June 15, 2021

That's a Wrap!

June 15, 2021/ Aja Appel

What a roller coaster of a year! Faced with many unknowns and constant change, what held us together was a strong sense of community, unwavering resilience, and ample doses of flexibility. While this year was never what we would have chosen, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that there’s not a better group of students with whom I’d want to weather this COVID storm. I’m immensely proud of their positive attitudes, their enthusiasm for learning, and their care for one another. I watched this group of students show up on Zoom day in and day out with smiles on their faces. Their positive energy made distance learning fun. Mid year we welcomed three new/returning Otters into the community with open arms. When most of us returned to in-person learning in March, the Otters continued to hold space and include their classmates with modified or distance learning schedules. We learned much this year and came out stronger, better people through it all. Cheers to our Otter community and these amazing students who will go on to change the world for the better. May your summers be filled with much relaxation, adventure, and connection with loved ones.

June 15, 2021

Outdoor Day

June 15, 2021/ Aja Appel

Outdoor Day did not disappoint. We packed a week’s worth of excitement into one day! We spent the day playing on the sand volleyball court, dancing with ribbons, running through sprinklers, celebrating four birthdays, catching insects, and eating ice cream! We also squeezed in some shaving cream play and watched a torrential downpour from inside Berglund. We were excited that our Otters with modified schedules were able to join us for our last day together. We ended the day by watching a slideshow of memories from the year.

Yesterday afternoon we distributed memory books. We called up each student individually to share what we loved and appreciate about that specific child. Then we presented him/her with a book full of memories from the year. We had fun laughing and reflecting over our year together. I hope these books are a memento that students will forever treasure.

June 14, 2021

Engineer Guest Speakers

June 14, 2021/ Aja Appel

Last week we had guest speakers come to talk to us about engineering projects. On Wednesday we invited innovator and engineer, Jessamy Taylor, to visit us on Zoom. Jessamy showed us design plans and examples of a prosthetic climbing foot that she created. She described some of her other engineering and design projects as well. Students were fascinated to hear about her experiences rock climbing at smith rock too. You can read more about Jessamy Taylor here.

Brooke and Maddie are high school seniors from a local robotics team who came in to show us the robot they created for competition. This robot could pick up rings and toss them accurately into a box! It could also move quite quickly and pick up other objects.

Jessamy, Brooke, and Maddie all stressed the importance of persistence in engineering. Their inventions never worked perfectly the first time. Instead, their inventions took much trial and error. All of these remarkable engineers mentioned enjoying building, inventing, and exploring from a young age- just like our Otter students! Hearing from these amazing role models was a fitting way to end our Inspiring Individuals unit.

June 14, 2021

Life Science and Fairy Houses

June 14, 2021/ Aja Appel

Our outdoor classroom plants are growing like crazy! Many plants in our pollinator garden and meadow are as tall as our students. Lately we’ve noticed several beautiful butterflies and moths fluttering around our gardens. Sometimes, if we’re incredibly gentle, we can coax one to land on our hands or shoulders. What a delight! Today we noticed an unusual creature in our mason bee house. It appeared to be a wasp or a spider, but we were unable to get a close enough look at its body. If you look carefully in the photo of the mason bee house below, you may be able to see the creature hiding in a dark corner of the house.

Young children are often enchanted with the idea of magical creatures, such as a fairies. Last week Otter students worked individually or in groups to design fairy gardens. Students started by brainstorming and sketching plans. Then they set to work collecting materials and setting up their fairy gardens. Some students decided to set up their fairy gardens at school and others took home their creations to set up a fairy garden at home. These fairy gardens are a work in progress, so I don’t have final photos. Fingers are crossed that we get some magical visitors…

At choice time each day students are invited to pursue their own interests, answer their own questions, and become exposed to new ideas and activities. Last week Carter taught several students how to create interesting art and jewelry with loom bands. Morgan has been showcasing her sewing, and Audrey has been creating various paint and sensory projects. Several students have been modeling with clay while others design collaborative Magnatile structures. Much social negotiation, problem solving, and collaboration takes places during this time of day. Other popular choice time activities have been working on Google Slides presentations and typing up science books on the laptop. During this time of day Sawyer has been teaching kids how to play Chess on the iPad while others are running a pizza store and gaining experience counting change and experiencing a simulation of running a business. Many students have been excited to try OSMO coding or Scratch Jr. where they are learning foundational coding skills. If you were to visit our classroom during choice time you would hear a happy hum of activity as students grow in numerous ways- socially, emotionally, and academically. This is also a time of day where students are gaining experience with executive functioning skills. Students are required to make a plan, decide the steps that need to be taken to achieve their plan, and then execute those steps.