Wake Up!

Friday, March 28th

In (and out of) the Studio with Nina

We are excited to welcome Spring in the studio! We kicked off our spring work with a few artist studies. Across ages and groups, children were introduced to Henri Matisse in the book Henri’s Scissors by Jeanette Winter. Inspired by Matisse’s organic shapes and paper cut outs, we made gelli plate prints and collages, learning about secondary colors, and positive and negative space through our exploration.

Following our collage work with Matisse, we learned about two contemporary collage artists, Tracey English and Clover Robin, who use painted paper (like Matisse and Eric Carle) to create beautiful and detailed collages inspired by natural environments. Our collages focused on organic shapes, color story, and recreating something found in nature, either a scene or an individual plant or animal.

In addition to our regular studio time throughout the week, we spent a windy All School Links time creating mandalas and designs inspired by the art of Andy Goldsworthy, using stones, sticks, spruce cones and sea shells. We made them on wooden platforms and then took them apart again, mimicking the ephemeral nature of Goldsworthy’s art.

We were really interested in the Andy Goldsworthy books and photos we had out for reference and are looking forward to incorporating more of his work into our spring art making!

Back in the Stacks with Siobhan

Over the last few weeks, we have made a lot of progress on our project to make the S. Authors and Illustrators section more inclusive. We have been familiarizing ourselves further with the authors and illustrators that are already included there; we have been sorting, color coding, and displaying books; and we have been exploring new authors that we might want to add to the collection. Along the way, we have all gained a deeper familiarity with the S. section of the library and with the work of various authors, and we have read and enjoyed so many books.

First, the Ducklings and the Upstairs Neighborhood got a chance to pick books they love from the Authors and Illustrators section.

Next, the Woodpeckers sorted all the books that had been picked out by the Ducklings, Upstairs Neighborhood, and Hummingbirds by author or illustrator. While they sorted, they took some time to read and reminisce. One of them said, "Reading these books reminds me of my childhood".

Once the books were sorted into piles, we were able to see which authors / illustrators had been picked the most, which the least, and which in the middle. We documented these findings by putting tape in three different colors on the bins the books had been picked from.

Then the Woodpeckers made a display of all the books picked, complete with signage (which hopefully you got a chance to see at Maple Fest!)

This week, I checked out many, many books (48 to be exact!) from the public library by a number of different authors that we might want to include in our library. The Upstairs Neighborhood was very interested to hear about this trip to the library and what the librarians said and if I was actually allowed to check out that many books. Every kid at school has been looking through all these books and we have been marking the ones we really like with sticky notes. This way, we can see which books seem to be a good fit for the kids at our school.

We are going to continue to explore books and authors and then it will be time to figure out how to get all these new books here! Stay tuned for more information about that and what ideas the kids come up with.

Notes from the Field with evan

The Science of Bread

The kitchen is a laboratory; a place where we can combine ingredients, test variables and observe results. This week the Carriage House had a chance to try their hand a recipe development as they teamed up to create, make and taste their own bread recipes. We all used the same ingredients: flour, water, salt and yeast and then experimented with different amounts and kneading techniques. As they recorded their recipes and steps they were ultimately using the scientific method to develop their own unique loaves. It was fascinating to see how small difference resulted in doughs that varied greatly in moisture and density. Once we popped our experiments in the oven we took on the formidable task of tasting our scientific research. Some loaves were flat, some were salty, some had big air bubbles and some had a dense crumb, but they were all delicious.

Down in the Dirt: Up in the Stars

We no longer need to look ahead to real spring weather and all the possibilities that come with it, and so we are looking down to the earth to enjoy some of the results of past efforts in the farm and garden. The first snowdrops and wolfsbane started flowering weeks ago, kicking off an ongoing succession of colorful spring ephemerals and planted bulbs. We have eagerly observed the swelling and opening of each flower bud, learned to recognize and identify the main parts common to all flowers, and compared the form and adaptive strategies of different species. At the same time, we are working to expand the Three Sisters garden and protect it with a new and improved fence. This is a great opportunity to apply many of the measuring and math skills we have been developing all year while determining the dimensions and area of the garden, the spacing of rows, the total amount of materials we will need, and so on.

Our earliest garden beds have been prepared and planted with snow peas and radishes, and some Neighborhood students observed that laying out seeds in a grid is similar to making a graph like the one they constructed for Maple Fest. While traveling from crocus bed to garden plot to the edge of the woods to document the earliest spring flowers and watch the first waves of pollinators emerge, we make frequent stops to observe the astounding way the buds of different tree species at our school are changing from day to day as they swell with sap, open their scales and begin to reveal the nascent flowers and leaves inside. It is a gift to be surrounded by so many beautiful and fascinating opportunities to learn about and make personal connections to the richness and variety of life on Earth, and many more such experiences await us in the coming days and months.

Somehow, amidst all the farming and botanical excursions, we will have to make time for some quick expeditions to outer space because STARLAB IS COMING! Stay tuned for more information about this incredible portable planetarium curriculum that consistently proves to be one of the highlights of the year for first time friends and returning veterans alike.

Musical Storytelling with Michael

The Peepers are Making Their Music

Out of the mud they rise and deliver their sonic gurgles and grunts of spring. It is as if the mud itself is speaking, because I can never spot one!

This week we began writing a new song with "peepers rising up from the mud" as the first line. The rest requires our friends to access their observational skills to become writers. We talk about how the senses can be the gateway to these observations. This requires a bit of heavy lifting. We spend some time putting pen to paper and free write about spring. What do we see? What do we feel? We then exchange our papers with friends and write along side what the others have written.

The Downstairs contribute orally and I become their scribe. What is happening to the trees? To the flowers? Wow Star lab is coming! And Rockets!

"Rockets have fins like Fish!" exclaims Sam. That becomes an important lyric in our budding tune!

As something less cerebral, we then take up various hand percussion and try to get into a groove with the banjo. It is very powerful when we are all linked in to a simple rhythm. The banjo works wonderfully in this capacity, as it is a drum.

Last week we were joined by special guest Ellie Bibas the father of Dora and Jack. Ellie is a fantastic musician and educator and it was wonderful to have his contributions. We sang and stomped and laughed and enjoyed it all a great deal!

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