We took advantage of the milder temperatures and fantastic snow conditions to have a short ECO session at school on Wednesday. Our focus was on foxes in winter and we began by building fox tunnels and homes in the lower field. Once students homes were finished they were invited to come to fox school with Victoria, where they learned how to hunt for mice under the deep snow: walk very softly, listen very carefully, and when you hear a mouse, give a little wiggle and pounce. We learned that foxes can hear mice under six feet of snow. Once students had mastered the pounce we scattered colored "mice" ice cubes for them to hunt and collect.  After practicing some fox calling, we finished up with a fox story and some tea.

 Coming back from a break is always a great time to review classroom expectations and routines, including how to use classroom materials and tools. With all of the new snow, we used a snowman theme to review basic shapes and practice using scissors and glue sticks to create colorful snowmen for our bulletin board. They will come home soon, but for now they are adding winter cheer to our hallway!

This week we began weekly shares in our class. Children are welcome to bring in small objects from home to share (I said shares must be able to fit in a backpack) or they can do a telling share, which are my favorite because they require even sharper listening with no accompanying visual. Sharing is a great opportunity for children to pracitce speaking with a loud, clear voice, using details to describe what they are sharing. At the same time it gives other children a chance to practice listening thoughtfully. After each share three children are called on to ask a question or make a comment. We are working on asking thoughtful questions and making specific comments. At this point children can bring a share any day of the week, but only once in a given week. So far children have loved this opportunity.

Temperatures were just mild enough for us to have a fantastic final fall session of ECO. After a month away from the forest, students enjoyed the opportunity to explore the space with a covering of snow. Painting on snow was a hit, and many students also chose to revisit creations from past sessions. Generally we have a very clear expectation about not entering the safety circle around our fire. Because this group has been so responsible, as a closing, each child was invited to find a stick to make a silent wish on and carefully add to the fire, sending their wish into the world. Thank you to all of the parents who joined us at any point for ECO this fall. We will resume or visits to the forest in the spring.

Kindergarteners really enjoyed the fresh snow this week.  Hopefully more will be coming soon!

This week we completed our second design and build challenge, this time in teams. We began with a discussion of the qualities we would hope for in a teammate and came up with the following list: someone who listens, someone who doesn't give up, someone who helps, and most importantly someone who is kind. After reading a version of The Three Little Pigs, children were given 30 mini bricks, 15 craft sticks, and a stick of clay with the  challenge to build a house strong enough to withstand the blows of the Big Bad Wolf. Before building, each child drew a plan for a house and partners shared their ideas with each other. Groups were extremely engaged as they constructed their houses, spending significantly more time than I anticipated, until we finally had to stop for lunch. After lunch we tested the houses against the Big Bad Wolf and children were given an opportunity to share what parts of the task were especially difficult and what changes they might make if they were presented with the same challenge again. We talked about the fact that most designers try ideas, test them, make changes, and try again, over and over, before they have success, and certainly trying and not succeeding isn't really failure, but an opportunity to learn from what didn't work and try again. These are concepts we will revisit throughout the year.

 This week we began a new science unit focused on structure, function, and design. We began by making a list of things that can hold water, noting the similarities in their design and structure (they all had sides and a bottom), which were connected to their function of holding water. We repeated this process for writing tools, again connecting structure to function.  We then read a version of Jack and the Beanstalk and talked about the function of the beanstalk and how this was supported by its structure. Children were given 10 pipe cleaners and challenged to create their own beanstalk, as tall as possible and strong enough to hold a plastic egg. This task can be frustrating, so before beginning we talked about what children could do if their ideas didn't work and the importance of learning from mistakes and not giving up. Most students were not successful in their first attempts and had to make significant adjustments to their original plan or completely start over while some needed inspiration from classmates. It was a great opportunity for children to practice important skills including taking risks, modifying expectations, and working through frustration, things we noted scientists must do all the time.