Week Thirty-Two: Living Windows and Window Art
It is hard to believe that there are only a few weeks left in the school year - this year has completely flown by! We are so excited to have welcomed a fifth Early Learner, S, at the end of the week. S and her family have recently moved to Toronto and I hope that we can help them feel right at home in our Linden community. This week was filled with lots of excitement coming back from the long weekend. Many of the girls mentioned seeing fireworks on Victoria Day, so we decided to make our own versions at the Art centre using watercolours. After much anticipation, the girls' Living Window project is complete and they got a big reveal on Wednesday. Finally, we were so happy to spend lots and lots of time outside as the weather is finally feeling like spring. Take a look at the pictures to see some of the great things we got up to together.
O and A create fireworks (or flowers) using coffee filters and watercolours that were made from dried up markers. They enjoy experimenting with mixing colours using the pipettes and watching how the colours spread and are absorbed into the coffee filters. When the fireworks are dry, we are planning on displaying them in our window to add some beautiful colours to the classroom.
A is testing out a new design with the magnatiles and it really reminds me of a card tower. The building of the first few levels goes smoothly, but as she adds higher levels, she notices that the sides start to collapse. I suggest reinforcing the base to add stability, so A finds blocks to try out. In the end, the tower ends up collapsing, but she maintains a positive outlook and suggests that she can "try again another time".
Thanks to the Sr. Drama club, we have new menus to use in our play in the Drama centre. N is running the restaurant, and she invites each of us to come and order some food. N asks each customer questions like, "what table do you want?" and "what do you want?". She is also clear about their drink offerings: "We have water, apple juice, milk... that's all we have".
At morning recess, C (grade 2) offers to carry O from one spot to another. The older girls understand that it's incredibly important to ask for permission, or consent, before picking up another student. The younger girls have been learning that it is also okay to say "no" if they do not want to be lifted off of the ground.
Presenting... Linden's new, student-designed Living Window. Look at those excited faces. The girls loved the big reveal of their designs brought to life. Extra plant donations are still welcome!
K (grade 2) and A play an invented game during recess. The goal is to roll the ball into the other player's fingers.
These two collaborated on their practice board sketches, giving each other instructions for what to draw next. AK wanted hers to be slightly different from AB's, so she chose to only draw one person instead of two.
O spends time doing Earth research using non-fiction books. As she flips through the pages, O documents things that interest her - mud, fall leaves, plastic bottles, and more.
A traces the pattern blocks as she makes her own design on paper. She has incorporated beautiful symmetry as she fits the blocks together into her design.
Excited about having a new student join our class, N creates a model of the different classes at Linden. With the bears, she shows how our class gained a student and how the other classmates have welcomed her into the class.
S explores Beth's "Rude Robot" crankshaft toy in CERES. When you turn the crankshaft, the Rude Robot sticks its tongue out. S is getting inspiration before starting to plan and build her own crankshaft toy.
N mixes different colours on the coffee filters to create brightly-coloured fireworks. It is interesting how she is choosing to make some with warm colours and others with cool colours.
As she layers the pattern blocks, A realizes something interesting (and important) about the hexagons and trapezoids. Two trapezoids put together make a hexagon!
As O shares the structure she built with her classmates, she explains that it is a place for people to sleep in beds who don't have homes. One of the girls asks, "so you built a shelter?". It is always incredible to watch the girls incorporate their understandings from previous lessons and discussions into their daily play. It also gives me hope that together, we are educating a generation of children who will create community supports like these in the cities they live in.
This is what community looks like. (not a planned or posed photo)
A shows me how her strength, balance and coordination skills as she tackles this climbing structure.
A, O, and S take turns bouncing the seesaw for the riders. The giggles, smiles, and general happiness that came from these girls was the perfect way to end a Friday afternoon.