October 25, 2017
Put it on your calendar! The Upper Elementary Geography Fair, Thursday Dec. 14, 2:00-3:00 PM. I don't have details yet, but children will be researching and displaying their work on a geographical region of their choice.
Hello Little Elk Families!
"What's been happening in Little Elk," you ask?
We've been busily establishing our environment, trying to figure out what works best for us in regards to timing and spacing. Spacing determines how children and adults flow through the classroom. This is essential for optimal concentration and collaboration. Timing refers to our daily rhythms and routines. Discovering what works best for the group and each individuals is critical. Then we start getting used to the timing so that it becomes muscle memory. Our weekly variability also plays a role: Park Day is every Tuesday, Little Elk Council is every Wednesday, Enrichment is every Thursday, and Art is every other Friday. Those are the main mandatory, afternoon activities during a regular week.
"What kind of work is happening?"
Our first work is not academic at all—at least in the traditional sense. Our primary task is creating an environment where people can be their best selves and do their best work. This is work that's never done. Tied to that task is the responsibility of each child to manage his or her own time, and make the most of a three-hour morning work period. Our first tool is the personal Work Journal. This is a notebook in which children log in every morning when they first walk in the door. Once they choose their first work, they record it beside the start time. The Work Journal helps children claim responsibility—and are held accountable—for the way they make use of their day.
"Yeah, but what are the children actually doing? Can we get to that, please?"
Well, we try to do math every day. Math is a language. In order to "speak" it fluently, it is highly important that we practice it daily. It's your child's job to practice and repeat the skills that I introduce to them in lessons, as well as to practice the four operations (+, -, x, ÷) with whole numbers. In addition, third and fourth grade is the time to learn their "facts" by heart. Since we are currently focusing on multiplication facts, I hope that you have seen your child's multiplication finger chart (a 1-100 "times table"). If they haven't already, your student should make one for home and one to keep at school. Please remind them to practice, recite and get quizzed on their facts once a day: either in the car, at the kitchen table, or at a sibling's basketball game.
In the morning "history read" we've been reading and discussing A Little History of the World by E. H. Gombrich. We do Read Aloud at the end of the day. We are reading and pondering Wonder, a novel by Raquel J. Palacio. We've been taking turns reading, which has really been fun!
In addition to a lot of math, we've had lessons in the areas of poetry, writing mechanics, how to take research notes, and the geography of Asia. (I focus on one continent per semester, allowing a child to explore all 6 inhabited continents over the course of three years.
Children are also doing individual research, or Big Work, on the following topics:
- Early Humans
- Theater
- Hockey
- Bones and Cells
- The Moon
- Indian Food
- Mythical Beasts
- Domestic Cats
- Mississippi River
I say more about the research process and the creative writing process in the next newsletter.
And finally, I'd like to introduce the other adults who come in and out of Little Elk. Jane Dunagan and Elizabeth Indrelie are Guides who provide additional support. Katrina Marie Resman is our Educational Assistant, Saleha Erdmann is our Social Worker, and Jenny Kordosky specializes in teaching Art.
Your feedback is welcome. Thank you for your support!
Yours,
John Albright, Lead Guide Little Elk
