IPS/Butler University Laboratory School

Today there were many new things in our classroom! Friends noticed new Story Workshop materials, which are currently themed around gardening and the outdoors. Friends loved investigating the different types of seeds and tried out some dramatic play with garden tools. Friends were also greeted today by a large contraption with a big light on it- an indoor grow lab! The kids were invited to guess what they thought it was. Many friends thought it had something to do with growing things indoors… we will find out soon! We also did some work in our garden today. We talked about the importance of mulch and learned that it helps retain water and keeps weeds from growing. We plan on doing a little work in the garden each day this week. We also spent our recess time in this beautiful space just as a class and played games. Tomorrow, other classes from our recess time will be invited to spend time in the space. Its so wonderful- and now we can really enjoy its beauty!

We also have a new message center in class. Each child has a small envelope with their picture on it posted on the wall. Throughout the day, friends can write notes and messages to one another and put them in one another’s envelopes. The messages are small, so friends need to be very thoughtful about what they are putting on the notes. So far, it has been a big hit with our class. This is one of many ways we continue to develop our community of friends.

Tags: friendship, garden, project, responsible

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

Last week, Mr. Henderson asked our friends, “Where do potato chips come from?” It led to some very interesting conversation about how exactly a chip is made. We came up with three main theories

1. chips are made by cutting a potato in half and cooking it

2. chips are made by mashing them and cooking it

3. chips are made by slicing a potato thin and cooking it

Today, our daily question asked the kids which method they believed would get the best results. We found that our class had almost an exact three way tie with the three theories. After some talking as a group, Breanna and Addie suggested something clever- why not try all three ways? We prepped three potatoes in three different ways and baked them. Friends wrote predictions as to which way they believed would work best. We talked about how we were being like scientists predicting and testing results. It also reminded us of chefs that have to create recipes for others to enjoy! After testing the three potatoes, we discovered that thin slicing was definitely the way to go with the rest of our potatoes. The results were delicious. We are finding that one of the best parts of sharing a treat as a class is sitting in a big circle and talking with one another. Miles commented that it felt like we “were a family” when we sat in such a way. J’Den said, “It feels like we’re all riding our bikes together when we eat like this.” Such a beautiful analogy for their feeling of community in our classroom.

Tags: cooking, curious, friendship, project

Today we had a wonderful day- a harvest and celebration! In th afternoon, our Butler Friends and Mr. Henderson led three small groups that harvested, prepared and cooked food for our class to share together. Miss Saks and friends created cinnamon muffins with eggs from the chickens, Miss Bickel and friends harvested and cooked brussels sprouts from our garden, and Mr. Henderson and Miss Weese and friends brewed lemon tea with fresh lemon balm from Mrs. Argus’ home garden!

One of the things we are focusing on as we begin this food/eating/garden project and experience is how food brings us together as a community. While enjoying our food together, we had discussions on friendship and how it felt to prepare for and have food prepared for us by friends. We talked about how it made us feel to enjoy food together and spend time with one another in this way. Friends said they felt…

special

yummy

fuzzy inside

important

happy

We will continue to investigate the ideas of harvest, feast, and community during our time together at school. We are looking forward to what conversations come from our big garden day Wednesday and our field trip to the orchard Friday!

Tags: chickens, community, friendship, garden, project

Yesterday, one of our Block A students, Miss Weese, led an experience on the senses. She and a small group of students harvested basil and peppers from our garden and then created a dip to enjoy! The whole class got to taste the dip and talked about how it connected to their five senses.

It tasted like Basil!  Regan

It tasted sweet! Addie

I think it smelled like cheese. Dylan

Its a different kind of smell- cheese and watery. Amiah

I hear the dipping. Addie

I heard the sounds of people crunching. And I heard a scrape when I dipped the pepper! Tajanaye

I think it feels good to make your own food. That way you can grow big and strong. J’Den

I also wanted to share something we have been spending a lot of time on during Reader’s Workshop- reading strategies. The past two weeks, we have been working on Ready Rooster (getting ready for the first sound in the word) and Stretchy Snake (stretching the word for all the sounds you hear). This week, we have been working with Chunky Monkey (finding word parts that are friendly to you and chunking them as you read). Mr. Henderson created this amazing and funny video on blabberize.com with a monkey talking with his voice. We have been projecting it on the big screen and having the kids do chunking activities with the Chunky Monkey. The kids LOVE it!

Tags: garden, project, reading