Life Science and Fairy Houses
/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.
