Embedded Files
In the Studio with Nina
In the Studio with Nina
This week we’re sharing a deeper look into our beautiful Me Boxes. This project has been a multi-week endeavor across all ages. Each child received a 5x7” white cardboard box that they were invited to design, decorate, and fill in a way that shared their stories. The boxes are truly mixed media, with marker, chalk pastels, paint, watercolors, yarn, collage, clay, and found objects coming together to create a box that represents each child (and several teachers!) at Randolph School.
Children chose photos from magazines that spoke to them, they formed things they loved or reminders of special memories out of clay, they painted their boxes with favorite colors. We are excited to display these and see how each child can find a link or connection with other kids at Randolph through what is displayed in their boxes. How many children have a picture of a tree frog? How many have a Minecraft drawing? How many have a stretch of finger knitting in their boxes?
In addition to our Me Boxes, evan and Nina have collaborated with each other and the children to create some really special Randolph Memory Specimen Boxes- we used biology specimen containers, that would typically be used in experiments, to collect tiny specimens that represent different memories from our time at Randolph School- a tiny bit of dirt from under the swings, a corner of a tissue from the Upstairs cubby room, a bit of grass from the sledding hill, and many more. From there, we documented, with photographs and drawings in our sketchbooks, what we’d collected and labeled our specimens. These memory explorations have taken us all over campus and are part of an ongoing look at our place here. We are excited to see where this work takes us next.
Back in the Stacks with Siobhan
Back in the Stacks with Siobhan
Steps to Using the Library Part 1:
How to Use a Shelf Marker to Browse for Books:
Find your shelf marker.
2. Locate a book that looks interesting/useful and slide your shelf marker in next to that book.
3. Pull the book off the shelf, leaving the shelf marker in its place.
4. Take a look in the book and decide if you want to check it out.
5. If you don’t want the book, slide it back onto the shelf right next to the shelf marker.
6. Remove the shelf marker and move on to the next.
(Thanks to Ian for being our model!)
Other library news:
Other library news:
Kids around here have lots of questions and the library space has been abuzz with research. The Elder Guardians have been in the library making connections between apple picking and migrant farmworkers. The Barn Owls have started asking questions about Uganda and life in refugee camps as they prepare to start a big project. The Robins and Kittens need answers about lots of different trees and animals (mosquitoes, bears, and trout to name a few) to help them make masks for Masquerade Parade. The Fungi Friends often need books about flowers, trees, leaves, animals, and mermaids.
We are exploring all the books in the library to find answers and starting to experiment with kid-friendly online resources like Google Earth and Encyclopedia Britannica Elementary. So far, Google Earth has been a big hit and I’m sure together we will come up with all sorts of ways to incorporate this tool into our learning throughout the year!
Notes From the Field With evan and Amy
Notes From the Field With evan and Amy
Harvest Math
Harvest Math
The harvest is in! After picking apples at Meadowbrook Farm and digging for potatoes in our garden at Randolph we had boxes and boxes of produce to transform into delicious food. When confronted with the bounty the children were naturally curious. How many potatoes did we grow this year? Did we grow more than last year? How many apples makes a gallon of cider? These questions felt important to our learners and there was only one way to find out. Counting!
Collaboratively counting objects can be tricky. Initial attempts were frustrating and inaccurate. This kind of struggle is an important part of the learning process. we weren't just counting, we were creating systems and tools that led to efficiency and accuracy. This is this kind of layered learning that the Links team is always striving when we design learning opportunities.
How We Build Our Links Curriculum:
How We Build Our Links Curriculum:
We counted two separate boxes of apples:
We counted two separate boxes of apples:
Box 1 had 111 apples
Box 2 had 128 apples
For a combined total of 239 apples!
We used these apples to press cider on Friday. We pressed 3 boxes of apples and made 10 gallons of cider! Giving us a delicious reason to keep creating apple math challenges.
How many apples makes one gallon of cider?
The Upstairs Neighborhood Counting Potatoes and Pumpkins:
The Upstairs Neighborhood Counting Potatoes and Pumpkins:
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