We are deep into our winter adventures, as we explore the changing landscape and observe the animals in our environment! We have also been working together to take care of the maple trees and the birds, as they prepare for winter in their own ways. Each day, at Morning Gathering, we have a question or prompt written by the teachers that connects or extends our current thinking and learning. We recently introduced the concept of dormancy with regards to our maple trees, as we prepare to put them to bed at Winter Celebration so that they can get their rest before making sap in later winter. Our opening query was, "how do you go to sleep?" We helped the children recognize similarities and differences between each others' routines and connect our bedtime routines with the maple trees. The next day, when we brainstormed what gift we could give Beetle - the maple tree that the Downstairs is caring for this year - we thought about what might make Beetle feel cozy during Beetle's winter nap. In addition to the maple trees and plants, we also considered what animals might do in the winter and how they even know it is winter! We have been talking more about the calendar, as 2024 draws to a close and there are many events and holidays upcoming that children are looking forward to. But, without a calendar or a clock, how do animals know when to get ready for winter? Finally, we discussed changes that we have made in our own lives as animals that adapt to winter, like adding lights to our spaces or gear on our bodies. These daily discussions often prompt new investigations, tie different themes and strands of knowledge together, and allow space for children to share what they know and think.

After spending some time learning how to protect our bodies from the cold weather, it was time for the Ducklings to enjoy the excitement that comes with freezing temperatures. Not only did our gear look different, but our playground did too. There was ice everywhere! We chopped and hauled and worked together to find ways to break the ice and incorporate it into our play.

The exploring didn't stop outside. We brought ice inside to our sensory and light tables to see the effects of food coloring, watercolor paint, and salt. Using our imagination to transform familiar materials, we recreated arctic creatures' natural habitat of ice and snow. The ice habitat transformed into an "ice volcano that added cold weather and ice for the animals to survive a long, long winter."

We celebrated our first snow with snow dough and created snowflakes remembering no two snowflakes are created the same. 

Although we appreciated the various chances for exploration that came with the cold weather, our Ducklings also noticed that certain creatures must make changes in their behavior or appearance in order to survive the winter months. During our Morning Gatherings, we talked about which animals hibernate, migrate, and adapt. We made a list of animals we were curious about and read books to help with our research. 

Upon learning that certain birds do not migrate during the winter and that cold weather reduces the availability of natural food sources such as insects, we decided to make some gifts for the birds at school. We created our own bird feeders and strung them around the Randolph campus. We intend to continue monitoring and replenishing our feeders over the next few months to assist birds in overwintering.

We have been practicing our Wassail songs and we can't wait to welcome our families to Winter Celebration, where you will be able to meet Beetle, Grandmother Maple, and all the maple trees who call Randolph School home! One more week to go!

Gingerbread Week

This week we have immersed ourselves into the realm of Gingerbread. We explored a variety of stories with twists and turns and had journal prompts to help us think like gingerbread cookies or how to plan for capturing one. We designed our own pretend gingerbread cookies out of various materials, integrated  gingerbread into our math lessons and even constructed our own gingerbread house that friends can fit inside! And of course mixing and rolling out our own delicious cookies to decorate and taste for ourselves. Busy is an understatement! 

Throughout this week’s exploration children have been building the following skills:

•  comparing and contrasting different story elements

•  practicing number sense

• using patience and turn-taking during games

•  using their prior knowledge and imaginations during writing times

•  comprehension skills when retelling a story in the order it happened

•  reading and following the sequential steps of a recipe

 And, so much daily joy! 

Working in the kitchen provides a platform to ask and potentially answer a variety of queries and questions, opportunities for scientific discoveries, chances to taste and smell new ingredients, tangible math and measurement explorations and just plain old deliciousness! The Neighborhood friends were a buzz about making our own cookies and also a little nervous that them might run away if we peek, but working together we mixed and whisked up some tasty dough that was then cut and baked into scrumptious gingerbread people.  

Once we had that data, we headed back to the classroom to do more calculations. Applying the skills we learned and practiced during Tang Math groups, we did some triple digit addition. We found out a scarf with tassels for Grandmother Maple would need to be about 355 centimeters long. If that’s the total length, how would we know how big each person’s contribution would need to be? We had to use a brand new math concept that’s beyond a typical second/third grade level: division. Most Hummingbirds have a general idea about how multiplication works (since we used it to multiply our Harvest Feast recipe), so we talked about the relationship between multiplication and division. We decided breaking apart the 355 centimeters by 19 (the amount of Hummingbird kids and teachers) would be too tricky, so we rounded to a friendlier number: 20. Using our understanding of place value and counting by twenties, we ended up figuring out that each swatch contributed to the scarf should be about 17 centimeters long. We also decided a good width would be about 12 centimeters. We drew an “actual swatch size” example on our Grandmother Maple Scarf Measurement anchor chart. As children have been working on their swatches, they measure their work against the drawing to see how far they’ve come.

Next, we laid out all of the balls of hand dyed yarn we’ve made and each child was called at random to come choose their ball of yarn. Finally, we were ready to get knitting! After a whole group demonstration, children worked in small groups with Renée to get started with the basics: making a slip knot, casting on, and the knit stitch. Learning to knit takes real focus, dexterity, patience, and determination. Every single Hummingbird was up for the challenge! Some children have even taken to knitting so beautifully that they have even taught Jackie and some Woodpeckers how to knit!

We made sure everyone gave knitting their swatch piece a meaningful try, and if it proved to be something that they decided was too difficult for now, they were given the option to switch over to weaving their swatch. First, they finger knit their hand-dyed yarn. Then they put the warp threads in place in their loom and weave the finger knit yarn over and under their warp threads to create their piece of Grandmother Maple’s scarf.

It’s been so exciting to hear children have started knitting projects at home and knitting with their family. In case you want to get started or need a little refresher yourself, here is a brief Knitting Resources Document with links to helpful videos, the rhymes we use for remembering how to knit, and other tips.

Completed Knit Swatches

Completed Woven Swatches

We can hardly wait to wrap Grandmother Maple in her new cozy scarf while we sing all the maple trees a dormancy lullaby during our Winter Celebration. Bring your tissues! It’s going to be wonderfully sappy!