FROM UNDER OUR BIG TREE: Week 4

All Together
“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.”
― Harriet Tubman

 
Hello Community!  Here are some highlights from our classrooms:

Meeting Discussions:
Upstairs (students ages 5 to 7) – On Friday during deep learning while students were beading, someone asked Michelle if she loved their beads. After a short conversation Michelle said “I love YOU” with a big smile and Tillie said we should add “we have the right to be loved” as she pointed to our Bill of Rights. We DO have the right to be loved and we will discuss what that looks, sounds, and feels like in our classroom and community.

Downstairs (students ages 7 to 9) – We discussed what is happening in the world around us. Specifically, we began a discussion about the government shut-down. Some questions we pondered:

  • What is actually closed down?
  • Is Lego Land closed? (which prompted a discussion of the difference between private and public entities)
  • Why can’t they agree?
  • What do you mean Yosemite is closed?
  • How many people agree with Obama?
In an effort to facilitate a balanced and non-partisan discussion, I focused on the ripple effects of the shutdown in our country and just how hard compromise is.

Math:
Upstairs//For counting collections we were challenged to group by 10s before documenting our process. We clapped by 10s and even went past 100. Is the next number 101 or 110? Some of us were inspired to count how many “and’s they could find in a book.

Downstairs//This week we learned how to play 2 games, Array and Quirkle, that challenged our spatial and classifiying skills and got us adding to determine scores. The language of Array is color and connection, but its defining characteristic is the way it gets your mind moving, assessing possibilities and weighing options.  In our environment, this math game creates the possibility to encourage flexible thinking, develop character and anticipate changes outside of our control.

Language topics:
Upstairs//What do you like to read about? Students used black line markers and color to detail their book boxes with drawings that represent their reading interests. Interests varied from bees and bears to family and gardening.

Downstairs//This week we launched our essential question: What is the/your perfect city? This question is our starting point for pondering the decisions, tools, challenges and dreams that our cities are built on. This mirrors the classroom community we are building.

Emerging interests:
Upstairs//Hedgehogs, worms, bees, nests, beading, book formats and sizes, making another swing, what is a fruit and vegetable, why we love rain, what is white in the world, gift making, letter writing, and so much more!
(If you run across any dead bees we would love if you brought them to the classroom for us to investigate.)

Downstairs//Different art mediums: My provocation was, “What can a pencil do for you that a marker can’t?” After several days of designing which included sustained independent thinking time (going into your own artist studio) before heading into working with others (getting together with other artists) here is some of what was said:

  • “I didn’t know black and white could look so good”
  • “I spent a lot of time in one section”
  • “The pencil made me work harder”
Social Emotional
Upstairs//We are navigating friendships and how to be friendly while maintaining our own ideas. We are so lucky to have such diverse families. Students have been having conversations about what divorce, adopted, and death are. Teachers have been listening and refraining from adding their own perspectives.

Downstairs//The first agreements on our Bill of rights are:
We will draw our friends in kind ways
We will not gang up on each other

Parent Conferences are coming up soon.  We schedule them early so we can collaborate on how to meet your student’s needs in our community environment.

CONNECTION LINKS
Lena Garcia, School Builder/7 to 9 Classroom
Michelle Goldbach-Johnson, Founding Teacher/5 to 7 Classroom
Yvette Fenton/Co-Teacher, 5 to 7 Classroom
Jaclyn Epstein-Calvert/Co-Teacher, 7 to 9 Classroom
Saundi Williams, 5 to 7 Room Parent
Erin Levin, 7 to 9 Room Parent
Shutterfly Info Site: photos, contact information, announcements
TKG Info

Tending the Garden

***CLASSROOM SUPPLIES NEEDED
Studio Items: (inexpensive raw materials) pipe cleaners, buttons, leaves, feathers, clothespins, and popsicle sticks, twist ties, pebbles

small glass jars

****DRUM CIRCLE
There is no drum circle this Friday.  We will resume on Oct 18.

***PARENT CONFERENCES – Tuesday Oct 15 beginning at 8:30am
No School on conference day – Co-teachers will be available to care for students during the meeting.  There is an additional early morning time on the 16th.  We want to minimize disruption to your work/family schedules.

TKG Principals
  • CONSTRUCTIVISM, as teachers and parents, we provide the trellis on which students will build on their existing knowledge
  • WHOLE CHILD, cognitive, physical and social/emotional are inseparable
  • BRAIN SCIENCE, students are sensory learners, we honor each student’s unique developmental map
  • CAPACITY BUILDING, nurturing creative thinkers who are encouraged to solve problems that serve our community
  • COOPERATIVE LEARNING, small groups, low ratios, mixed ages and generations

The Seeds

We are offering the opportunity to engage:

MATH
Measurement & Data (K)
Classify objects and count the number of objects in each category.
CCSS.Math.Content.K.MD.B.3 Classify objects into given categories; count the numbers of objects in each category and sort the categories by count.1

Number & Operations in Base Ten (grade 1)
CCSS.Math.Content.1.NBT.C.5 Given a two-digit number, mentally find 10 more or 10 less than the number, without having to count; explain the reasoning used.
Reason with shapes and their attributes.
CCSS.Math.Content.1.G.A.3 Partition circles and rectangles into two and four equal shares, describe the shares using the words halves, fourths, and quarters, and use the phrases half of, fourth of, and quarter of. Describe the whole as two of, or four of the shares. Understand for these examples that decomposing into more equal shares creates smaller shares.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS
Reading – Foundational Skills (K)
Print Concepts

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.K.1 Demonstrate understanding of the organization and basic features of print.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.K.1a Follow words from left to right, top to bottom, and page by page.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.K.1b Recognize that spoken words are represented in written language by specific sequences of letters.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.K.1c Understand that words are separated by spaces in print.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.K.1d Recognize and name all upper- and lowercase letters of the alphabet.

Text Types and Purposes (grade 2)
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.1.3 Write narratives in which they recount two or more appropriately sequenced events, include some details regarding what happened, use temporal words to signal event order, and provide some sense of closure.
Research to Build and Present Knowledge
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.2.7 Participate in shared research and writing projects (e.g., read a number of books on a single topic to produce a report; record science observations).

FEATURED WORKSHOP: Free Teleseminar “How Play Overcomes Fear”

Led by Hand in Hand Founder Patty Wipfler and Dr. Lawrence J. Cohen, Author of Playful Parenting onThursday, Oct 10, 2013 at 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Pacific Time. Join this free parenting call as author, Dr. Lawrence J. Cohen talks with Hand in Hand Founder, Patty Wipfler, about how play and connection reduce anxiety in children.REGISTER…

From the TKG Office

  • TKG Treasure & Bake Sale – Oct 19th, 7:00am(earnings apply to Fundraiser Contribution) Invite your Social Media friends to join us and friend us!
    ​Sale Area:  Shannon Minor’s yard – 21237 Talisman St, Torrance
    Kids: We encourage you to come solo to focus on bartering
    We want your proceeds! Give your cash envelope (verify contents) to Lori at the end of your day for recording and all funds will be credited to your ledger.
    Bring:  a purse/pouch that wraps around your waist such as a fanny pack.  You will need change, lots of ones and quarters, depending on how you will price your items.  Also for your comfort bring sunscreen, a hat and drinks/snacks.  Shared snacks welcomed.
Thank you Families!  Contact Trish or Monica with any questions.
The Four Agreements
1. Be Impeccable with your Word
2. Don’t Take Anything Personally
3. Don’t Make Assumptions
4. Always Do Your Best

Resource Of The Week

Trust
by Lisa A. McCrohan
BarefootBarn Blog

I hurriedly stuck my hand into my bag looking for my keys. Rushing, feeling frustrated, feeling like there were too many things to do and not enough time, getting irritated with myself for not being compassionate with myself because “I should know better” (how’s that for a mindfulness teacher’s guilt?!)…instead of finding my keys, I pulled out my daughter’s bracelet she made at church with “TRUST” spelled out on little beads that her tiny hands strung together.

I sat there on my front step, paused with the bracelet in my hand, noticing how some of the letters were upside down.  And I started to smile.  I chuckled out loud, let out a long exhale, looked down at this beautiful bracelet in my hand as I thought, “The holy is in the imperfect.  Trust that.”

When we need a reminder of what we can trust in:

~  Trust that everything is imperfect and that’s ok.
READ MORE…

Are the Humanities dead?

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