Our second day was a whirlwind of activity! We lost a day this session due to the holiday, and today we felt it--more so for the leaders, I think, rather than the kids, but we left feeling exhausted yet satisfied that we were able to pull it off. Mr. G and I may take a nap this afternoon! :)
So our day began with a wonderful specimen brought in by Giavanna--turtle eggs found in her uncle's backyard. Very cool! She did a great job sharing them with the group and we had a discussion about different types of eggs and the harsh realities of life in the wild--not every egg survives--but this is nature and that's the way it is.
Next it was off to the courtyard for more exploring and time to work on projects!
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| Re-visiting the excavation site from last summer |
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| more bug collecting and creating mini-habitats |
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| This group LOVES to dig! Yesterday Rangers discovered a tunnel underground and there was much hypothesizing about what kind of animal made it, where the tunnels connect and lead to, and how to explore yet preserve the area. |
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| mud painting |
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| Work began on the secret space in the courtyard, a project initiated by Valentina and several Rangers joined her. |
And more bug collecting!
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| Today Rangers worked on filling in their excavation in preparation for tomorrow's parent visit. |
In one corner of the courtyard, this lovely tree grows. We hoped to identify it today, however there was too much happening. Rangers, led by Valentina, cleared an entrance to the secret Urban Hideout. Next they cleared the under side of the tree of dead branches in order to make it a better space to stand and move around.
Rangers decorated the entrance and created a secret hideout within the courtyard. Great job!
Today we also made our tye-dye t-shirts using the method of "batik", which is traditionally a wax-resist way of dyeing fabric used in various countries around the world. Because we are short on time, Mr G & I used our "wax" (which actually was Elmer's blue washable school glue and wrote "Urban Rangers 2014" last night. This morning, after a quick demo, Rangers spiraled their t-shirts and added blue and green (UR colors) dye to the shirts. Mr G & I will rinse them tonight and they will be ready to unfurl and wear by morning. We hope!
Last week I posted about the wonderful social development opportunities in a multi-age program (see Session One, Last day post), and these are a few snapshots of that in action. These days, social skill-building is usually at the bottom of the priority list in public education, which is a shame because it's at the forefront of our students' minds--always. Social interactions often dominate academic learning time, and all it takes is time and attention to make those social aspects work to enhance learning, rather than distract from it. Think back to your own memories of school. Who remembers that great phonics lesson in second grade? NOBODY!!! What most people remember are the social interactions and experiences they had, and when we fuse the two areas (social and academic) together in a learning experience, it resonates deeply.
Today we had a special guest visit from Steve, the school custodian. He was genuinely interested in what we were doing and what we discovered. He was also able to answer some questions we had about the school's history. The best and most effective learning environments include ALL of the adults and children in the building as part of a community of learners. Today, Steve gave us this wonderful experience. He shared his knowledge and questions, and we shared ours. Thanks, Steve!
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| Always important to have time to be silly! |
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| snack and share |
We have been visited by several huge dragonflies this session, and today, Chloe caught one in her bare hands! Now that's a UR moment for sure! Everyone crowded around in awe and with questions and congratulations. We made sure to be gentle handling the little guy/gal, and set it free after everyone got to see it up close.
We took a break from activities, projects, digging, and exploring to nature journal, which is a daily routine for Urban Rangers. Nature journalling allows us to stop and take a moment to reflect on what we've observed. It involves that incredibly important skill of reflecting, but also analyzing, writing, recording information, and critical thinking. Nature journalling has been used by scientists for hundreds of years--think Darwin! It's a fantastic way to relax as an adult also. Check out these links for more info!
This is also a great way to get kids recording what they have learned--a meaningful, valuable form of assessment that also exercises meta-cognitive skills, (that is, when we think about our own thinking--really important for learners to do!!!) And it serves as documentation for learning--a powerful resource for teachers to use to learn about how students are thinking, what interests them, and where they are in terms of academic skills. Plus it's fun, and you don't have to be Picasso to be good at it because it combines the use of several skills!
There was a little more time for exploring as we want our Rangers outdoors as long as possible and it is hard to pull them away from such engaging, focused work. And there were just too many fabulous pictures from today not to add a few more!
In the art room we read a story about symmetry--an important math concept that we see often in nature. Our centers today included:
* making symmetrical pictures and symmetry blobs
* clay insects
* milk jug birdfeeders
*snail painting
* book look
It was a busy morning but lots of fun and active engagement! We ran out of time for work on the puppet show, but several Rangers have expressed interest in this so it's top of the agenda tomorrow morning. Seems too soon, but tomorrow is our last day of the session. We hope parents/family members can join us at 11am in the school lobby to share our work! Rest well, Rangers!
See you tomorrow!
* making symmetrical pictures and symmetry blobs
* clay insects
* milk jug birdfeeders
*snail painting
* book look
It was a busy morning but lots of fun and active engagement! We ran out of time for work on the puppet show, but several Rangers have expressed interest in this so it's top of the agenda tomorrow morning. Seems too soon, but tomorrow is our last day of the session. We hope parents/family members can join us at 11am in the school lobby to share our work! Rest well, Rangers!
See you tomorrow!
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