The Art and Science of Play

Research, and our own good sense, knows the many positive effects play has on learning, development, and engagement. As stated by Change Learning, "Play nourishes every aspect of children’s development—it forms the foundation of intellectual, social, physical, and emotional skills necessary for success in school and in life."

Last week, as I walked through our end of day choice time I impressed with the quality of choices the K-3s are making. Take a look...

Myles and Trent knit.

Tom looks at the book he brought in and draws a map and compass rose.

Sam (6) reflects on what we have been learning about maps, draws, and labels the continents.

Jack purchases eggs from Kix's grocery/pet store.

I found a jar of marbles at our local antique shop and placed it on the windowsill here at school. We have an abundance of toilet paper tubes in our craft supply. Naturally, a research and development team formed and...

...a marble run was built.

Repairing the run after a testing.

 Another popular choice last week was pattern making.

Brett chooses to make a pattern.

A kindergarten student watches as the older boys make patterns.

Caleb's finished pattern.

“Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.” - Fred Rogers

Happily,

Ms Hadfield

from sky to earth

Yesterday during the 6-8 Art class, I mentioned how stunning the sky has been on my way to work this winter. One of the students asked me in an interested voice, "Where do you work?" Thought that was pretty funny. And thought you might like to see some sky photos that have been influencing our artistic endeavours...

A few weeks ago, Tom saw this fascinating fruit at the grocery store. Thinking of us, he bought the fruit and brought it to our morning meeting. What a refreshing treat! And such a beautiful shape! We smelled, sampled, and sowed the seeds. 

And look what Tom brought this week! A mango! We passed the fruit around before eating and really noticed the colour changes as the fruit ripened. It was red closest to the stem, faded to orange, and then slowly turned to green.

Currently, we have the pit drying in a basket on the nature table. Once the pit is dry, we hope to harvest the seed like so:

 photos source: http://www.instructables.com/id/How-To-Grow-A-Mango-Tree/, March 2014

One of the neatest things about this whole experience is the trend it has started. After sharing the mango, Kix and Brett have brought in apples to have cut up and shared with the class during our morning meeting. Before we eat the fruit we closely examine it, smell it, and talk about what we observe. After we eat the fruit we plant a couple of the seeds. Thanks to Nic's research on the last snow day, and some help from Matthew's Grandma, we even have the top of a pineapple regrowing on our windowsill. What a perfect way to get excited about spring and planting our gardens!

Now I am off to dream of our gardens...

In Like a Lion

"It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade." 

-Charles Dickens

March came in the night like a fierce lion. From the comfort of indoors, I would not imagine it to be forty (nor fifty) below. The sky is cobalt blue, the sun is bright and warm. Made me think of the indoor recesses last week and the plasticine worlds the students started. Here it was too cold to even entertain the idea of going outside, yet the sun was pouring in the windows melting our work into a soft goop.

The K-3 class has been coping extremely well with all of these weeks cooped up inside. The key to this is finding an outlet for our creativity and energy. Many of us have taken an interest in constructing these imaginative and elaborate scenes with a few friends at recess time. We have four worlds on the go right now, each with its own characters and storyline.

From our window you can see a beautiful bramble of branches covered in red berries (We're not sure what kind of tree this is, so if you happen to know, please tell us.) When I drive up to the school each morning I notice the berries and think about how wonderfully out of place they are. It was this tree and the blue sky of course, that were the inspiration for our latest art piece.

February, 28th, 2014

 

First, we painted the background with liquid watercolour, using the wet on wet technique. The colours blended beautifully together. We then sprinkled a little salt onto the paint for a shimmery effect. Once the background was dry, we used India ink to create the trunk and branches. The berries were added as a final touch using the flat end of a crayon and acrylic paint.  We originally thought 100 berries would be appropriate to represent 100 days of school, but this soon seemed like an awful lot of berries. I wonder how many on the tree outside?

Whenever we have had an opportunity to get outside this winter, we have been working on a coloured ice wall surrounding one of the trees in front of the school.  Below you will see Brett, from the 4-5 class, adding warm water to the ice-bricks he just laid. Nic is counting the bricks we have freezing for the next time we build.  Looking forward to showing you how this project all unfolds...

Until Next Time,

Take good care of each other*,

Ms Hadfield

*Did I just steal Fred Penner's line?