IPS/Butler University Laboratory School

Journey delivers valentines.

Michael and Aidan love those fruit kabobs!

Delivering valentines!

Our class enjoys friendship bingo!

The kids were very excited to bring in their Valentines and create cards for their friends today! I love how much care and thought the kids put into creating their messages for their friends. They had a blast distributing their friends’ cards into their personalized valentine bags- it was quite the job! We also got to enjoy some special treats (check out the fruit kabobs we got to eat-yum!) and played friendship bingo.

P.E. with our Butler Physical Education friends was a success as well. The kids were  a part of various movement activities and games for their morning time with their instructor. They practiced skipping, running, and jogging, as well as telling time on a giant clock (such a fun game, the instructor called out a time and the kids had to run to it) and becoming aware of their physical space. The kids also practiced directions like “left” and “right” and “clockwise”. We will continue to practice these directions as part of our daily routine.

Tags: Butler, friendship

Tomorrow, we begin a new experience with a group of physical education students from Butler. Our kids will get to meet with them two times a week for seven weeks and engage in various movement activities. It should be a very fun and rewarding experience!

Tomorrow is also our class Friendship/Valentine’s Parties. Please remember to have your child bring their valentines if they did not choose to make any at school.

Thursday evening is our parent organization meeting at 6pm. Please join us as we form committees and get to action!

Next Monday there is no school due to President’s Day. We will see you back on Tuesday, the 21st.

Tags: Butler, family focus, friendship

Journey and Monica work on some valentines.

Zek suggests we name the fish.

This morning, our friends noticed a new classmate swimming on one of our counters- a beautiful blue beta fish. The kids were so intrigued by our new friend and many visited with him throughout the day.  David asked, “What’s the fish’s name?” and Zek suggested we vote on a name. After listening to many suggestions, we narrowed it down to five choices and the name Harper won by a landslide. What a nice name for a fish! The kids also suggested we create agreements for Harper. Sascha came up with such a wonderful one- “Be kind to the fish. Say nice things to the him.” What a fabulous way to not only practice kindness to animals but also our friendship skills we have been working so hard on refining.

While we had a new pet in our room today, we did not forget our two class pets aquired last week by the help of our friend, Ruth. Two beautiful earth worms have also made their home in our classroom. During studio and explore, the kids enjoyed observing and handling the worms.

Ruth helps Tajanaye gently handle the worm.

The kids also enjoyed something new in our classroom- dress up. I have a variety of vintage dress up clothes that are brightly colored and fun to try on. We even have some funky hats too that accessorize the perfect outfit. The kids loved trying on the clothes and putting on shows with them. If you have any old clothes that you would like to donate and think might make fun dress up outfits, please let me know. I see this as something the kids will be enjoying for a while!

"We're going on a cruise!"

Hutton- you are fabulous looking!

Tags: creativity, curious, friendship, responsible

We play one of our morning community building games, WHO IS IT? with our Butler friends.

Miss Roby reads to us about gardens.

We work on our large class clock, now including minutes.

Lucas and Hutton hit the dance floor at the end of a busy day.

We had another great day today. We were joined by our Butler Block A students, Miss Pistello, Miss Roby, Miss Barr, and Miss Legg. The kids are enjoying getting to know our new friends through games, working in small groups, and working individually with these adults.

Tags: Butler, friendship

Predicting and testing.

Ruth and Christian begin an investigation.

This afternoon during studio and explore, I noticed three friends, Jenesis, Ruth, and Christian, building very enthusiastically over in the block area. After observing for a while, it was evident what they were working very hard to create- a marble launcher! They noticed their marbles didn’t have enough speed to get to the end of their almost 8 foot launcher. After trying different things out independently, Ruth said, “I think it needs more force!” The kids agreed, and together, they lifted the beginning piece higher. Christian said, “It’s higher, and the marble is more powerful.” Jenesis agreed. Their enthusiasm for their project spread through the classroom. By the end of the afternoon, there were almost 10 kids working together to shoot multiple marbles across the launcher. All were working together, communicating with their words, after careful observation and trial and error.

The building continues.

The group is enthused! A second marble launcher begins…

Tags: collaboration, creativity, curious, design, friendship, motivation, problem solving