Happy Valentines’ Day!
We’ve had an interesting week. Because of that our newsletter will be a collection of annotated photographs of bits and pieces from our week. We hope you’ll use them at home to talk about what’s happening in the classroom and to help us think about the things we’ll need to be working on next week. Enjoy!
We began Artist-Writers’ Workshop last week. In this first round we are exploring different media. We each selected a glass figure as the main character of our artwork. We have created a setting or backdrop for the figure and are working to recreate the same picture six times. Once each with crayon, colored pencil, marker, water color, tempera and finally mixed media. This is a quiet, mindful time where the class is learning to listen to their inner voice. Talking is at a minimum as they work to become more aware of their own self talk. Is it encouraging? Is it critical? How do they make choices? What steps do they take when problems arise? This is a fun, creative time that encourages greater self-awareness of choices and of self-advoacacy.
For the 100th Day of school we worked to gather one hundred facts about the world by sharing seven fun facts about each of the countries we have been reading and researching about. They are hanging across the entry way to our classroom. It is a fun way to enter and exit our room.
On Wednesday we had a full day to explore the SEE Science Center. We worked in the science lab with Slimy Science. We learned about states of matter, estimation, chemical reactions and pressure while we were making our own silly putty. Two parts glue to one part liquid starch mixed together and then finally brought into form with pressure – until our arms and fingers ached.
We explored the vast LEGO replica of the Amoskaeg Mill showing a period of life a little before the time Eben’ was looking for Wonders in Sassafras Springs. The children worked to create models of items that were later found in the larger display allowing them to learn about the mill’s history and the things that done there. Did you know that more cloth was made at the Amoskaeg Mill than any other place in the world? They made saws, looms, dams, slides, turnstiles and more. It was a interesting looking into history and an important part in our state’s past.
At the end of the day a guide taught us about electricity and we explored how it can travel when we were touching an electrostatic generator. You can see and feel the power. We learned even more about forces with the harmonograph. Sir Isaac Newton taught us that a body in motion will stay in motion unless acted upon by an outside force. The harmonograph was a drawing machine that allowed us to learn about and see the effects of gravity, friction and air pressure.
Lastly we had time to explore. It was a great day of fun and learning combined.
We are working to get ready for our museum on Tuesday. I am feeling a bit anxious now that we have lost two and a half full days of our time to write and create our displays. I am not certain as I write this memo how the children are feeling. It may be a great lesson in organization and use of time. That has been a challenge all along with this unit of study and with the deadline looming we are feeling it. We’ll see how things go. Whatever happens we will learn from it and be better prepared for our next research and writing project.
Happy Vacation Wednesday! I hope you’re having a great week. In case you’d like to take a math break, here are a few problems to solve. Try to us multiplication when you can.
And finally there is 
