th and 6th graders.  They presented  historical battle maps.  They told us about the battles the maps depicted, as well as the techniques they used to make the maps look ancient. 

In the afternoon, a bird came to Art class to assist in teaching the children.  The bird was accompanied by to people from the Bird Center, an organization that rescue and rehabilitate injured and orphaned bird.  The children got to learn about birds and had a close up look at a bird.  They did drawings of the visitor.

And what would a day be without learning together with a hands-on project.                                 

After making bread several times with my assistance, today the children were given a recipe and worked in teams to make the bread dough without any assistance from me.  After rising, shaping, rising again, and baking...it was time for the best part...tasting!