IPS/Butler University Laboratory School

Hi there!  So, I just wanted to apologize for the delay in posts.  We do not have internet service at our new house so I have not been able to get posts done.  Tomorrow night though we are supposed to get internet service so then I will be able to get back to the posts each night.

This week we had an amazing turn out for the Space Presentation!  Thank you so much for coming and supporting all of the children in the class!  Like I said that night, I was so proud of each child presenting!  They were so proud of their work and just soaked in all of the attention that you all brought!  Thank you for making it a special night!

Mr. Nored’s last day with us was today.  The kiddos were so sweet making cards for him all day, hugging him, telling him they were going to miss him.  It was precious.  He has become part of our classroom community so we will definitely miss him, but he has a bright future ahead of him in Brownsburg!

Yesterday we started talking about the astronauts (us) coming back into space and how that happens.  We discussed how we know of two ways that astronauts come back into space.  They either land their shuttle like an airplane or they come back and land in water for a safe landing.  So…I brought in some eggs yesterday and the children decorated them like themselves.  Then, today we started making homes for them out of found materials (styrofoam bowls, cups, paper towels, etc.).  Tomorrow we are going to drop them from the top of the slide out on the playground to see if we constructed a safe enough home for our astronaut!  The kiddos are super excited for this astronaut egg drop so pictures will be coming to show what happens tomorrow afternoon!

The day is finally here!!  We have been practicing for weeks for tonight!  This afternoon, we had a dress rehearsal for all of our friends at school. Our play went off without a hitch!  Here is a sneak peek at our costumes.  See you tonight!!

Our dress rehearsal is done!!

Angela answers our daily question.

Today we started talking about the difference between insects and arachnids (spiders are arachnids). We noticed that insects have three body parts and 6 legs, while arachnids have two body parts and 8 legs. We also began a discussion on whether or not spiders are beneficial to our garden. Originally, we assumed they were, because they eat insects that may be harmful to plants. However, upon looking at our daily question responses, a big debate ensued- what if they eat the good bugs for our garden? How can we be sure ALL spiders are eating the right insects?

We discovered a spider when we came in from lunch! He came in from the ceiling and dropped in for a visit.

Today, during Math Workshop, I asked the kids, “How many triangles fit into a square?” As we are talking about Geometry it important to think about more than just sides of shapes 🙂  The kids then got a chance to explore the question and try to come up with the answer.  The great thing is there isn’t just one answer!  The kids have to think about it, talk about it, and explain their reasoning.  This problem really made them think.  We had a lot of talking and explaining so I venture to say we will be working on this problem for a few more days!  I am proud of them for being able to think outside of the box and come up with multiple solutions with explanations.  Here are a few of the ways we answered this question today:

This afternoon, we got to share our chicken knowledge with a second grade class. They seemed very interested and impressed with what we had to share. I was so proud of our friends.

Friends measure our garden plants.

Michael measures the Rosemary. Its eight inches!

We also broke into small groups and measured specific plants in our school garden. Each week, we will graph their growth. We hope to compare certain plant types to one another and discuss why they are growing the way they are.

Today, some friends hosted a Block Roll competition. Ask your child what this was all about!

Friends run and organize the Block Roll competition.

Lately, our class has been very into organizing class events during studio and explore. The other week, friends organized multiple plays for others to attend and watch. I remember during the beginning of the year, friends would sing songs for others. Today, friends organized what they called a Block Roll competition. It was really neat to see the kids organize and orchestrate this class competition on their own. We had so much fun!

Tags: chickens, collaboration, creativity, garden, project