Flowers and compost scraps to feed the worms that keep our garden beautiful were donated by Diego (WW). Aric (Everly WW) made and donated the first of three planter boxes for the side yard while Harold (Diego WW) donated trellises. All of them on the Gardening team, John (Kirby WW) and Naomi (Tallulah WW) and Brandi (Barrett WW), installed them.
Anna (Mica EW) came to share Dia de Los Muertos at EW circle on Tuesday. We added pan dulce to our snack and Anna set up the entry table for everyone to celebrate memories of those no longer living.
On Halloween, many of you brought lovely nibbles to share on Venice Blvd. while you waited for the parade and Rebecca (Wally, EW) brought enough gluten free pizza for the children avoiding gluten even though she couldn’t join us for the parade!
And Gabe (Luscia, EW) played guitar in a spooky and fun sing-a-long right after the parade!
Julian (EW) brought a donation for the updating of the Sound Wall in the front yard.
Snack this week was inspired by Halloween with plastic bugs added to fruit plates, little pumpkins made from tangerines and celery stems, and broomsticks made from pretzel sticks and string cheese – unbelievably creative! Thanks to Ephy, Kou, Marina, Dillon (WW), Chase, Ava, Fiona, Caitlin, Poppy (EW).
Joining us at teaching team meetings this week:
Rick (Kayden, EW) at the East Wing Team meeting on 10/31. Teacher Jessica brought drawings, writings, 3-D representations and anecdotes to the meeting and asked for input on two interests that have formed in these first 3 months: The Post Office and how it works, and a sequel to a favorite Halloween story, The 5 Little Pumpkins. As a TV producer who works daily with translating story into multiple mediums, Rick’s input has developed the teachers’ ideas for next steps. His reflection of his time with us:
First of all, it’s truly wonderful how much each of you care about each of the children. I can see that you’re invested in the advancement of children’s learning and development. Letting them lead but also, like Roleen says on her parent tours, you’re pushing them to do what we never thought they were capable of or could do. What’s cool is you’re sitting together with something new and discussing how far you can take it and seeing that it’s limitless. Cool that you come together on what you’re working on regularly to try to push it as far as you can. – Rick
Kelly (Will, WW) joined the West Wing Team meeting on Thursday 11/1 in which Silvana shared work from the Block Area. Kelly offered a lot of insight into symbolism through her work as a therapist and had this reflection:
I was just so amazed and inspired by the level of thoughtfulness and complexity that goes into the NSW teacher’s work with our children. It was fascinating to watch Silvana reflect on how the children are using the blocks area to construct elaborate cityscapes. The teachers’ brainstorm session was a thoughtful conversation about how to support the children and follow their interest in urban planning through the construction of parks, trampolines, and elevators within the blocks. The most challenging construction design issue seemed to be weighting an elevator pulley system that works, which the teachers were putting remarkable thought into.
It also sounded like our West Wing group likes hiding objects and giving clues to their fellow classmates as to what they hid. The teachers are making huge efforts to help the community connect through systems of communication which flow through the reflection meetings, as well as messages left behind (for example: post it notes on blocks about what other groups created before them). I was particularly intrigued by the way the teachers are trying to use objects that inspire creativity and creation, rather than objects that already have an assigned meaning. Also, they are clearly making such deliberate efforts to layer in many complex levels of opportunity for learning through the children’s self-driven ingenuity and connection with each other and materials.
As I told everyone, this brainstorm session inspired me to want to look even more complexly at the play I facilitate in my own work as a child therapist.
Thank you for letting me sit in!
Warmly,
Kelly Young
And on Friday, Katherine (Grey, EW) chaperoned a bus trip to the farmer’s market with Roxanne.
Thanks to everyone seen and unseen last week. It fascinates me to watch this beehive of a school move and shift together for the benefit of the children and families and community in which we live. xoxo Kris