Inquiry Guest Speakers
Inquiry
Wow! What an exciting week we have had in Inquiry. Mr. Kenton, Luke’s grandfather from Missouri, did a presentation on the Panama Canal and Cape Horn. The children were fascinated, especially because we were able to bring up photos on the SmartBoard of building the canal, maps, and a real-time video of ships moving through the canal with the gates opening and closing and the water levels changing. He spoke with them about Magellan's passage around the tip of South America and the people of Tierra del Fuego. The best part was when he encouraged them to go out and see the world because it is so full of interesting places and people. Yes!!
After Inquiry today, Mrs. Cutter surprised us with a presentation on yoga. The children learned some history, the spiritual beliefs of yoga practitioners in Tibet, the physical benefits of yoga, and some of the postures. The children even demonstrated some very creative postures of their own with great authority! When she demonstrated the Tibetan cymbals and singing bowl, the children were mesmerized. Ask them about the experience, and look for photos on the website.
We have had so many helpers for Inquiry research this week: Mrs. Montes, Mrs. Napoleon, Mr. Costello, Mrs. Antunes, Mrs. Cutter, and Ms. Field. Ms. Ching is coming in tomorrow as well. The children and I want to thank them all for helping us learn more about continents and countries of the world. A special “mahalo” to Mr. Costello for the lovely Thai hill tribe bags he gave the children. I will soon be showing my slides of the Akha hill tribe in Thailand that “adopted” me when I was teaching in Chiang Mai in the 1980s.
Tomorrow, Friday, March 9, I will be showing the children a slide show called “Children of the World” at 8:15 a.m. If any of you want to stop in, please do.
Ho’olaule’a
I have only five parents coming to help at Ho’olaule'a so far. Please let me know as soon as possible, if you are able to come. We need you!
Portfolios
The children are working on reflections of their learning for portfolios. They are surprised and delighted with how much they have learned and developed throughout the year. It warms a teacher's heart to see their pride in their own progress and personal growth. Hurray!
Book Projects
The book projects continue to be outstanding! Next week is the last week to present. Thank you, again, for all of your help with these.
Book Fair
If your child wishes to buy books at the “Catching the Reading Wave” Book Fair, you can take them after school on Wednesday, March 13 - 15, from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Family Day is Wednesday, March 15. We will not be visiting the Book Fair as a class because we recently ordered books and are very busy with Inquiry.
Posted on March 8, 2007 3:03 PM | Permalink