Monthly Archives: May 2017

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Otter Class: The Work of a Community

  By joremland • May 28, 2017 ,

I’m deep in the midst of writing progress reports and wishing I could also write a full newsletter this weekend.  While reviewing my records, I came across a video of a meeting we had not too long ago.  This meeting exemplifies some of the deepest work we do in the 3-4 year old room and I thought you’d like to see what it looks like.  

The video cuts off before the resolution to the problem was reached.  My memory is that we all got too hungry to continue the discussion so I said something like, “well, we haven’t reached consensus yet, but we’re all hungry, so what do you say we go eat and finish solving this problem later?”  “Yes!,” most of the students replied (although some wished to continue).

Ideally, we would have continued until a new rule was agreed upon.  But the process is at least as important as the product, if not more.  Most of the students did not start school in September with the skills they show in this meeting.  My vain self says, “nice going, Mr. O.”  My pragmatic self reminds me that Mrs. Spanola, Mrs. Soares and I set the stage, while the students do all the work — the work of building their skills, their selves, and the work of a community.

I hope you enjoy the video.

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Otter Class: Forward and Back

  By joremland • May 15, 2017 ,

looking forward…

Calendar Highlights

Wednesday, May 17          LATE DISMISSAL 3:30

Seussical the Musical: The cast includes a Quest Academy graduate! The Chicago Academy for the Arts is coming to Quest on Wednesday, May 17 to perform Seussical the Musical for our students.  The performance will run from 2:00-3:30 pm.  Dismissal will be at 3:30.  If you need to pick up your family at 2:45, please complete this form so we can have your children ready to leave

Basketball lessons with Mr. Hebert (during school)

Thursday, May 18th          Band Concert (during school)

                                               Storytelling with Mr. Oremland’s mom (during school)

Tuesday, May 23                Otter and Lemur Field Trip to Crabtree Nature Center

Monday, May 29                NO SCHOOL – Memorial Day

Tuesday, May 30th            “Flip Day” (Monday schedule)

Friday, June 2nd                 Last Day of School

(news on this is below)

Housekeeping

Field trip to Crabtree

Our day in the woods is approaching – thanks to all who have returned permission slips and/or offered to chaperone.  I’ll be in touch to confirm chaperones and chaperone transportation.  Information on the trip is HERE.

Last Day of School

The last day of school includes an all school assembly and FIELD DAY! We’ll have fun games, eat lunch at West Campus, and celebrate our amazing year together.

  • Please plan on your child bringing their lunch (no Gorilla Gourmet that day).
  • Please put sunscreen on your child before school 🙂 !

Special Day Snacks

Thank you for your continued work to support food safety in our class.  ...really!  For the latest safe snack list click HERE.

looking back…

Curriculum Update

Grandparents’ and Special Friends’ Day

Thanks to everyone who was able to visit for this wonderful event.  Thank you, Grandparents and Special Friends!  It was a truly amazing morning.  I am deeply grateful to have a job where I get to witness such mutual joy being shared as filled the classroom that day.  Extra thanks to you family members who took your grandchild’s friend under your wing.  It was beautiful to see the way you ensured that both children received your care, interest, and guidance.  Special thanks go out to Parul Cheriyan for photographs and video of the children’s performance.  

You may have seen the footage of your children’s G&SF Day performance which Parul shared by email.  Of course there’s a great deal of “unseen” hidden in such a performance.  It’s not possible for words to fully describe music or the emotions showing on the faces of children performing…but it’s fun to try!  During the concert, in the faces of your children I saw excitement, nervousness, joy, playfulness, concern, elation, courage, bewilderment, pride, satisfaction, fulfillment, happiness…

The effort your children invested in this performance was, in part, learning the songs.  To be honest, that came to them fairly easily.  At a deeper level, they learned performance skills like walking confidently, using a “singing voice, facing a large room filled with large people, smiling, and knowing that they have gifts to share with the world and giving those gifts with joy.

Thanks again, everyone!

Special Days

CT scans: We learned how to see the heart, lungs and rib bones shown on a CT scan printout.  favorite quote: “You know, we say “cat scan” but it really doesn’t have anything to do with cats.”

Kerala Culture: we learned about the beautiful traditional attire from Kerala in India, how to find Kerala on the globe, and watched a fantastic dance performance by our classmate!  Thank you to our student and her mother!

Greek Culture: we learned about two distinct types of beautiful attire from two different parts of Greece, learned a Greek dance, and danced it to traditional Greek music. Thank you to our student and her friend Jillian from the Orpheus Hellenic Folklore Society. Opa!!

Abacus: we learned how to count on a Japanese soroban abacus.  We were also amazed by the speed and accuracy with which our friend was able to subtract two-digit numbers with his abacus.  It was clear he has put a great deal of time to become an expert in this pursuit!

Pioneer Village

We went to West Campus today and split up into three groups to learn from the fifth graders about pioneer times in the American West.  

Each of the three groups visited three to five locations in the Oregon “town.”  There was a general store, a school house, an apothecary, a carpenter, a seamstress, a blacksmith, a kitchen, and many more areas.

 

Every so often, the fifth grade teacher gathered the students for a dance demonstration, including live music by two fifth grade fiddlers!

looking forward

Next Curricular Investigation

Botany/Gardens

Last week, students delved into the study of plants and gardening:

  • brainstormed a list of things to plant in the garden
  • went to West Campus and sketched the gardens, looking to see if they are ready for planting, and investigating the status of our enormous pumpkin from last fall (decomposed!)
  • sketched flowers with their internal parts
  • dissected flowers and laid out the parts, learning the names and functions of sepals, petals, anthers, stamens, and ovaries
  • painted a garden plan

In the week ahead, we’ll be planting a variety of things indoors, creating some experiments, and engaging in other scientific and artistic pursuits related to plants, especially edible ones!

 

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Otter Class: Their Own Gravity

  By joremland • May 15, 2017 ,

Here’s hoping you all had a Happy Mother’s Day and that all you moms received your gift, an Anything Container made by your child.  This project was filled with math, artistic creativity, sensorimotor exploration, cooperation, and joy.

         

I’ve discovered that when I insist that every student try a particular project (as I sometimes do), a number of children engage reluctantly, defensively, or even defiantly.  Yes, some children will work on required projects positively, but not always.  It’s as if the fact that I’ve imposed it becomes part of the the child’s thinking and they decide, “this is Mr. Oremland’s project.”  Sometimes they’ll make the project their own, if they connect somehow with it, but very often they seem to feel that the experience belongs to me, the adult.  The discovery and learning are outside of them trying to force their way in.

Instead, when a project is not required but offered, a different dynamic is set in motion.  When children have the freedom to choose to engage or not, the discovery becomes theirs. The children who choose to engage in such a project engage in it fully, with all of their senses, their mind and body.  Yes, some children begin self-chosen projects cautiously, and some bail out part way through, but not always.  It’s as if the fact that they made the choice to engage becomes a part of the child’s thinking and they decide, “this is my project.”  The experience belongs to them, because they decided to be a part of it.  The learning seems to flow to them as if they are a planet with their own gravity pulling the learning to them.

On Friday, we brought the materials for the Anything Containers out to the playground.  One student had spontaneously offered to help, so the two of us silently carted the materials to a work area in the shade and sat down.  I quietly explained to my young partner my vision for the gift.

I hadn’t gotten far before another child approached us and said, “what are you doing?”  My partner said, “we’re making something for moms.”  I said, “we’re just getting started, will you join us?”

“Sure!”

I recapped a little and had only gotten a little farther when a third child approached.  She just sat down silently and listened for a few seconds before saying, “can I have one?”

This is how the best projects start.  Children’s intrinsic curiosity and desire to learn draw give them energy and enthusiasm (or courage), and they jump into the exploration.

The energy in the work area blossomed.  On one side, I was helping one student find the “zero” end of a ruler so they could measure where to cut the material to make the best size for their mother.  I turned to the other side to pull out more glue for another student.   Suddenly, another child was ready for more tissue paper squares.  The mass and energy in the work area grew until nearly everyone in the class was working on an Anything Container for their mother.  The project seemed to have it’s own gravity, attracting creators, and with each additional creator our mass grew, increasing our gravitational pull.  I was thrilled when one student really made the project their own, exercising their autonomy to choose to make a robot instead of a container.  Soon nearly everyone in the class was sitting in one area, measuring, marking, gluing, passing materials to each other, working harmoniously side-by-side.

So, this leaves me with a quandary.  What about those children who don’t choose to do a particular project? In this case, there weren’t any, but what about the learning those kids miss when they opt out?  They might have enjoyed it if they tried, and they might have learned something.  Are those kids less well-off for missing the activity than if they’d been forced to do it?

I believe that children who exercise their right to say no learn that they have a right to say no.  They learn how to say no.  In modern life, adults can end up caught in the gravitational pull of “stuff they ought to do.”  Nearly every day there’s an opportunity to give, to share, to help, to do something more.  Yes, compassion, ambition, energy, and drive are good to have.  Also good to have are the knowledge, ability, and confidence to sometimes say no.  For, with that skill, comes the inverse: the conscious and thoughtful use of “yes.”

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Otter Class: Reminder – Ratty Clothes Day

  By joremland • May 2, 2017 ,

Yes, tomorrow really is ratty clothes day, although its more accurate title is…

Jackson Pollock Day

It’s one my favorite days of the year because it’s such an amazingly safe way to remove constraints and allow children to create with a palpably different kind of freedom.  

Last week, students enjoyed an introduction to “Action Jackson” through video, picture book, and a touch of hands-on experience.  Tomorrow, weather permitting, we will travel to West Campus where we’ll enter Mrs. Sala’s outdoor atelier to try our own hand (and body) at using Jackson Pollock’s innovative, active, full-body techniques.

Pollock was known for frequently eschewing typical media like oil and acrylic paints.  Instead, Pollock often painted his large works using house paint.  Due to potential allergies, we will not be using latex house paint but…

we will be using permanent paint.

we will be wearing protective gear (including hair nets).

STILL, WE WILL ALMOST DEFINITELY GET NON-WASHABLE PAINT ON OUR CLOTHES.

Please send your child to school in clothes that you do not mind getting permanent paint on.  Thank you.

It’s going to be awesome.

image credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/clairity/3634115580