IPS/Butler University Laboratory School

Last week, we started working in partners during Math Workshop.  We work in partners in Reader’s and Writer’s Workshop, but this is new for Math.  It has been wonderful to watch the kids talk with each other and share their ideas.  In the past, we have had time to share during our group time, but partner work only adds to that communication.  Now the kids can exchange ideas and explain their thinking even more!

Dorothy and Tyler are working together on their math problem.

Wyatt and David are working together on their math problem.

Last week we started story workshop particularly creating stories to support our new students coming into our school community. This week our children are still working on their stories but they are writing letters to go along with their artwork story. There have only been three students who have started writing their letters (the rest our really engaged in creating their illustration of their story), and I have really been impressed with the length, vocabulary, and detail that has been out into them. Below is Jonah’s letter he wrote to a new friend.

This week and until school is out we are going to explore mysteries and how asking and answering questions throughout reading mysteries can create opportunities for better understanding and more critical thinking. Today we kicked off our mystery fun with reading “Jumanji”. The children were so engaged and so interested in predicting throughout the book that it created such a fun and exciting time to read aloud!

This afternoon, we went out to our garden and picked some spinach.  The kids were so excited to actually use something that we have been growing for the last few weeks.

Messi, from Mrs. Argus' class showed us how to pick the spinach.

J'Nayla and Olivia are working together to pick the spinach.

After our picking, we went inside and made our salad.  Each friend had a salad full of spinach, mandarin oranges, apples, grapes, and strawberries.

We love our salad!

"Healthy food is so good!" ~Selah

The last couple of weeks we have been studying geometry in our class. The beginning of this week we started making 3-D shapes using toothpicks and gum drops, and it was really interesting seeing what the children made. I talked about how 3-D shapes have multiple faces to them but I did not say specifically what each shape was because I wanted to see what the children would come up with on their own.

Today I introduced 3-D foam shapes during our morning choices and then during math workshop I challenged the children to work together to make those shapes out of gum drops and toothpick. We had a wonderful discussion on how hard it was to make a sphere with toothpicks and marshmallows because the toothpicks were so straight, but Isaac came up with using clay to help us make that curved part of the sphere.

Tomorrow we are going to use whatever materials we need to to make the 3-D shapes and then really discuss what the various shapes are so the children can name what they have been making all week!

Scaffolding the geometry experiences and allowing the children to really construct their own learning this way will hopefully make this information that they are learning about geometry and shapes last longer!

To add on to our exploration of 3D shapes, today we went on a shape hunt.  The kids had 6 different shapes that they needed to find around the room.  They worked in partners to help one another find the shapes.  The kids recognized lights, books, tables, papers, and even more as different 3D shapes!

CJ and Dorothy were working together to find 3D shapes.

Raki and Olivia were working together to find 3D shapes.