Lightning Bolt the Robot

Dear Parents,

We asked the class what is a robot? They responded: “It is a machine.” “It is made of a laundry machine but without the windows.” “It is made of simple machines.”  “A rover.” “What is play dough?” “I don’t know.”  “A machine that has batteries and says boop-beep-bop-bop.” “It is a human made out of a robot." And at least two people began to act like robots as their answer.

We looked for pictures of robots in our books and found a robotic arm, a green robot car, a Mars rover, and a picture of people working in a factory using machines to make cupcakes. We looked at a video of robot machines helping build cars and others picking up heavy boxes and moving them.

We talked about how we could build a robot. The children said we could build it with cardboard. We set out some small boxes and the class assembled them in different shapes. They said we could connect the boxes with tape, or glue. The next day we did just that. The children debated over how to create him or her. When discussing whether to make it a boy or a girl, some said, “What if it’s both?” We brainstormed names to vote on. The class voted between Lightning Bolt or Stickers. Lightning Bolt won in a landslide. We painted Robot Lightning Bolt silver and glued a gold lightning bolt on his belly. We pretended he was talking by using a cell phone to speak and answer questions for him. 

We added R to our alphabet wall. Rosalie, Rami, rabbit, rain, Ruby, raisin, robot, and raspberry were some of the first R words we added. 

The next day we added S. Several skilled schoolmates shouted silly S sounds so we scribbled softly, stopping so sweet snakes could slither silently by. 

Our first music class with Alex went splendidly. We heard drumming coming from the big room- which is what one person thought when the earthquake happened- that it was drumming and stomping. Those of us who were sitting on the floor felt it the strongest. We talked about what to do if a stronger earthquake happened. The most important thing to do is cover our heads and go underneath a table.

During pickup one person told someone that the earthquake made him fall down. Not true.

We discussed the upcoming solar eclipse and used a model of the moon to show its location between Earth and our sun. Some children said they had the special glasses at home. If you have the glasses, you could send them with your child to school on Monday to use after quiet time. 

Have a calm weekend,

Therese

Rock the Boat, Don't Tip the Boat Over

Dear Parents,

We began our week floating our boats. We used a bin of water, boats, a water wheel, and cups to pour. We only needed to mop the floor a little. After his turn, someone said, “That was fun!” Many asked for another turn, so we decided to do it again the next day. 

During circle on Tuesday we predicted which things would float, and which would sink in a bucket of water. We dropped into the bucket: a plastic boat, two unifix cubes, a quarter, a penny, a rock, (many yelled, “Sink! Sink!”), a rubber band, a pair of scissors, and a pencil. The children noticed that the plastic things floated and metal sank to the bottom. What then would the scissors do, which had plastic handles but metal blades? The class shouted delightedly when their predictions were correct. They wanted to do more. We talked about trying it at home in the bathtub, but asking for parents' help in choosing items. 

On Wednesday we had our last gymnastics class with Casey.  We saw someone balancing on a beam while waving scarves in the air. Casey gave everyone a certificate and a sticker, which produced much excitement.

While friends were balancing in the big room, in the classroom we worked with hole punchers. Our hole punchers took great strength to punch and many struggled, but most kept trying. The holes are shaped like hearts, bears, stars, circles, and butterflies. They may be found in the bottoms of backpacks.

It was a pleasure getting to share with everyone in the conferences.

Have a long, long weekend,

Therese