Week 31: A Mystery Box


Posted by Savannah Barker on May 12, 2018 at 4:22 PM

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The Early Learners had another fantastic week in and out of the classroom. Our week kicked off with the Linden Book Sale, where the girls helped out with the set-up, signage, and making bookmarks. Many of them were also excited to buy piles of books for summer reading. Later in the week we received a mystery box in the mail, and the girls put their heads together with the grade 1-2s to figure out what might be inside. After lots of interesting predictions, we opened up the box to find larvae inside. The Early Learners are really excited about learning more about larvae, and they are hoping that they will turn into butterflies. Take a look at the pictures below to see more highlights from the week.

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A, G, N and P enjoy a beautiful morning recess up on the roof. With the sun shining, many of the girls have been deciding that their body feels better without a sweater on.

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G creates another bookmark for the Used Book Sale. Anyone who buys five or more books, or brings a reusable bag, gets a handmade bookmark too.

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N and A are spending their learning centre time in Drama this morning, and they have brought their babies on a picnic. 

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Focused on constructing a symmetrical structure, G adds two pieces at the same time for balance. When G manages to add her final touches, she celebrates her success with her peers.

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A asks if she is able to make up the May calendar for the classroom because May is her birthday month. She is excited about writing out the numbers, and she barely needs to look at the calendar template to get it done. The rest of the girls are looking forward to adding special events, clubs, and birthdays to the calendar when it is finished.

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P pulls out the measuring tapes this morning to check up on how tall the barn door is. Next, she moves on to measuring her classmates. It is quite fun when the girls return to an activity that they tried months ago to see how their understanding or interests have changed.

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The Early Learners and Grade 1-2s work on signs to post around the book sale to help customers find the sections of books they are looking for. The girls practice colouring inside of the lines so that the signs are easy to read.

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We are very excited that A's mom was able to join us this morning to help set up the Used Book Sale. After finishing her jobs of putting out kids books and making signs, A offers to help her mom out at the "Adult Non-Fiction" table by taking the books out of the boxes.

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P and A work together in CERES to create a stop-motion video. The girls take a series of pictures and then organize them on the computer.

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G, M, and K create their stop-motion video together on the laptop. They are taking a series of selfies for their project.

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K shows off the plasticine species that she has made at the Discovery Centre, using books and past projects for inspiration. The critter on the right is a flying snail and the critter on the left is a flying worm or bug. K also added a butterfly to the collection so that they would all have friends while they were flying around.

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A covers up the museum that she has built so that it can be a surprise when she presents it to her peers. The museum has extinct animals inside, and there is already a big line of people (corks) outside of it waiting to get in. 

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After gently balancing the bears on the "subway seats" that she has designed on the Light Table, N also positions some bears facing those on the seats so they can talk to each other. She explains that "the subway is busy and the doors are closing".

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A has been working diligently on this new puzzle that I got at the Used Book Sale. After spending some time on it this morning when she finished her morning routine, A asked if we could leave it out for her to come back to during Learning Centres. The girls agreed that it would be good to let her have the Drama Centre space to finish it, and that they didn't mind not going to Drama today. By the end of the day A successfully completed it!

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Look at this beautiful creation that K has been so carefully working on this morning. She is building from the outside in and is making sure that all of the four sides look the same, which is good practice for understanding rotational symmetry. K notices that she needs to be very slow while she sets up the corks and gems, so that she doesn't knock down the exterior walls.

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N brings up her Barbie doll to the roof for morning recess, and she is excited because A also has hers at school today. N is curious if A's mermaid tail will fit on her Barbie, so asks if she can test it out. Even though it wasn't made for her doll, the tail fits pretty well.

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Yesterday we received a mysterious box with some writing on it in the mail and we have asked the girls in the Early Learning class and in Grade 1-2 to help us make predictions about what might be inside. After realizing that it was a "live specimen" the girls guessed that there might be a puppy or hamster or unicorn inside the box. We opened it up and found larvae inside! The excitement that followed included comments about caterpillars, butterflies and squirmy worms. We can't wait to watch these creatures grow over the next few weeks.

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The Grade 1-2 girls spent some time transferring the larvae into individual containers to live inside. The containers have food, as well as holes in the lids to ensure the larvae get fresh air. K watches closely as S uses a paintbrush to move one of the larvae into its new habitat.

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P asks one of the grade 12 students to try on her headband. She loves the stripes and how it looks in pictures.

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A brought in cupcakes to share with her friends because she is turning six over the weekend. There's nothing better than ending a Friday afternoon off than with a sugary treat!

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After a step-by-step demonstration from Ellen, G tries to transform her cupcake into a "cupcake sandwich". I encourage everyone to try these at home; it is my favourite way to eat cupcakes. First you pull off half of the bottom of the cupcake and then you put it on top of the icing. 

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N is all smiles with her cupcake on this Friday afternoon because tomorrow is her birthday, and she was able to celebrate it with her friends at school today too.