IPS/Butler University Laboratory School

Today when friends were playing at the beginning of the day there were some small arguments happening over the toys as well as just not the best of sharing and collaborating with each other so we had a discussion about it before our Morning Meeting began.  We talked about how we are a family and we have to take care of each other each and every day.  So…our greeting was to say hello to our neighbor in the circle and say, “I care for you” as we looked at that person.  At first the children kind of giggled that they were going to say it, but I have to say it was pretty moving  watching each friend say it to their friend.  They stood a little taller and smiled when the person was saying it to them.  After the greeting, I asked the children how they felt, and they said that they felt good!

Our Friendship Circle where we played a couple of games today as well as do our new Friendship Handshake

Saa's Length Hunt work that he prepared today when we were looking for items that matched the string exactly!

Today was such a busy day today!  One thing that was exciting was that Mrs. Clark came with some friends to our room and told us that there was some grass growing in Madeline S. and Cha’kyra’s grass gloves!!  We were so excited to see it growing in their gloves so now we are curious whether or not it will grow in the other gloves.

During Math Workshop today, the children went on a length scavenger hunt, and let me tell you…such an engaging experience for the children!  I gave them a piece of yarn and asked them to find 5 items in the room that were shorter than the string they had.  Then, they had to write that object down and measure it.  The children were very excited about this experience, and what they do not know is that we are going to do it tomorrow except this time they have to find items that match exactly with their string.

At the end of the day today we met with our friends in Mrs. Argus, Miss Estridge, and Mrs. Clark’s classes.  We went in the gym and played Woof together.  Then we had a discussion about the message centers we have in our rooms.  Mrs. Clark led a great conversation with them about figuring out a way we could write messages to each other.  Sophia suggested putting the message centers in the hallway so that we can write messages to each other.  Then Oliver said, “We could tape them altogether!”  We are going to put this into effect on Monday so we are all pretty excited.

Some of Mrs. Clark's friends observing our grass gloves!

Jett measuring a book that is shorter than his string.

In the gym ready for some community gathering!

So today we started talking about biographies and main ideas.  In school we have been talking about non-fiction for a couple of weeks now.  Now we are talking about non-fiction specifically biographies.  We read a book today that the children thought was fiction when we started because of the colorful pictures and story like plot, but then after we read it the children and I discussed that it was a biography because it was about a real person.  They really enjoyed it so I am excited to talk about it more tomorrow with them!

In Reader’s Workshop we just started having the conversation about the main idea of the story.  We have talked a lot about “What is the story about?” but we have not dived into usually the vocabulary of “What is the main idea?”  Today we read a non-fiction book about tornadoes (which the children were SO fascinated by), and then we talked about the main idea and what they thought it was.  Most said, “TORNADOES!”  But we talked about being a bit more specific to tell what the overall idea of the book was.  The main idea is that the book is giving us information about tornadoes so we are more knowledgeable about them.  I then asked the children to draw the main idea on a piece of paper.  They did a really nice job of drawing tornadoes.  Tomorrow we will explore adding words to the page so that it explains the main idea.

This week we are experiencing a new science experiment that is exploring volume, properties of water, and observation.  The children with Mr. Nored there beside them take a dry penny.  Then they predict how many drops of water they think they can drop on a penny before it spills off the penny.  Was there prediction correct or not?  I have seen so much engagement with this experience so I look forward to seeing more of this throughout the week.

This week we are talking about what would be the most appropriate tools to measure something.  Yesterday we put a straight piece of tape on the ground.  Then, I asked them, “How long is it?”  We talked about what we could use, and we talked about why we thought that tool would be most appropriate.  Today we added a zig zag line next to the long line of tape, and I posed the question, “Which one is longer?”  We had such a great discussion about which one was longer and why they thought that.  Then, we talked about which tool would be most appropriate.  The zig zag line although it looked shorter was actually longer than the long line of tape.  It was such a great experience with the children where I saw their thoughts blossom and be respected among the other peers in their group.

Jason doing the penny/water experiment!

Makayla, Oliver, and Isaac working together to measure the zigzag line.

Miss Estridge celebrating the achievements of a lunch agreement follower!

Over the past few weeks, our class has been brainstorming ways for us to make a more peaceful lunch. One day right before winter break, we came to the conclusion we needed lunch agreements to guide us and our peers in a successful lunch time. As a class, we drafted five agreements and then asked our fellow classes for suggestions. Each friend in our class had a chance to present the agreements to the other classes and field questions and comments regarding them. We were met with overwhelming support from our peers and created draft posters with our five agreements on them.

1. Eat your food.

2. Talk in a whisper (soft voice)

3. Listen to all teachers

4. Stay in  your seat.

5. Be peaceful (kind and calm)

Each day at the end of lunch, the teachers on lunch duty have taken time to acknowledge friends from all the classes that are following these lunch agreements. They have been met with celebration from their friends and much applause. It has been a powerful experience to see the kids start to hold one another accountable for a more enjoyable lunch experience. I even had a friend (who shall remain anonymous 🙂 ) say, “Boy my family could use some lunch agreements!”

Friendly conversation!

Tags: friendship