IPS/Butler University Laboratory School

Reid and Kristien we working together to create a 3D shape!

Today, during Math Workshop, the kids used marshmallows and toothpicks to create 3D shapes.  Over the past few weeks we have been talking about different kinds of shapes and this week we have moved into 3D.  It was great to see the kids discover the similarities and differences between 2D and 3D shapes.  Wyatt shared at the end, “I learned that 3D shapes almost always need a base.”  Max shared, “Most 3D shapes have faces where regular shapes just have sides!”

As I have shared in previous posts, our class has been exploring many different materials in the last few months.  Since about March, our friends have been using many different materials to tell stories.  The use of materials during Writer’s Workshop is something I actually observed when I was in Portland, Oregon, at the Opal School.  They integrate the arts into Writer’s Workshop and call it Story Workshop.  Kids are allowed to use paints, clay, blocks, and even more to help them tell their stories.  As a class, we have been doing this too for the last few months during Writer’s Workshop.  To show an example of the power of materials, I thought I would share the story of Maxwell and Olivia.

Last week, Maxwell and Olivia were working together to write a story about their first few days of school.  They were using the story people (smaller pictures of each of the students in the classroom) to tell their story.  They were using the story people almost like action figures moving them around and acting out the different parts.  On Thursday, Maxwell and Olivia shared their story.  The rest of the class gave suggestions and asked questions that would help guide Maxwell and Olivia.

Maxwell and Olivia were using the story people to create a story about the beginning of school.

Today, Maxwell and Olivia came back to this story…only this time with a different material.  Today the chose to start writing a book about the same story.  For the entire Writer’s Workshop, the two worked together to add details and different parts to their story.  While we have not had a chance to come back as a class and talk about it, I know that when we do, the story will have even more in it!  Check back later this week to find out about how their story developed with the second material of a blank book!

Maxwell and Olivia, today, working together on their story in a book.

Friends write letters to Mrs. Obama.

Last week, we read a book about school gardens. The kids had so many connections to make with the book it was incredible. One of the things the book mentioned was that Mrs. Obama was a huge supporter of victory gardens and school gardens. One of our friends suggested, “We should tell her about our garden!” The rest of the class was very enthusiastic about this idea. This morning, we made a list of things we could tell Mrs. Obama about our garden. We also decided we would like to try to convince her to come to the Lab School and teach her about worm composting and our chickens. We are working on first drafts and eventually will turn these into final copies we feel proud of to send to the White House. Who knows what will happen?

We are also exploring the world of 3 dimensional shapes this week. Today, friends were invited to create different types of shapes. We then explored their attributes as a group and categorized them. We ended up coming up with two large categories that our shapes could fall into.

Zek and his group work to create 3 dimensional shapes.

Tags: chickens, collaboration, creativity, garden, project

Is our garden growing?

Cameron and Lucas measure the basil.

Some of our friends and our new outdoor compost bin.

Mrs. Argus and one of our beloved friends!

Regan is picking up some very chicken-like behavior… and we like it!

David and Cameron read together and ask questions about their bug.

Tags: chickens, garden, project, responsible

Last week, one of our classmates moved to Michigan.  On Friday, Sophia had her last day in our classroom.  While we all already miss her, we did something very exciting for her today!  Over the past few weeks we have been studying types of letters.  The past few days, we talked about writing friendly letters.  The kids wrote letters to our friend Sophia!  This afternoon, we walked to the mailbox and dropped in our letters to be mailed to Sophia!  I hope she is as excited to receive the mail as we were to write it!

Tyler and CJ are working together to send their letter to Sophia!

Olivia is sending her letter to Sophia!

BreAnna is sending her letter to Sophia!

J'Nayla is sending her letter to Sophia!