we're all a student of something

Since the elevator project I have been struggling to determine the next move. An appropriate next step for a project has been eluding me. As I try to incorporate as much of the project approach as I can this year, it's still a new process for me and I am essentially teaching myself through books like Young Investigators. There is quite a bit of trial and error. One of the areas I have been getting hung up on is whether a project should or needs to include the whole class or should be carried out through a small group.

Through my observations at the Tribecca Community School, a workshop I attended at The Advent School and through books I have gotten very rigid, worrying too much about what is "right". I am now beginning to sense that there may not be a right or wrong because our class of 18 students with different language backgrounds is very different from a monolingual class of 12. So I've decided not get so hung up on how another school is carrying out project work, we'll just have to discover our own path.

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A project can be teacher initiated, child initiated or something agreed upon in between. That gray area in between is where we are about the land with our new animal adaptation project. I initiated discussion this week about the change in the season, from fall to winter and have spent time exploring water and ice through small group science experiments. After two days of some talk about winter and ice exploration I was thinking the children would show interest in an ice or snow project. As our conversation unfolded today, all of the ideas and questions generated by the children focused on animals. K wanted to know why birds fly to a warm place. C was curious about how deer travel, H wanted to know why some animals sleep and don't wake up in winter, and there were several more questions. The children certainly showed me where their interest was today and now we're going to run with it.

As the whole class (in general) seems curious about animals, everyone will be able to participate in the project in different ways. I hope to give frequent updates on our project work to keep you up to date and also as a tool for my own reflection.

We already have two field experiences lined up to build our animal knowledge.

On Wednesday, December 8 an animal educator from Queens Zoo will visit our classroom to teach the children about animal adaptation. The program sounds exciting with many hands-on materials like feather and fur.


On Thursday, December 16 we will visit Central Park Zoo and take part in their WinterFest program, which features polar bears and penguins.


I'm really looking forward to what lies ahead and to not knowing exactly what that might be...

play today

In honor of our four day holiday weekend and the extra time for play, here is a great Site from the Lemelson Center for the study of invention and innovation. If you click on the link below, you will find "Discussions on Play," these are great videos which speak to the value of play for children. We want our children to be inquisitive, problem-solvers, and life-long learners...we support this through play.
http://www.inventionatplay.org/matter_main.html

I'm not often going to be singing praises for any television, video games, or technology in general but these are some unique games to try with your child (on a rainy day).
http://www.inventionatplay.org/playhouse_main.html

I'm so inspired by all of the visits families have been making to museums using the Cool Culture card. I spent some time exploring the Cool Culture Site and found a wealth of great information. You can even sign up for monthly newsletters that will keep you in the know about monthly cultural events and exhibits. Spend some time on the Site exploring.
http://coolculture.org/parents/places-visit

helping is a full time job

We have been busy in our community, not just exploring it but helping people in our community as well. So far we have visited the library, the police department, the fire department, and the food pantry.


Thanks to all of your food donations, we were able to bring 106 food items with us on our visit to the pantry.


We will be doing more work throughout the year to raise money and awareness for different people in the world. We will likely be part of a postcard writing project and raise money for Heifer International. This year is such an important period developmentally for our preschool age children, they are beginning to see beyond their wants and needs. Spending so much time this year on exploring the world around us, at school and in the community has been vital in supporting this developmental stage. The food donations we collected and the other fundraising we will do this year are just another way to encourage children to think about others in this world, to build their empathy, and to encourage each child to be a global citizen.



I have an awful memory, yet some of my most vivid and heartfelt memories are of volunteering with my mom when I was a child. We would visit the Children's Home in South Florida every few weeks to play and read with orphans. I am so grateful for the experience and definitely feel it deeply effect a person's ability to perceive beyond themselves, to be generous with time and material goods, and in general empathize with those suffering in the world. Over this holiday season, you may want to consider visiting a soup kitchen, nursing home, or food pantry with your family. If you need any help researching where to go in our community - let me know.

busy builders

As we learn about the people in our community and how they help us we are inspired to work like them. You will see our inspiration this week emerged from the many architects and construction workers who constructed our school, homes, and community.


C's Earth sculpture of which he said "These are the whole Earth and all the pigeons. Then I will do the grand finale for the sculpture." When finished, he also wrote a great original book inspired by his art titled All About The Earth.


A used a different sculpting strategy, poking wire and sticks in it to create marshmallows.


A wrote a story inspired by her sculpture as well. She wanted her words written in Mandarin so her mom could read the book too. Mrs. Lee took dictation, writing A's words in Mandarin.

We've been spending quite a bit of time thinking about how people in our community help us. We've been motivated to plan, draw blueprints, build, and sketch our buildings just like architects and construction workers. Here we are sketching the structures we built.

B is using recycled materials and craft materials to build the school.


C first sketched a blueprint of our whole community and then used recycled materials to construct it.



Ever inspired by
building, we are building with more detail than ever in block center.


We even thought about what the police department might look like the day before we visited...





Does it look the same to you?

Detective O'donnel gave us the grand tour.


Parents thank you for all of your patience and help this week, from parent teacher conferences to our trip to the police department you made it all a success.