Most Wednesdays are 'Wonder Wednesday's, which means that we not only try and find the answers to some of our "I Wonders" that we write and put on the Wonder Wall but we also check out the Wonderopolous site to see what their Wonder of the Day is. Last week the question was "What is a Rube Goldberg machine?" and it included a great video as well as an explanation. Rube Goldberg machines are all about creating a machine (or contraption or invention or device or apparatus) that uses a chain reaction to accomplish a very simple task in a very complicated manner - and science is ALL about chain reactions! So after watching the video 3 (!) times, and a few others, Team Awesome was excited to try making their own Rube Goldberg machines during free choice time at the end of the day. They were actively engaged and the ideas were flying. The children were so involved in creating that they were reluctant to tidy up to go home at the end of the day, resulting in a few tantrums and lots of cajoling (which you probably heard if you were waiting in the hallway). I do not doubt that we will try building more Rube Goldberg machines before the end of the month.
Team Awesome might have come home last week with all sorts of crazy, disjointed stories about some sort of machines we learned about and built. Here's the ungarbled version:
Most Wednesdays are 'Wonder Wednesday's, which means that we not only try and find the answers to some of our "I Wonders" that we write and put on the Wonder Wall but we also check out the Wonderopolous site to see what their Wonder of the Day is. Last week the question was "What is a Rube Goldberg machine?" and it included a great video as well as an explanation. Rube Goldberg machines are all about creating a machine (or contraption or invention or device or apparatus) that uses a chain reaction to accomplish a very simple task in a very complicated manner - and science is ALL about chain reactions! So after watching the video 3 (!) times, and a few others, Team Awesome was excited to try making their own Rube Goldberg machines during free choice time at the end of the day. They were actively engaged and the ideas were flying. The children were so involved in creating that they were reluctant to tidy up to go home at the end of the day, resulting in a few tantrums and lots of cajoling (which you probably heard if you were waiting in the hallway). I do not doubt that we will try building more Rube Goldberg machines before the end of the month.
Oh my goodness was Wednesday an exhausting day for Team Awesome. Not only did we learn about vermicomposting and worms but we had a very long dress rehearsal until lunch and then the long, hot, stuffy performance in costumes after lunch where we tried to sit quietly, dying (some of us) for a tiny sip of water, for what seemed like, well.... forever. I have included the videos I took of the rehearsal as well as of the performance because to be honest I never know exactly how things are going to shake out and I try to hedge my bets. And I am so so sorry you can't see more of the peeps in the second row. It was unfortunate they didn't stand on the riser during our songs so they could all be seen, especially the smaller children. Despite all the heat and wiggles and boredom they did a great job and I still think they couldn't get any cuter. Let's celebrate Canada and Team Awesome!
Why do Mrs. Farber and I do this every year? Have you looked at our June calendar? The rest of the month is going to be crazy with something almost every week, although some of the events were beyond our control. We are trying to squeeze as many minutes as possible of learning and togetherness into every day before the children leave for grade one. And its not that they can't do these things we have planned for June in grade one, because they can. The point is they won't be doing them with us. And we all know not following a routine often makes children (and adults) discombobulated so we will be following our regular schedule as much as we are able to right through to the end of June to make things (hopefully) easier for everyone. Please try and have your child get plenty of sleep and healthy snacks to help them better handle all the activities we will be experiencing throughout the rest of the month. And I promise to try and do the same for myself (because a discombobulated teacher is not a pretty sight).
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Mrs. Bowden &
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