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Month: January 2016

We Are All Upstanders!

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This week, as we prepared to observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we learned about Dr. King’s legacy and how he – and many others – worked to change people’s beliefs and attitudes, as well as the laws of the land. We acknowledged that there is still so much more work to be done and reflected on the ways in which we could build on Dr. King’s legacy of repairing our world (tikkun olom). Our reflections are hanging in the school lobby’s bulletin board.

Learning about Dr. King’s life also afforded us an opportunity to learn about  upstanders and bystanders. As one child explains: “An upstander stands up and says ‘STOP’!’ They say ‘stop’ when people aren’t showing kavod or hesed.”

“A person who helps people when they are fighting is an upstander,” states another student. “If someone is fighting, a bystander doesn’t help them. We should be an upstander and help people,” she continues. “Martin Luther King Jr. was an upstander. He taught people kavod, hesed and shalom. He also changed bad laws. Like if someone like Wilma Rudolph [an Olympic Gold-medalist – one of our favorite books recounts her life story] had brown skin and the doctors didn’t treat her well, the law should be that doctors have to take care of you.”

Every day our kehillah (community) works to affirm Dr. King’s words: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

 

Library Fun!

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Special thanks go to parent Rachel Venditto for creating such wonderful pennants for our school library! Not only are they beautiful, but they convey, in both English and Hebrew, what I hope students experience in the library. I want them to discover, read, think, imagine, and dream here. I see the library as a portal to self-directed learning and creativity. This is why every moLibrary Pennantsnth we study a country, a science topic, a cultural topic, and library skills. The library also provides an array of learning materials, including ipads, books, and Montessori-inspired activities that are tailored to every class. In this spirit, this week was a “country” week. We learned a bit about Cuba. For example, for grades Pre-K through 1, we read the book “The Drum Dream Girl,” by Margarita Engle. This beautifully-illustrated story is about a young girl who loves to drum, but is told by her father that “only boys” play the drums. In time, the father relents and allows her to study drumming with a teacher. Later, she is permitted to play publicly in her sisters’ band, and she is a great success. The tale is based on the true story of a Chinese-African-Cuban girl, Millo Castro Zaldarriaga. She broke Cuba’s traditional taboo against female drummers when she played in an “all-girl dance band” during the 1930s. She went on to become a world-famous musician, and later played with some of the American jazz greats of the era. The story led to some interesting discussions among the students about gender and equity. Later, the students identified Cuba on a world map, listened to some Cuban music while reading, colored pages of Cuban parrots, constructed letters of the alphabet out of colorful pipe cleaners, and solved “Pirate Math” problems. The kids, of course, also had time for browsing books to check out. It was a fun week in the library!

Meet Paul the Ping Pong Ball!

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When you’re a kindergartner in the design lab, there’s something very important to keep in mind: teamwork. As young engineers, we know that by working together, we can accomplish more.

Students were introduced to my good friend, Paul the ping pong ball. There’s just one problem with Paul; he has TOO much energy! In order for Paul to release some energy, he needs to use his body and his mind at the same time. The children were challenged to create a maze for Paul to go through so that he is ready to focus on learning in school.

Using Legos, connecting Legos, and Keva blocks, students began designing their mazes… after some quick discoveries: “I made a Hebrew letter!” Malcolm exclaimed.

They also discovered that there are many different components that mazes can have. Nathan explained, “I’m putting in a trap.” Aeden noticed that his part of the maze was getting close to Malcolm’s. “How about if we connect them?” he asked.

Next came the testing phase, where they set Paul free in the maze. “Let’s test this baby out,” said Zemer, excitedly. The maze snaked through the design lab.

“We should be in the world records!” Ben said.

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Ice Explorers

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For a day or two last week it finally felt like winter. The Class was overjoyed to get outside and explore the changes that came with the cold weather! We observed the frozen pond and found frost and ice all around! We used magnifying glasses to look closely at the patterns. One student said, “This is magical!” The most exciting encounter was listening to the sounds made by rocks skipped across the frozen pond. Working together, we even made a song by throwing rocks all at once. The cold weather has us really wishing for snow!

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

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How many things can you create using one cardboard box?

KIMG_0450One large cardboard box in Kindergarten inspired creativity and imagination, as the children build upon, transformed and reinvented it.

First, the Kindergarteners let their sense of adventure and imagination run wild, turning the box into Noah’s ark. The children had fun bringing their stuffed animals aboard, as we learned the story of Noah’s Ark.

kIMG_0524Then, sails were added, portholes were reinforced, and the box was transformed into the Mayflower, where the children had a creative space to retell the Thanksgiving story. The Mayflower also provided many hours of fun on the high seas. A couple of weeks later out came the paint and paintbrushes.

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We had fun “throwing paint” onto our box, as we transformed it into a giant hanukkiyah for Hanukkah. Our transformations were very entertaining, creating fun environments using creativity, collaboration, storytelling, imagination and one large box.