Mini Field Trips Around CFS and to 5th Grade Exhibit

The children have been practicing ways to become "field trip ready" as a group, e.g., walking in a line, listening to and following instructions, being aware and mindful of their surroundings or location, and taking the cues from the adults who are responsible for their well-being. And what better way to do so than through mini field trips around the school!

We took two mini field trips this past week. One was a listening activity. It was an activity that was compulsory for the children who have P.E. on Mondays, and optional for those who have P.E. on Fridays. We broke up the class into two groups. We took each group on a walk around the school for a listening activity. We walked out of the gate of our play garden and travelled down the sidewalk along Cadbury Road. When we arrived at the two blue benches right in front of our school's front door, we sat down to listen to the sounds we hear. "Birds," whispered some children. "Cars." "The wind." "People talking." The children recorded what they heard using drawings and their sound spelling. 

Then we walked further down the sidewalk and turned into our school's driveway to listen to the sounds in that part of our school. After a few minutes, we entered the school through the side doors. "Oh," the children exclaimed when they noticed that the door led them right into the hallway between the gym and the music room. We walked quietly straight ahead and out the glass doors leading to the courtyard. Happy chirping sounds greeted us. Each child chose a tree and sat next to it while listening and recording what they heard. This was the last stop of our peaceful, fifteen minute mini field trip.

Our second mini field trip was a visit to the fifth grade classrooms to view the exhibit and live demonstration of the amusement park rides the fifth graders worked on for weeks in their science class. We told the children that going to the fifth grade classrooms for the exhibit is like going to a museum. They were expected to be respectful of the space and the exhibit items in the fifth grade classroom just as they would in an actual museum. The children understood and lined up promptly. 

Sandra, one of the fifth grade teachers, greeted us at the door. From the moment the children stepped inside the exhibit space, their bright, attentive eyes told of the awe and wonder they felt towards the many attractive and functioning rides the fifth graders made. It was a very successful and really cool mini field trip experience! All the children behaved appropriately and respectfully. Many probably wondered when they would get to build amusement park rides just like the ones they saw and tested.

The Magic Toy Store: Music and Movement with Karyn

The children walk back from music class with songs on their lips. Many times, they break into spontaneous singing as they re-enter the classroom and sit in front of their cubbies to wait for the weather report. These heartwarming episodes speak highly of the time they spend in Karyn's class.

Karyn makes music accessible to everyone. She weaves music into stories and stories into music. She chooses songs to which children can relate, e.g., the song about germs and making friends. She provides children the context of a musical experience and encourages them to listen well, imagine, believe, take deep breaths, and sing. And they do. They use their singing voices, move their bodies to the mood and rhythm, strive for harmony with the group, create music using instruments, and respond to her cues. The activities Karyn leads explicitly highlight the development of children's auditory discrimination skills and the expansion of their musical expressions. Music class with Karyn is always a joyful adventure and a celebration of being in this world.

Indoor Recess? Oh, What Are We To Do?

There were days when the prospect of fun outdoor time looked as dim as the grey skies and as forlorn as the dirt on the ground as they huddled under the seemingly unending onslaught of icy rain. How can we have fun indoors? There are a number of ways to do that. In this post, we feature two: Visit pre-set stations with assigned partners and Freeze Dance to funky music!

Measuring and Counting

Investigations in numeracy. Enjoy!

Writing Workshop

One Friday a few weeks ago, the children in the Monday P.E. group engaged in a reading and writing activity of recalling and retelling the story, "Where's My Teddy" by Jez Alborough. In this context, we talked about how stories have a beginning, a middle, and an end. We compared a story to a sandwich, with the top and bottom bread being the beginning and end of a story, and the sandwich filling as the delicious, interesting middle. 

We also noted how stories unfold through a series of events that happen one after another. The children then retold Alborough's story in their words and with their own drawings, focusing on what happened at the beginning, the middle, and the end of the story. Everyone eagerly dived into the activity and felt fully satisfied at the end of the process. When we offered them the idea of having a regular time for writing stories on their own, all of them jumped on it and unanimously decided on the day and time to do so. And thus our Writing Workshop was born.

Our first session focused on the question, "What makes a story a story?" In addition to a beginning, middle, and an end, children noted that stories have characters in it. In stories, something happens to the characters. Stories also take place somewhere. Stories can be true, or it can be something the author just made up. We talked about "brainstorming" ideas. What can one write about? Some children were itching to start writing and drawing. Some children brainstormed ideas with friends. Some children needed teacher assistance to get started. Everyone is committed.

Our second and most recent session focused on how they can record their ideas more independently. We reviewed all the letter sounds we have learned, and got a preview of the remaining sounds we will cover in the days and weeks to come. More importantly, we talked about "Sound Spelling" and "Dictionary Spelling." Sound spelling happens when one spells words based on the sounds they hear in words. Dictionary spelling refers to how words would appear in the dictionary (a.k.a. conventional spelling). Sometimes, one's sound spelling might look like the dictionary spelling, and sometimes it would not. The important thing about sound spelling is that it allows writers to jot down their ideas without worrying whether or not the spelling matches that found in dictionaries. 

Another important thing to know about sound spelling is that it will differ from person to person. Sound spelling is about writing down sounds a writer of word hears and recognizes. For instance, the word "sparkle" might be written down as "sprkl" by one person, and "srcl" by another. The important thing is that the writer can read back what they had written. 

This is a big step for all of them to take. They are ready for the challenge and looking forward to the thrill of being a storyteller through the use of printed words and drawings. They have many stories to tell.

Read To Me, Please?

Our book area is a place frequented by children. In the morning, many children ask to be read to. The intimate one-adult-to-one-child reading experience often grows into a cozy crowd of children quietly listening to every word read and peering at the illustrations. As soon as the story ends, the crowd peacefully disperses into different areas of the classroom. One or a few might remain for the next story. Some might pick up their own books and begin to look at the books on their own. Some children look at books together. Some ask their classmates to read to them. Some children pretend reading to an imaginary class. All children rest with books. Quiet voices are heard talking about what they notice in the book and connecting to their own personal experiences. The video clip shows three children practicing the art of reading and offers a glimpse into its fascinating social context as they imitate what adult readers do when we gather around the red rug. The natural sounds of our lively classroom overpower the words they utter, but one will see that in this instance, action speaks louder than words. 

Jane Reads

One day, Jane asked the teachers if she could read aloud to the class. The teachers said yes, and Jane happily sat in front of the group. As she began to read, one classmate stared at her. "You can read?" Jane looked at her, nodded, and continued reading. "You can read?" The classmate said again. It became clear that she was not asking a question. She was expressing her disbelief and awe that Jane can read independently and fluently.

Every child who enters the EC classrooms has the sense that the ability to read is a big deal. They know that "literacy," which they equate to reading and writing, is important because their parents, teachers, and the media tell them so and they believe them. They want to know about themselves and the world in which they live, and they know that printed words and images contain those information. Some children openly say that learning to read is something they would like to do this school year. Some can wait until later. Some approach reading and writing gingerly. Some jump into it feet first. There are some who just take things in stride and slide into it when it feels just the right time to do so.

While our school has a phonics program called Fundations in which all children engage, the journey into the world of reading remains an individual undertaking. We work hand in hand with parents to nurture the appreciation for stories and information, and develop literacy skills, e.g., letter recognition, phonemic awareness, and sound-symbol association. We show them tools they can use and help them select those that match their needs. We watch and wait to see when and how individual children will enter the world of reading and begin their lifelong engagement with the printed word.

Having Jane read to the class is one of the ways we nourish the soil upon which our emergent readers have taken root. At the same time, it is one way we support Jane along her journey and adventures in the reading world. As you will observe from the video, the event presented a rich learning experience for all. Jane effectively demonstrated to the children that learning to read independently is an achievable goal, and a very satisfying one. One might note that the way the children interacted with the story Jane read did not seem to differ much from the way they would have responded had it been a teacher who was reading. The truth is, there was a difference.

From our perspective, all children feel empowered when a peer reads to them - and when they witness a peer lead a large group activity. Jane had clearly invited them into her world, and all accepted the invitation. Jane shared with her peers the exhilaration she felt, reading independently, taking on the role of teacher, being in command of the meeting. Her peers acknowledged and affirmed Jane's identity as an independent reader and meeting leader. They listened, interacted with her and the story, and engaged in genuine exchange of observations and ideas. They connected with both the reader and the text on many levels. 

The children in our class felt proud of Jane's accomplishment and seemed uplifted by the promise of doing the same thing one day soon. In that moment captured by our camera, they clearly breathed as one group, bound by their genuine interest in each other, and by their developmental and chronological age.