This past week in Art, we focused on felt as our material of the day. We used cereal-box cardboard to create a template for Mardi-Gras style masks. The kids then covered the base template with felt and other decorations to
We went on a (somewhat) winter hike last week with quarks. We hopped, we slid, we jogged and then raced some. Students utilized a fallen tree as nature’s balance beam, and they also came across a mound and got busy
We explored the WONDERFUL world of summary, which will take three class meetings. This first round involved reviewing what summaries are and why we do them. Some students had STRONG feelings about summary (negative, of course), so I encouraged them
This week in art for both Neutrons and Electrons, we finished up our compositions that work with negative space as both the foreground focal point and as the background. Everybody’s projects turned out wonderful! Some students had a little extra
Yesterday was National Take a Hike Day, so we took full advantage and enjoyed a hike with each class. Electrons and Neutrons hiked to the place we have a mutual understanding is named Nature’s Playground. You likely know the spot
Both classes opened with great stretching and then a quick run around the pavilion and back. We moved into relays — bear crawls and crab crawls, and the winning team (in both classes) chose to finish up with a rousing
The previous week we talked about natural selection, and this past week we discussed a strategy that often arises out of natural selection: cooperation! First I lined them up on a clothesline and asked them to — while keeping their
We spent the time listening to this episode of Smash Boom Best, a lively debate show. We all made notes as we listened, and paused it frequently so we could discuss the proceedings. We talked about debate and persuasion in general, hopefully in
On Thursday we talked over camouflage and natural selection from the perspective of both predator and prey. For the first exercise, everyone got a paper bag and stuffed it with leaves, then we threw them in a pile and sorted
Today we dove into rivers! We opened with an activity drawn from here, adapted for the younger crowd… We joined hands and made ourselves into a simple, winding river. We talked about the ways in which rivers move (and some silly
