IPS/Butler University Laboratory School

So, today was quite the day! Our friends did such an awesome job helping prepare the garden spaces today. They worked really hard to weed the garden boxes to prepare them for soil and plants. They also tried some of the herbs from the already established garden. They tried rosemary, basil, and broccoli and let me tell you…they LOVED the broccoli!! The last thing they did was clean up some flowers that we have to move in order to put in another garden box. They had such a fun time today, and were definitely loving the herbs tasting!

And then a little after we got back from working in the garden, Nicole Misencik, from WTHR came and did such a wonderful job sharing what she does and why she does it! She shared that she is a scientist which Selah responded, “She is smart!” She showed us a map with high and low pressure and talked about that. She then showed us a temperature map (rainbow map) and talked about the numbers (temperature) correlated with the color, and then she showed us a chart with a whole lot of numbers which helps her decide what to share with the audience. The last thing that she shared was the forecast for the weekend. The children did a great job listening to her and asking questions at the end.

Once we were finished, I asked the children to draw or write something they learned from Nicole, and I was really impressed with what they did!

Overall, a great day filled with fun, learning, and laughter!!

We had an awesome time outside today! The weather was beautiful and the students worked together as a team to get a lot done! We added dirt to the new garden boxes and helped smooth it out.  Ask your child what their favorite part was tonight!

Today was a huge success! A big thank you to our parent volunteers and volunteers from Dow who came to support us. And most importantly, thank you to the kids who made it all possible! More pictures and stories to come soon. For now, ask your learner about their experience and enjoy these pictures.

Tags: Butler, capable, collaboration, garden, project, relationships, responsible

We have been introducing many new activities in Word Study over the past few weeks.  After fall break, word study will move to a workshop structure where the students will complete these different activities independently and I will be able to work with small groups and individualize the instruction! Today the students rolled two cubes and made words with a partner.  For example n + ame = name.  Then they sorted the words into “real words” and “not real words.”  This activity continues to work on word families as well as blending and chunking words.  The students were engaged with their partners and some students even asked to do the activity later during free choice!

Today during our free choice/project work time, our Butler friends presented a fun experience for our friends. They put things in tissue boxes that reminded them of rain (soggy leaves, water, cotton balls), and then asked our friends to put their hands in the boxes to guess what was inside of them. While watching the children put their hands in the boxes, their eyes widened!! It was fun to see them feel it and guess what it was and then actually see what it was!

REMINDERS-
Tomorrow is Garden Day so please make sure your child is in clothes that you are okay to see get dirty. Also, one of the local meteorologists will be here in the afternoon to share her knowledge about meteorology! What a fun-filled day!