January 31, 2008
Lesson From Martin Luther King, Science Exploration, and Wailele!
The past two weeks have been filled with special learning experiences and explorations! Here are just a few of the activities that enrich each day of our school lives:Mr. Chance's Visit
Mr. Chance brought photos of Dr. Martin Luther King and the fight for African-American rights to show the children, and guess what! They could identify almost all of them and explain the issues and concerns they represented. He told them that even his high school students were not as knowledgeable. The children were especially touched by Dr. King's own words about hope and non-violence from the diary he wrote while in jail. Your children clearly understand the sacrifices of Dr. King, Rosa Parks, and so many others, and they can explain the need to stop prejudice and embrace all people. Thank you for sharing with us, Mr. Chance.
Science Explorations
If you check out last week's photo gallery, you will see your children engaged in a very exciting science exploration. Using Learning Logs and keen senses, they recorded their observations at eight centers that included, a live slug, our computerized microscope for viewing bugs, prisms, magnets, the skeletal remains of a shrew, whale bones, a moldy pumpkin, Monarch caterpillars, a carnivorous Hawaiian caterpillar, and giant seed pods. There was some very intense research going on and lots of exciting learning!
Vocabulary Bee
At the beginning of this new semester, there were approximately 80 words on our "Wonderful Word List." These are words we gathered throughout our inquiries, stories, and discussions. It seemed a pity to just erase them, so I came up with the idea of a Vocabulary Bee. Two teams worked together to come up with a clear definition and example for each word in order to score a point. I made sure the final score was a tie, but they really loved the experience, and I was amazed by how much they remembered about those words and all that those words encompassed!
Inquiry
I've been reading Hawaiian legends to your children, and they always beg for more. On you next visit to the library, consider some legends, myths, and folk tales from around the world to read to or with your child. They are fascinated by these stories because they are so magical and imaginative, much like the stories they enjoy writing and reading. The children have also enjoyed acting out some of the legends, particularly one that talks of Wailele, called "Ka Puhahou." They are currently busy putting finishing touches on the first drafts of their own legends of Wailele. They all shared the beginnings of their stories with the class, and we talked about what grabbed us, what flowed well, and how much better the movie in our head would be with more detail and description. Many of my Morning Meeting lessons are now focused on enriching and clarifying our writing. Today we begin talking about the water cycle, and tomorrow we create a timeline for Wailele. I've overheard some of them talking about needing to start at the beginning of time on earth! Here we go again!!
Mahalo
A special mahalo to Dr. Ichinose, who came in to read to the class and bring a very timely message that was summed up in a very funny book. His message: good communication from the heart is very important for each person and the world. It is important to really listen to others and use our words to effectively communicate our ideas. It is all right to disagree, but there are ways to do it that work and some that don't! I think we can all benefit from these lessons. Dr. Ichinose will be a regular reader in our classroom, and we love having him! Mahalo nui loa!
Request
OOPS! I erased all the photos in my iPhoto library. Mrs. Jacobson is collecting pictures for the MPI yearbook and needs some great shots from the first semester. I have a few, but if any of you have some good ones showing the kids doing an activity with more than one child in a picture, please make me a CD and send it in by next Wednesday. I will then put together some for her to choose from. Thank you, in advance, for this!
Be sure to check out the two latest Photo Gallery albums. That is the best way to really understand what goes on in the Magic Stone Kids classroom!!
Posted at 10:32 AM| Permalink
January 17, 2008
Martin Luther King, Wailele, and China
Martin Luther King
Mr. Chance came in today to talk with the children about slavery, civil rights, and freedom fighters like Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks. He also shared some of his personal experiences, and the children were fascinated. Not only was he amazed by the depth of their knowledge and understanding, he was also amazed by the quality of their questions, "Why didn't they just talk it out instead of fighting the Civil War?" and a comment from one student about how parents and grandparents can pass prejudice on and make it spread, "Isn't it like the rotten apple that spoils all the apples in the barrel?" Please, take time to talk with your child about some of the important aspects of Martin Luther King's teachings: non-violence, fighting hatred with love, and the right of every person to be free. Keep the dream alive! Mahalo nui loa, Mr. Chance!!
The 1/2 classes were scheduled to study Medieval Times this semester with an emphasis on how people lived in another place and time. However, because MPI is celebrating 100 years in Manoa, we have decided to focus our Inquiry on Manoa and a very interesting "pond" on campus called Wailele. We call it a pond, for now, because after two visits this week, we are in the process of discussing where its water comes from, whether it's polluted, how it was used in the past, and why there is a fence around it. These are the essential questions that came from your children, along with a number of interesting hypotheses for each. Check out our Mind Maps the next time your are in the room.
On Wednesday, the children drew the valley and pond and wrote their own explanations about the source of the water. These explanations will soon be turned into original legends after we have taken a look at legends and folk tales of Hawaii and other lands. There are, in fact, at least two legends about this pond that we will share with the children next week. The students really enjoyed the experience of visiting the pond with their Learning Logs and writing impressions of the place, drawing what they saw, and coming up with some questions and ideas about it. For them, it is learning about their place--very meaningful, indeed! Be sure to check Ms. Field's Photo Gallery for pictures of our visits. Our classes are collaborating, and Ms. Field is our tech person, recording the experience on video and in photos, while I keep the discussions going. We really enjoy working together!
China
The children and I have brought in personal stories, books, Chinese lanterns, dragons, pictures, maps, stamps, and the Chinese zodiac. Thank you, everyone, who is contributing to our learning! Mrs. Yoshikawa is planning a very special Chinese New Year Celebration on February 7th. Let us know, if you have something you would like to do with us or tell us about. We love having our parents in the classroom.
Homework
I will send homework on Friday this week because of the holiday.
Reminder
Portfolios are due tomorrow. Please call me if you would like to keep them longer.
Posted at 3:00 PM| Permalink
January 10, 2008
Excited to Learn!
Happy New Year!!Your children have returned to school with joyful hearts and their incredible love of learning. Yesterday, Holly spoke about some of her experiences in China, and, soon, the children were excitedly sharing information and stories about China, teaching others how to speak Chinese, using the globe to explore why it might have been so cold in Beijing, and asking questions about that fascinating country. Guess what! They decided we need to do a mini-Inquiry about China. Are we surprised? Actually, that will fit in nicely with our "100 Years in Manoa" celebration because we are going to have a Chinese-inspired Kite Day, which will bring back an old tradition to MPI. We are also hoping that some parents and families will teach us about Chinese New Year and other interesting aspects of that culture. I will show the children what China was like when I visited in 1978, and Holly and her family are preparing a presentation of what it looks like today--a nice comparison! Someone offered to bring in their mother's pictures taken a long time ago in China. Someone else volunteered their parent to come and teach us about Chinese writing. As always, you are welcome and much appreciated, one and all!! There is a lot of good translated Chinese children's literature, and some of you might like to come in to read to the children. Please, let me know if you have something to share!
100th Day of School
The 100th Day of school will be Tuesday, January 29th. If you and your child would like to make something to represent the 100th Day, please, bring it to school on that day. This activity will be optional this year, but we hope many of you decide to brighten our room with a collection, collage, or picture to represent that milestone.
Portfolios
Please, return your child's portfolio to school by Friday, January 18th. Be sure to fill out the parent response sheet and share it with your child. You also need to return the yellow Art portfolio.
Camera
Someone left a very small Nikon Coolpix L3 camera on my desk on Presentation Day. Let me know if it belongs to you.
Curriculum
This has been a week to catch up on all the things the children marked as "interesting" in books and magazines. At the end of last semester, we just didn't have time to talk about everything. Today, during Literature Time, I showed all the marked pages in the Amazing Creatures book. Even I was amazed!!
The children wrote excellent accounts of their vacations, and we all shared our writing! They are all able to write narrative with confidence and style now. Time to start focusing more on those pesky periods and capitals, but please leave that up to me. We will be having a poetry unit at the beginning of this semester. Because the children always write a poem or anagram in their birthday cards for others, they have a good sense of poetry already. I think they will enjoy writing Haiku. We will put together an anthology for all of you to enjoy. Mrs. Trowbridge will help us complete our "Just So" stories, and we will put them together to be shared once they are illustrated.
It delights me to be teaching and enjoying your wonderful children in the New Year!
Posted at 11:56 AM| Permalink