Learning More Every Day

Thursday already and I'm excited for today's Zoom.  Since there won't be a video from me on the blog today I thought I'd let other Orchard folks provide some content.  Click below to see Mr.T explain about Friday morning's FIRST EVER Virtual 
ALL SCHOOL Morning Meeting! 


Mr. T talks about Hat Day and ALL School Meeting

And now I'll turn to a classmate who supplied today's Mystery Picture.  Can you name this animal that Mason came across while out adventuring with his mom?  Send me your guess in an email and keep the book reviews coming as well, I'd love to post some soon.

"Here We Are, BACK Together..."

It was a fun Zoom meeting yesterday with Mrs. Frostman joining for a sing through of the Orchard School Song. (The title of this post is a little twist on the opening line of the song). With two meetings under my belt, I have some better ideas about timing and keeping kids engaged as well we lots of respect for the children who manage their mute button with skill!  Lets take a look at what some of you have been up to in the last few days.
The week off allowed for some excellent outdoor adventures


...and indoor fun too!  Tangrams are a great way to put some challenge into an inside day as are the signs below- one classmate's invention for a game of "Red Light Green Light".

It's fun to post your creative projects because I know you inspire each other. Now that we are back to the routine, many of you are doing an awesome job keeping up with journals.  I love reading your news and seeing your math work in action.

Where Was WIllie?

It's kind of like "Where's Waldo?", right?  Those of you who follow the blog may have noticed that Willie the puppy did not make an appearance yesterday. Were you wondering?  You see, keeping the videos under two minutes sometimes requires an extra "take", and yesterday Willie lost patience. While waiting for the video to upload I looked into the mudroom and who should I see?  Willie-  with the stuffed animal, Rocket from Tad Hill's amazing book How Rocket Learned to Read.  I've linked the book in a previous post before so you can go back if you want to hear the story but here they are:

I'm looking forward to meeting other student's pets and stuffies over Zoom today.  AND the answer to yesterday's mystery word was ORCHARD. I'd love to hear a Kindergartener suggestions for next Monday's mystery word- email it to me!

Welcome Back!

By now we are all familiar with the phrase "the new normal".  I just can't help but think how hard it has become to establish new routines when things are always in flux! We are entering into the LAST section of the school year and I know exactly what this would be like IF we were headed back into the building, but my colleagues and I are figuring out how this will go...remotely.  Welcome to the journey! We have some great topics to explore with the kids and I hope to use more video clips to introduce new concepts and keep the learning fresh.  Over the break I worked on some video logistics. I hope to see some journal entries from the kids telling me what they were up to.

Let's Talk About Maps

Many kids from Room 28 have been busy learning about, learning from, and making their own MAPS!   Lets have a look- 

Here you can see a classmate locating his current home state and former home state at once!

Great work on a map of the US!  

Next you can see some maps that friends drew

 of rooms in their homes.

If you haven't had a chance to hear the story Me On The Map click on the link below and then have a look at how the work that came home in packets this week aligned with the story.

Me On the Map

If more friends out there want their maps posted, keep 'em coming- it's not too late.  And, wouldn't you want a map to this place?  This classmate has buried a time capsule!  I think we'd all have a lot to say about life in 2020.

Right now I'm imagining that this will be my last post until after the April break. Folks may be feeling grateful that this week off allows for some distance from the distance learning! I hope when we pick up again on the 27th everyone feels ready for the final stretch of the school year.

 

SO Fun to Be Together...Virtually!

We did it!  The first Zoom session happened and it was great to see so many friends there.  I am full of ideas of how to make our future meetings even better and open to ideas that parents and kids might have too.  Here's a glimpse of what it looked like.

These people look familiar!  But do you know what this is...

The mystery picture this week is below.  Send your guess in an email!

Wednesday Zoom Day!

...Truth be told I'm setting this post up on Tuesday because tomorrow morning is going to be really busy with our first Zoom meeting! So, no embedded video today. All the K teachers are having their first class Zoom tomorrow and then switching to a Tuesday/Thursday meeting schedule after the break. 

In packets this week the children received a set of tangrams.  As a class we have worked a bit with this specific grouping of seven shapes that have been used to make picture puzzles for CENTURIES before school went remote. What the children didn't receive in packets were directions or patterns. It was a little "oops" and those will come in the packet after the break.  BUT,  I'm including some beginner and more advanced designs here that you can refer to in the mean time. You can see that without the interior lines it's a whole different thing! And, there are some online tangram games and apps if you get into it.

Staying Strong!

The kids (and families) of Room 28 know how to make the most of this unprecedented situation.  In today's post, which I have titled based on yesterday's title, I am going to let the pictures do the talking and then... I have treat for you!  Another Candle Day!  And it will speak for itself as well.  Enjoy.

First some correct answers to the mystery word from yesterday-

Some Egg Drop and Paper Chair Experiments-

Some journal entries that each involve movie recommendations if you read carefully-

And some great relaxing with a book-

And with that, I present to you...

A Candle Day

Heading Into Week 4- Strong!

If you've been keeping up with the blog you know that it has become a way for our classroom community to stay connected and share ideas about what we're up to with learning, art, nature, families and more in this time of social isolation.  As we move into our fourth week of this I'm SO happy that students are exchanging ideas with each other (see below) and sending their photos in to share.  I'm also excited that I will be posting some links to longer videos in the days to come so that I can teach some mini-lessons to augment the Learning Grid.  Take a look at what some of our friends were up to this weekend-

Great color science following up on a previous post!

And you can have a look at some nature mandalas.  If you haven't made one yet, its NEVER too late.  Keep those pictures coming.

The one on the right is mine (Ms.Barone!)

Working Harder to Get Smarter

It's fun to have the Friday post be one that captures some of the week that was.  To start us off today here is a video of a classmate doing an artistic science experiment you might like to try.

We also have a book review from a friend!  Dumbo is a classic that was given a rating of FOUR by a classmate who thinks his friends will like it too.  He looks like he's holding up a "two" but that's really a peace sign for all of you!

There was playing, learning, and virtual socializing going on within our crew this week!

And, here's a cool idea for the weekend and beyond...

Teachers are Learners Too

Today I'm feeling like I need to let you in on some of what's been going on behind the scenes of Distance Learning.  The simple answer is... I've been learning new tech skills as fast as possible to make this all happen.  I created a "virtual field trip" to my garden today to share about planting peas with you and I'm REALLY struggling to upload it in a reasonable amount of time. I'm not sure which will happen first- the peas coming up, or the upload!  Just kidding.  But I will keep working on it.  And when I get it, I will also share a video from a classmate as well.  You can look forward to more cool science!  In the meantime, you can see what pea plants look like as they grow through this time lapse video. Click on the link...

Time Lapse of Pea Plant

This just in!  Right before I went to post this- I noticed my video uploaded !  Click the link below to plant some peas with me.

Ms. Barone Plants Peas

Wednesday WOW!

I have so much to share with you today that it's hard to know where to start!  First of all, thanks to the kid detectives out there- the mystery picture was identified as...CABBAGE!  Well done

Secondly, congratulations to all word detectives out there. We had not one, but two possible answers come in for the mystery word and both are correct!  flower  and  garden . Both have two syllables, two vowels, and have been on my mind!

The third thing I want to share is a drawing made by one of our classmates.  

She was inspired by the sessions on Art for Kids Hub which I remember my daughter enjoying back in the day. I included the link below so more kiddos can try and share their art if they'd like to.

Art for Kids Hub  

On our Learning Grid this week is a recycling bin boat challenge.  Have a look at one of our friend's craftiness-

Now, if your not inspired YET, or you're still thinking about what your next challenge might be, another classmate shared his Egg Drop Science and supplied us all with directions!  Check out these pictures and then you could try the directions below to guide your experiment.

Ms. Barone,

All of our eggs made it, except for the last one.  

Here are some instructions:

1. Get eggs

2. Gather materials you could use like a plastic bag, cotton balls, cardboard box, Tupperware containers, rubber bands, tape, string, and anything else you think might be useful.  We used lots of soft and light things. Don't use glue or else you won't get the egg out of the structure. 

3. Build something that you can drop and keep the egg safe.

4. Get help from an adult to drop the egg from a high place. We dropped it from my mom's bedroom window.

5. Check to see if the egg made it! 

6. Take pictures and have fun! 

A Little Bit Of Sunshine

It was SO nice to see the sun yesterday!  In other years this would be the time that I'd be taking my class out to the courtyard to examine the crocuses and watch the tulips emerge.  I'm going to have to think of some cleaver ways to share gardening with the children this year!  I think it was Audrey Hepburn who is credited with saying, "to plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow"- what a wonderful idea to keep in mind.  AND... with that in mind- what do you think this mystery picture could be?  If your Kindergartener has a guess, they should email it to me and I will post the answer tomorrow!

Here's a hint- we worked with this in a Farm to School lesson!

It's clear that I've been thinking about preparing my garden.  Here's a look at what some of the classmates have been up to.

There are some "right on" answers to Monday's Math Challenge

and some more heart maps and completed doodles

Math on a Monday

It's the start of a new week of distance learning and I'm picturing all of the Kindergarteners receiving their new packets.  I would so much rather be teaching and learning with the children at school but thinking about the kiddos opening up their envelopes and unpacking  materials they were used to working with at school makes me smile!  Since it's Monday, I know that the Literacy job on the Continuing Learning Grid is to write in journals using the prompt "Over the weekend...".  I'd love to post some of the childrens' work so please send me photos over email!  AND again, since it's Monday- it seems like a good day for a Math Challenge!  Watch the video to find out...

Recapping the Week...Remotely

This marks the end of the second week of distance learning.  
For us in Kindergarten that means two weeks of: 

*learning packets sent home 
* asking parents to facilitate their children's schooling-at-home while they work from home
*everyone adjusting to new technology 
*and missing each other WHILE following the Governor's "stay at home orders"!                   

Anyone stressed? 

 My sincere hope is that it also means that: 
*we are settling into an adjusted routine 
*we are finding some time for family things that may have been on the back burner 
*and that Kindergarteners are doing what they do best which is learning ALWAYS through whatever they are doing.  
Here's a look at some of that taking place.