The third and fourth graders had a wonderful time making forts on the Nature Trail. It was the perfect way to end the year! We hope that you have a summer filled with family, friends and things you love to do.
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Students engaged in a number of challenges, which required teamwork, experimentation, balance, coordination and patience! After looking at the photographs of Andy Goldsworthy, as well as some artistic creations from last summer's FES camp, students went out on the Nature Trail to create their own ephemeral art. The results were spectacular! Connecting to our study of Vermont, we traveled to the Shelburne Museum to participate in the Passport to Learning Program. Students were able to choose from eight different activities, located in different buildings. These included the General Store, the Stagecoach Inn, the Schoolhouse, the Print Shop, the Ticonderoga, the Beach Lodge, the Train Station and the Dorset House. Activities included making a duck decoy magnet, a weather vane, printing, “shopping” 19th century style, tying knots, playing a predator/prey game, learning Morse Code and participating in a spelling bee. Students were also able to briefly explore some of the other buildings and structures; some favorites were the jail, the lighthouse, and the carousel. It was a great educational opportunity AND a lot of fun!! We want to say thank you to our wonderful chaperones, Mod Barefoot, Jamie Godfrey and Jo-Ann Billings. Students learned about different ways that animals navigate, including the use of the sun, stars, the Earth’s magnetic field, the sound of the waves, and landmarks. Some of this information came from the puppet show, starring a vireo, a digger wasp, a salmon and a bear. Students then spent time doing activities that explored how people learn to navigate. In the “Mind’s Eye Map” students tried to picture things in their house or surroundings. “Put it on the Map” tested their ability to recall the placement of objects, simulating the landmarks an animal might use. The rest of the time was spent navigating with a compass, including a “treasure” hunt at the end. It was a great ending to another wonderful year of 4 Winds. Thanks to our wonderful volunteers! We really appreciate your time, energy and commitment to this program. May’s 4 Winds’ class built on the knowledge students learned in previous classes about the atmosphere and hydrosphere. They learned how the sun heats the land and water unevenly, creating differences in air temperature and air pressure. As usual, students built background information before the 4 Winds class by watching a video, reading a short booklet and engaging in classroom discussions. Students created their own wind vanes to determine the direction of the wind, and learned that winds are named by the direction they are from. As part of this process, they also needed to use a compass to determine north and orientate their weather vane. They gained information about the types of clouds, starting with cirrus, cumulus and stratus, but then learned about the different variations of these three types. They searched the sky for examples of clouds, and made cloud pictures inside from cotton balls. The subject of the 4 Winds’ class this month was water. Students learned about how little fresh water we have on this planet, and the importance of protecting this valuable resource. As usual, activities were done prior to the 4 Winds class, so that students had some background information beforehand. They learned about the water cycle and lots of “tion” words - evaporation, condensation, precipitation and transpiration. Students also heard about a drop of water traveling around the world through a story, as well as the puppet show. Then they were each given a location to start as a drop of water, and they created their own amazing drawings of where their drop of water would travel. They learned about some of the properties of water through a number of experiments. They witnessed capillary action by drawing dots on paper towers with markers, and watching the color travel up the towel. Another example of this was colored water traveling through a stalk of celery or a flower. They explored cohesion, surface tension and adhesion. One activity asked them to see how many drops of water they could place on a penny before it overflowed. Numbers reached into the thirties!! They also had to maneuver a drop of water through a course covered in wax paper, and see how many paper clips they could float on water. It was a great combination of fun and learning! We returned to our study of India, which began in the fall with a collaborative project with Nora McDonough. Students created art projects around the Diwali celebration. This spring we studied their holiday celebration of Holi, along with learning more about their history and culture. Students were able to select a topic to research and develop a project around that interest. They completed an elephant art project with Ms. McDonough. We also did a group alphabet book on India, which is shared below. For the past eight weeks, third and fourth graders have been sewing, constructing paper circuits, and creating E-textile projects. During the first weeks, which focused on sewing skills, 21 students signed up. I was grateful to Allison Schlageter, who had agreed to help me. We met during the lunch and recess hour, so students were giving up their recess to do this. They brought in their lunch, and then as soon as they were done, they began working. We started with three weeks of basic sewing skills. This included tying knots and threading needles, which proved to be far more challenging then I had realized. They had a choice of simple projects, using either fabric or felt. These included bookmarks, pillows, purses, stuffed animals and cubes, or anything else they wanted to make. Many of them also chose to learn some embroidery stitches to use on their projects. One student drew a detailed picture, which he is embroidering and framing. The next phase was learning about circuits, and then designing an E-Textiles project. About half of the students decided to continue on and do this, while others either continued to work on sewing projects, or chose not to participate. The first week I had everyone make paper circuits to help them understand how they would have to construct their circuit when sewing. They created a card and we used LEDs with bendable “legs”, copper tape and coin cell batteries to light up their design. Everyone was successful and excited about the next phase. We spent four more weeks working on their projects. Some of them chose to use their sewing project, rather than create something new. So we had a pig pillow, whose nose would light up when you snapped the two parts of its tail together, and a green monster pillow, with a LED on its head that would light up when he clapped his hands together. Others created new felt bookmarks, and all were delighted when their LEDs actually lit up! The creation of the sewing club was in response to an interest expressed by my students. I decided to combine basic sewing with E-textile projects to offer more choice and individual expression. The experience offered students an opportunity to work with their hands in new and creative ways, while developing many other important skills. They faced challenges, and had to use patience and perseverance, along with problem-solving skills. Throughout the weeks, I saw students engaged, curious and motivated, ultimately exhibiting pride and a sense of accomplishment with their finished projects. I enjoyed it as much as the students! Carla Lewis |
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