5/7-5/11

We are winding down the year and finishing up projects. The Party Planners finally got to host their long-awaited party! You've probably been reading along with us, so you know that four girls, with the assistance of Ms. Leigh, had been planning Ms. Leigh's "5th birthday party." On Wednesday, the girls went to President and Mrs. Rice's home to bake the (cup)cake for the party.

Thursday was the big day; the girls decided to wear their party dresses to show that they were the hostesses of the event.

The group served pizza and cake first, because everyone knows that cake is the best part of a party.

We were then treated to a variety of games,including tossing a ball at a unicorn picture that the girls created.

The party ended by breaking open the beautiful five-legged pinata that took weeks for the girls to make!

Thank you, Ms. Leigh, for showing us how much learning can take place while having fun! And to the Party Planners for collaborating, being persistent, being determined, and putting together a great party for everyone! (More pictures are posted in our gallery.)

That wasn't the only party that happened this week. CL's mom, dad, and brother Brooks helped us celebrate his 5th birthday! We enjoyed cooling off with the Scooby Doo popsicles that they shared with us.

Kazuko(TKS), Miyoko(LY) and Suzanne(EKS) came in to celebrate Boys' Day. They helped us make origami helmets and color fabric Koi kites. We also enjoyed snacks of edamame and mochi crunch.

We are creating a mural as a way for the children to leave a part of themselves in the classroom. All year, the children have had a fascination with light and color. They have investigated how rainbows were coming into our classroom, mixed paint, and collected beach glass, and are now creating a mural on plexiglass to name a few of the interesting ways light and color have made their way into their lives.

We also made a Mother's Day gift reflecting their interest in light and color.The children used stained glass paint to decorate a piece of plexiglass for their moms. They created beautiful pieces for their moms to hang in a window.

The Dinosaur Group finished up their pictures for the book that they are creating about their favorite dinosaurs. The children will be sharing the book with the rest of the class next week.

The Red Owl group met to answer the questions that Ms. Kazari's class (the Red Owls) asked about our classroom. They are wondering about what will happen next year. This group will devise some way to share information with Ms. Kazari's owls in the next two weeks.

Another consistent "play" that actually continued from last year was the Marble Run Group. This group of children was constantly exploring the effects of running a marble down different slopes. We added gutters for outdoor exploration, PVC pipes, and wood molding for different indoor exploration. To make it more of a challenge, two different widths of molding were introduced. The children have to figure out which piece fits to allow the marble to run all the way down. The children found a U-shaped pipe and are now trying to have the marble not only run down the inclines but through the "U" pipe. Through the year, the children have used their negotiating and collaborating skills to decide whose plan to use. They have used higher level thinking skills to figure out how to make it all work. The children have used conflict resolution skills to resolve problems.

The Restaurant Group has been busy running "The Best Restaurant Ever." The children finished putting together their menus, creating their food out of clay, making money, and deciding what role they would all play. The group invited a couple of children at a time to be the customers. They gave them money to spend in the restaurant, took their order, "made" (plated) the food, served their customers, collected the money, then thanked them for coming! Some customers were even entertained by a "Chinese Lion Dance!" We are sure that the group will continue their service next week!

It was brought to our attention that Friday was our last Friday of the year! Next week, the children are off so that we can prepare for the parent/teacher conferences the next week. We are busy working on the children's portfolios. Which brings us to 9 more days of school!

Posted on May 13, 2007 7:28 PM | Permalink