Today was phase two of our mosaic project: grouting. The thinset had hardened up, and the tiles were (for the most part) stuck in place, so today’s job was filling in the cracks. Everyone got a paper cup full of
Weekly Summary: Water testing – Neutrons – Nature Study
This week we used an Urban Water Test Kit from LaMotte. We tested water from the sink in the kitchen and water from the DesPlaines River. There were a number of quick tests we could do. We decided on Oxygen,
Weekly Summary: Op Art Hands – Electrons – Art
In today’s art lesson, we took on an op art drawing, based on this video. I showed them Bridget Riley’s 1961 Movement in Squares, and we discussed its illusion and effect on the viewer. We even widened the scope momentarily
Weekly Summary: Collaborative Art – Muons – Art
This week we focused on team work, collaboration and creativity. Each group of students had the opportunity to create a 2-d project on paper using varying mediums from crayon to sharpie and paint. There was an opportunity to work on
Weekly Summary: Autumn Tree study – Quarks – Nature Study
Autumn is a great time to begin a yearlong tree study. This week the children picked a tree that they can visit and observe regularly. We observed different trees. They adopted a tree to be their very own special tree
Weekly Summary: First Nations – Neutrons – Nature Study
We started off discussing what we thought First Nations meant. Which lead to a brief discussion on whether they had grocery stores for food, or home depot for building supplies. To which they whole group emphatically decided that wanted to
Weekly Summary: Mosaic – Electrons – Art
Today we took advantage of the lovely weather to work outside on some mosaics. I introduced the idea by showing off some of Chicago-based artist Edgar Miller’s mosaic work. We passed around the dry thinset mortar, and they started positioning
Weekly Summary: Book spine poetry – Muons – Language Arts
Today we worked on book spine poetry with books contributed by most if not all of the Muons. The idea is to create poems using book titles. It was hard for some of us to get going, but we did
Weekly Summary: Poetry – Muons – Language Arts
Today we worked on poetry appreciation by reading 3 poems, “My Device”, “I Want a Dog”, and “I’m Not Hungry Anymore” from the book: No More Poems!: A Book of Verse That Just Gets Worse. We discussed our emotional responses
Weekly Summary: Bean Bags! – Quarks – Gym
Today we played with bean bags! I love bean bags. Everyone got a bean bag, and we practiced throwing them to ourselves. Next we switched hands, and then tried catching them on the back of our hand. We paired up,