Up, up, and away!

Fluffy and I have packed our bags, and we are off on another big adventure . . . in more ways than one. 

This summer's fabulous mystery travel adventure was generously funded by a Fund for Teachers grant.  We spent three weeks traveling in four different countries.  Watch here for clues!

Our second big adventure begins in August when we move to another campus (also a public school) and open a new classroom filled with brand new materials (and 15 first graders, again!). Whew! It's exciting (and exhausting) to think about.  In honor of the move, you can find us at a new blog address.  Please follow our continued adventures at http://montessorineverboring.blogspot.com/.

Over and out

From beginning

to end.

"It feels sad to have all these boxes with materials in them.  I will miss the problem solving cards.  It feels really sad to pack up the classroom. I want to say goodbye but I'm too sad."--CM, 1st grade

My sentiments exactly!  I have missed our beautiful materials and have hated living in a classroom full of boxes, but when everything is packed and all is said and done, it is the relationships that matter most.  I will dearly miss all of the wonderful people who made Room 28 a real community!  It has been an honor to learn with the young people entrusted to my care, to know their families, and to be privy to the magic and mystery of Mrs. D.

Stay tuned, though, for clues to the mystery of our next summer adventure!

Pancakes anyone?

It is our annual tradition to cook an End-of-School Breakfast the last day of school.  One teacher actually cackled out loud at my insanity when she heard that we were still doing this the last day of school this year, with everything else that's going on.  But how could I not do it?  Especially this year.  Tradition is tradition.

One of the greatest advances in this tradition is that we now cook and eat in shifts.  I don't remember exactly how we used to do it, but it was far less organized and not nearly as civilized.  Now, the members of each cooperative investigation team wash their hands and come to the first cooking station.  They crack eggs, mix, and cook scrambled eggs.  One third grade facilitator watched with surprise as a first grader knocked the pointy end of an egg against the bowl and then began to chip the shell off with her fingernail as one would a hard-boiled egg.  "Oh, no," she said.  "Let me show you how to do it."  Ah, the sweet simple beauty of a mixed-age class. 

They peel bananas, scoop yogurt, harvest mint sprigs, squeeze honey, and pour orange juice into the blender for a banana-orange smoothie.  (One child attempted to place a banana, peel and all in the blender.  Some of us learned more than others today!)

Next, they move on to the second cooking station, where Mrs. D mans our magic pancake contraption (a gift from a former student).  They measure and mix the ingredients for pancake batter and Mrs. D offers science lessons about the bubbles of gas that appear in the pancakes as they cook.

Finally, the group moves to a table set with flowers, serving dishes, and an attractive array of pretty paper goods (filched from my mother's sizable stash).  They pass the food and enjoy a civilized sit-down breakfast with their group.  When they are finished, the group removes their trash, wipes down the table, and sets it for the next group (who are finishing up at Mrs D's happy house of pancake production).

"Will you continue this tradition at your new school?" asked one thoughtful second grader.  I don't know.  Do you think I should?  "Well, it depends on what their behavior's like."  Hmmm.

[More photos coming soon!]

A vegemite sandwich

"Do you come from a land down under?"

Fluffy and I did!  Yesterday, we had the big reveal--the secrets to the mystery of where Fluffy and I traveled last summer.

Mystery Country #1: Australia

Sydney Opera House

Sydney Harbour Bridge

marsupials

crocodiles

School of the Air

Royal Flying Doctor Service

didgeridoo

Today, we tasted vegemite (stockpiled from hotel breakfasts and smuggled home through two subsequent countries---and yes, airport security survey says: vegemite counts as a "liquid"). 





The verdict? 
Surprisingly positive: They liked it! 
The key is to spread it thinly.

See also:
Clue #2: electric tea kettles in the hotels!
Clue #5: Uluru
Clue #5.5: views from the Sydney Harbour Bridge Pylon Lookout, the skyrail & a hot air balloon in Cairns
Clue #6: Great Barrier Reef

Happy Mother's Day!

I love a good re-use project!  When I saw this Make Your Own Magnets class on the SewCrafty calendar, I thought, "Now that would be a great kid-made gift!" and convinced a friend to join me for some crafting reconnaissance.

They're so super-simple that you don't really need a class to learn how to do these.

I found the flat-bottomed glass marbles in the wedding centerpiece section at Hobby Lobby and took advantage of a coupon, the teacher discount, and a scrapbooking supplies sale at JoAnn's to pick up the glue and a pack of scrapbook paper.  A brief search of the bowels of our craft cabinet yielded magnet strips.

Anticipating that this project would be a multi-step process, we (and by that I mean Mrs. D, Mistress of All Things Magical and Miraculous) supplied each child with a bag in which to corral project parts. 

The children selected coordinating papers and, using the templates I created, traced (on the back of the paper!) and cut paper covers and liners for the Altoids tins. 

Next, the children traced the marble (again keeping pencil marks on the back of the paper), cut out a decorative paper back for the marble magnet,

and glued the patterned side of the paper to the flat back of the glass marble, followed by a magnet.

Teachers:

If you plan to do this with an entire class of students, you'll need to start collecting Altoids tins early.  I know, I know.  I'm not very good at the planning-ahead thing either, but I was motivated by the cuteness--and the re-use factor.  In the fall, I sent notes home to the children's families and put a sign in the teacher bathroom, with an appeal for empty Altoids tins.  I also distributed signs to my mother (for work and choir) and to a friend who works at the science museum.  The tins trickled in, and by spring we managed to amass enough for Mother's Day.

A better way to pink

As a teacher, it's important to sample the mood of the room every now and then--lick your finger and hold it up in the air to see which way the wind is blowing.  When you feel things heading south, it's time to reassess and regroup.  We've been doing a lot of that lately. 

May is always difficult.  This one is more so.  Yoga has helped, but sometimes an unexpected distraction adds spice and gets the community moving together in the same direction again. 

Inspired by Lemonade Day (and our hot, hot weather!), I've been experimenting with lemonade at home.  My most recent winning combination included sliced strawberries (leftover from a giant, irresistibly cheap box), mint, and limeade.  We had an extra can of frozen concentrate from our lemonade taste test, and this seemed the perfect use for it.  I brought in the rest of my slightly sad strawberries this morning. 

The children practiced knife skills

and harvested mint from our garden.

Fiesta lemonade!  Naturally pink and a delicious distraction!  So much beauty and so many smiles--for only $1.09!

When life gives you lemons . . .

Lemonade Day is approaching!

Ms. C, our music teacher, is charged with coordinating the event on our campus, and every time she mentioned it to me, she flinched as if she feared violence.  This is a dangerous time of year to ask teachers to do "one more thing."  I took pity and decided that if we were going to do this, we should jump in with both feet and make it a real learning experience.  (Is there another way to do these things?)

Shopping cart loaded with a dozen lemons, sugar, powdered lemonade, cans of frozen concentrate, gallon jugs of water, five matching pitchers, and a giant bag of ice, we were stocked and ready to investigate.  (Have you noticed how many of these adventures begin with a late night trip to the store? . . .)

Our challenge is to offer the best tasting lemonade.  The children brainstormed attributes of good lemonade: not too sour, not too sweet, not too watery, the "right" color ("sometimes lemonade is pink"), no seeds, no bugs, maybe lemon slices on the edge of the pitcher or cup, maybe some extra flavors like strawberry or mint from our garden.  We classified these attributes into two categories--flavor and appearance--and I quickly drafted a survey form while the children went to the library for their ancillary class.

When they returned, we discussed the different ways of making lemonade: fresh lemons, lemon juice, flavored powder, and frozen concentrate.  The children also spoke of a tablet that fizzes in the water.  (If I had known about those beforehand, I would have procured some for this investigation!)  We then checked out the ingredients in the various products.  Lemons and sugar and water are fairly straightforward, and although corn syrup topped the list on the can of frozen concentrate, at least all of the ingredients were recognizable and easy to pronounce.  Not so for the flavored powders. 

Next, we discussed how to design a "blind taste test."  One second grader suggested we use a code on each pitcher so that the testers don't know what kind it is. 

Each cooperative science group got busy (and MESSY!) measuring and mixing up a different type of lemonade:

1) Crystal Light "Natural Lemonade" powdered drink mix

2) Fresh lemons, sugar, and water

   

3) Country Time Lemonade powdered drink mix

4) Frozen lemonade concentrate

5) Lemon juice, sugar, and water--made with a simple syrup

In secret, I assigned each lemonade a number,

and we began the serious business of taste-testing. 

"Can your taste buds get tired?" asked a second grader when we were finished.

The votes were in, and the children tallied the results.  

"Will we graph the results?" asked a first grader. You know we will, my lovelies!

To my great dismay (and despite its suspect list of ingredients), Crystal Light was the clear winner, earning 12 votes versus the 5 votes earned by the fresh-squeezed lemonade (and only one vote for each of the others, along with a few young souls who were confused about the election rules). 

The following day, we taste-tested some lemonade enhancements.  Grape juice was added to one pitcher to change the color to pink, and another pitcher was steeped overnight with fresh mint from our garden.  Once again, Mrs. D and I swooned over the one with fresh mint, but pink was very popular with the children.  One second grader with a more discerning palate mentioned to me that it had an undesirable aftertaste of grape.

Seasoned consumers, the children have great marketing strategies:

"One idea is we can put like little umbrellas in the cup and a slice of lemon or a mint leaf to make it pretty.  We can take some grape juice and given them the choice of plain Crystal Light or pink Country Time (it tastes better than pink Crystal Light)."--NJ, 2nd grade

"I think we should sell the lemonade with mint and we could advertise on commercials."--AD, 2nd grade

What We're Reading (just to prove that indeed I do have a book for everything!):

Lemonade for Sale by Stuart Murphy