IPS/Butler University Laboratory School

This morning, Regan and Messi came in and began looking at the light table area together. At this area, we have a provocation that says, “Where does food come from?” and various seeds, bones, dried herbs, and books about food preparation. Its a neat place that the kids are naturally drawn to throughout the day. Unique to their exploration this morning, Messi and Regan came up with an idea- “Lets write a story here- together!” Messi and Regan each grabbed books and writing materials and began crafting a story together. They negotiated what would happen in their story and took turns acting it out on the light table with the materials. They worked in complete harmony. We used their example as a teaching point today during story workshop. Messi and Regan shared their process of working together and friends were encouraged to work with a friend to tell their stories. We had some really great partnerships and some really fun stories come out of this collaborative experience. It is my goal that eventually,  the children begin to collaborate during Reader’s Workshop and Math Workshop as well.

Tags: collaboration, story telling, story workshop

Tomorrow night at 6 p.m. there will be a meeting for anyone who can volunteer to help with the Carnival! Hope to see many of you there!

Last week, Mr. Henderson asked our friends, “Where do potato chips come from?” It led to some very interesting conversation about how exactly a chip is made. We came up with three main theories

1. chips are made by cutting a potato in half and cooking it

2. chips are made by mashing them and cooking it

3. chips are made by slicing a potato thin and cooking it

Today, our daily question asked the kids which method they believed would get the best results. We found that our class had almost an exact three way tie with the three theories. After some talking as a group, Breanna and Addie suggested something clever- why not try all three ways? We prepped three potatoes in three different ways and baked them. Friends wrote predictions as to which way they believed would work best. We talked about how we were being like scientists predicting and testing results. It also reminded us of chefs that have to create recipes for others to enjoy! After testing the three potatoes, we discovered that thin slicing was definitely the way to go with the rest of our potatoes. The results were delicious. We are finding that one of the best parts of sharing a treat as a class is sitting in a big circle and talking with one another. Miles commented that it felt like we “were a family” when we sat in such a way. J’Den said, “It feels like we’re all riding our bikes together when we eat like this.” Such a beautiful analogy for their feeling of community in our classroom.

Tags: cooking, curious, friendship, project

Today we had a wonderful day- a harvest and celebration! In th afternoon, our Butler Friends and Mr. Henderson led three small groups that harvested, prepared and cooked food for our class to share together. Miss Saks and friends created cinnamon muffins with eggs from the chickens, Miss Bickel and friends harvested and cooked brussels sprouts from our garden, and Mr. Henderson and Miss Weese and friends brewed lemon tea with fresh lemon balm from Mrs. Argus’ home garden!

One of the things we are focusing on as we begin this food/eating/garden project and experience is how food brings us together as a community. While enjoying our food together, we had discussions on friendship and how it felt to prepare for and have food prepared for us by friends. We talked about how it made us feel to enjoy food together and spend time with one another in this way. Friends said they felt…

special

yummy

fuzzy inside

important

happy

We will continue to investigate the ideas of harvest, feast, and community during our time together at school. We are looking forward to what conversations come from our big garden day Wednesday and our field trip to the orchard Friday!

Tags: chickens, community, friendship, garden, project

This morning, Ms. Simpson gave me four Hedge Apples she found on her way to school. What’s a Hedge Apple, you ask? That’s what we were trying to figure out all day! The odd looking, wrinkly fruits are green and fresh smelling, and come from certain trees located in the Meridian-Kessler neighborhood. We presented them to the kids this morning and asked them, “What is a Hedge Apple?” After a little bit of research and talking to some other adults who knew of the strange fruit, we learned that some people believe Hedge Apples have special powers- particularly keeping away spiders and insects. Friends were then inspired to create their own magic Hedge Apple stories throughout their free time and during Story Workshop. We hope to learn more about these intriguing things Monday!

Tags: curious, garden, inspiration, story telling, story workshop