Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

This week has been fun and full of spirited discussions and shares of new ideas!  Check out these snapshots from the week.  Enjoy!

After sharing out some of our adventures from our Winter Break, we revisited what agreements we had made to remind us all how to take care of our own bodies, as well as how to take care of our friends and school.

We had an exciting discussion about opposites.  After generating a list, partnerships got up to act out some ideas.  See if you can guess and check the responses at the end of this entry!

Speaking of contrasting ideas, we started the second version of Stone Soup.  Friends were noticing the distinct garb the characters were wearing, so we shared ideas about what peasants were, and how a village differs from our life in San Diego.  Check out our  Discussion Notes Binder for more information about this book!

Friends have been exploring the new provocations in the classroom, including Estimation Jars, butterfly specimen for Observation Drawing, insect specimen and images of their dwellings in our science area, and brainstorms lists of different story elements for friends to make their own stories!

Friends have also picked up the project of the signs for our playground.  One piece of feedback was to include words and make another sign showing friends where the could climb if they wanted to!

Thank you to Leon's dad, Daniel, for being our Family Reader this week!

Before our trip to Yanni's Bistro, we took a virtual tour of the restaurant.  You can >>>CLICK HERE<<< to see what we saw!

As we entered the cellar, we were greeted by Yanni and Frederico as they provided us with pita bread, tomato sauce, and mozzarella cheese.  The students got to work on making their pizzas.

In small groups, the children walked through the cellar to meet Frederico in the kitchen to cook their pizzas in the oven.

Then Yanni gave them a tour of the kitchen's refrigerator, sink, ice chest, and dishwasher.

From there, we walked through the dining room to the patio where friends observered the wishing well.

We came back to the bar to order our drinks and then pick up our pizzas from the kitchen to enjoy while it's still hot!

Thank you so much to Yanni for being such a great host, and to our families, Barbara, Edgar, Danielle, Kirsten, Nooshin, Seng, Natalie, and extra big thank you to Pernille for organizing this trip for us!

When we came back to school, the friends reflected on their experience by making a list of things that went well, things that could go better next time, and things that they are still wondering about.  

On Friday, we reunited with our Buddies for a Walk-and-Talk to the park. 

When we came back to school, we took time to fine tune our journal entries by asking friends for feedback before adding color to our ideas.

We also had a discussion about the new Loose Parts area on the playground.  This is a new provocation put out by the Lower Grade teachers to inspire students to let their imaginations run free with these new materials.  Check out our Discussion Binder to read their ideas.  Friends were also asked to think about how they could add to this area and what materials from home they might be able to bring to school.

Here is a list of materials we have generated that we would love to have more of.  If you could contribute in any way, I know the children would appreciate it!  Happy hunting!

thick ribbons

fabric pieces 1 yard +

rope/thick twine

bungee cords-30

pulleys 20

s hooks 20+

c clamps 20+

metal chain pieces

large and medium binder clips-50 of each

planks and various wood pieces

gutter pieces

PVC and different Pipe Pieces

small/medium light weight balls

matchbox cars

crates

tires

large stumps

logs

bamboo pieces

medium cross section slices of branches

sticks

palm fronds

rocks

Next week, we will be taking an in depth look at maps of our neighborhood.  Since we have gotten very familiar with the world we live in and where our families came from, we are going to be taking a closer look into the neighborhoods that we all come from.

We will also be looking over our initial ideas from the new provocations and providing each other feedback and critique help friends with their work.

Also, we will commence recording for the next episode of I.A. News!

Have a great weekend!
Love, Gaby

Opposites Game Answers: 1) Hot and Cold, 2)  Healthy and Sick, 3)  Running and Walking, 4)  Back and Front, 5)  Low and High, 6)  Clean and Dirty