100 Languages of Snow

 Despite the pouring rain today, we are talking about snow.

Over the weekend, some families conducted a mini-inquiry at home. On Monday and Tuesday, children brought in their representations of snow and snowflakes to share.

This is a great example of the principle of "100 Languages of Children" - no too representations are the same, yet they all celebrate learning about the same topic.

Every child brings his or her own past experiences and personal strengths to their explorations and their representations.

Communicating ideas is an integral part of a child's education and personal development.

Our learning is continuing in the classroom, with many students creating new representations of snowflakes.

 Be it stories, photos, paper, paint, fimo, markers, coffee filters, stamps, pipecleaners or pompoms, our children can communicate clearly with others. We just need to listen for each of their unique 100 Languages.

How heavy, how far, how tall, how much?

We've started a new inquiry about measurement. The children started comparing their heights, so we created a growth chart to represent their findings.

Using a variety of tools, the children have been exploring many different forms of measurement in addition to height. Owen, Patrick, and a few other children are very interested in the trundle wheel, used to measure distance.

"Look, I went all the way to the end of the hall. I hear clicks. I think they happen when
that little thing rubs against the metal part." -Owen

"If I run out, I can put another stick. Line them up, like this." -Jaxin
"Let's measure the carpet. Line it up at the edge, guys!" -Keegan
"I counted them to measure." -Ayden

We've been exploring capacity and volume at the water table and the sand box. Yesterday we used the skills in a practical context to make juice. We then connected our learning to our inquiry about ice by making juice pops.

"Measure 3 cans of water. You have to go right to the top." -Sarah

The weighing centre has been set up to explore mass and weight. The children use found objects and some of our "Beautiful Stuff" we collected to play with the scales.

"When it goes down, it's heavier. The big rocks weighs more than the small rock." - Aidan
"I add to this one to make it heavier." -Gavin
"Now it's balanced!" -Makayla

As our inquiry into measurement continues, we will be exploring ways to use our bodies to measure, such as foot prints and hand spans.

Parents can help support this inquiry at home by inviting children to help in the kitchen, or to experiment with the bathroom scale. Ask: "Which is bigger? Heavier? Longer? How do you know?"

Run, run, as fast as you can

We've been reading various versions of the Gingerbread Man, and comparing the similar-yet-different stories.

To cap off our learning, we baked our own Gingerbread Man.

But there was an exciting surprise when we went to get him from the oven....He was gone! In his place he left a note that sent us looking for him around the school.

We first went to the library...no luck there. Just another note.

We found some Smartie crumbs he lost during his mad dash.

We checked the office.

 We checked with Mrs Fowler and Mr Crawford.

We asked Joselyn from the daycare.

"He's about this big! Did you see him?"

 We checked the fountains, and found his last clue.

We had to find room 132...turns out it was our room!

As quick as we could, we ate him up so he couldn't run away again.

And that's what became of the Gingerbread Man!

Lovely Latkes

We made latkes to celebrate Hanukkah today! Thanks to Lindsay for her help.

Look at it bubble! It's getting golden brown.

Soak up the grease. Careful it's hot!

I tried it and like it!

Bey blades are beautiful

Our math centre continues to be the hub of "bey blade" action it was weeks ago. We are amazed at the sustained interest in building and testing these spinning toys.

Last week, I visited the centre with the camera and snapped an action shot:

 The boys were fascinated at how different the t-shaped toy looked in motion. Suddenly it transformed shape into a circle, and the colours became blended.

I handed the camera over the the boys to snap their own shots.

They were especially intrigued how the square "bey blades" were also transformed into a circle.

Three of the boys wanted to document their observations by painting their spinning bey blades, using the photos as a guide.

We continue to search for ways of deepening the learning happening at this centre, through oral discussions, artwork, and scientific experiments.

Beautiful Stuff

With the help of our generous families, we've begun a new inquiry: Beautiful Stuff.

The inquiry process is the basis of all science, and also plays a large role in the arts. We have been teaching the children about this process, to help them move through the cycle.

wonder => explore => plan => observe => share ideas => wonder....

For our Beautiful Stuff inquiry, we wondered what sort of objects children find interesting and attractive. We wonder what can be learned using everyday objects.

Then we started to explore.

 Here are some quotes from the children:

"Daddy gardens with this (shows seeds). Lookit! Here's some shells!" -Payton

"I put them in all by myself because they are beautiful. We can all share the stickers." -Gavin

"A necklace my mom doesn't use much anymore." - Aidan G

"I went to Daddy's workshop. He has stuff everywhere all over the basement." -Caitlyn

"Ethan! Look I found money!" -Kaden

"I'll use this to find treasure!" - Ethan

"These are goggles I think. You need this circle here." - Owen

Already, Katy and I have made some observations. The children are highly engaged in the objects, and at first they were quite possessive over them. There were a few instances where kids found an object that particularly attracted them, and they tried to take it home. (A natural extention of their magpie tendencies that inspired the project!) But since we have combined the items in a large container, they are starting to share and let go of their possesive feelings.

Now we are in the planning and observing stages, with lots of wondering and exploring still going on. We made a plan to sort the items and in the process, we're discovering new little treasures.

This will be a long-term and ongoing inquiry, so watch for more posts over the next month or two.