February 10 / February 17 - Week 5/6

Winter is here! The school days have been far and few in between. Raised in Virginia, I had imagined Northern winters to be crucial. Before heading to Virginia for winter break, I was surprised at the lack of snow on the ground, but was also was quite surprised when I returned to Maine in January with snow piles taller than street signs. Weeks later, snow finally arrived! More snow than I had ever seen in my entire life!

On the days when it was safe enough to come to school, everyone was hard at work. I incorporated TLS curriculum with the 5th graders. We started working on Squiggle lines with Ms. Jackson and Ms. K's room.

Squiggle lines:
                        How it works...
The facilitator (me) draws a squiggly line on a poster board. The students are divided into groups of 4 people. They all receive a poster board with the same squiggle line. As a group, the students decide what they are going to draw (using the squiggle line already drawn for them). Afterwards, they are each handed a different color marker. They are required to use the same color marker for the entire project. They are then free to draw their part of the project.

                       Conversations that arise:
After an allotted amount of time and after students have discussed what worked well, what didnt work so well, and what could have been differently, they shared their drawing with the class. It was interesting listening to the concerns of the students. At times, students felt as though their voices weren't heard, that their classmates did what they asked them not too, and that the original drawing did not turn out quite as planned.


                      Discussion:
We then discussed how this related to life. If they felt like their voices are often heard or ignored and what they could do to change this. We then reflected individually and wrote down what they brought to their classmates. For an example, do they bring their sense of humor, their creativity, their passion, their honesty, etc. Students also wrote down a short term goal to accomplish within the next couple of weeks.


Ms. K and Mr. Hupp visit Kieve:

Friday, February 17th, the 5th grade classes visited Kieve. One part of the day was spent inside at the indoor rock wall. Here students worked together belaying their classmates (something they were not expecting upon their arrival to Kieve). Usually, a belayer is an adult pulling the rope down as the student climbs up. At Kieve, we challenge the students with an Australian belay. This belay system requires at least four students to belay their classmate while climbing. Its a great way to practice teamwork and building trust among the group. I enjoyed watching everyone challenging their comfort zones and encouraging their classmates along the way. The second part of the day was spend outdoors, snowshoeing! With the recent snowstorms there was plenty of snow for a good hike around campus. Here the students tested their physical stamina and mental energy traversing around the campus, at times, breaking new trail!

AG Club continues on:
Due to the storm, the bunnies were moved to the hoop house. Here they were protected from the feet of snow that protruded into their homes.

Cooking Club:
With Valentine's Day around the corner, we created chocolate covered strawberries. The girls enjoyed melting both milk and white chocolate and dipping fresh strawberries and blueberries in creating a perfect mixture of fresh and sweet. A perfect Friday afternoon treat!