Grappling with the Big Questions

For this morning's Spanish class, we travelled to Mexico.

Excited exploration of the new apple peeler.

Gong for cleanup.

Learning to identify written numbers.

Getting ready for an indoor walkabout.

Stopping for attendance.

Writing a note about where we are going, with Catbirds reading along!

Rolling down the hill.

Peeking into the auditorium, to watch the band practice.

Prepping to go into the middle school, quietly.

Our destination - castles built by middle schoolers. We examined them carefully: deciding which we liked and figuring out how each one had been built.

On the way back, we decided to go in and listen/watch the orchestra rehearse. Friends practiced identifying all of the instruments and studying what the conductor was doing.

Back for Morning Meeting. Friends decided what they wanted to do for Choice Time.

Today's Tricky Tall Tower Cha Cha Challenge: building with cups.

Friends noticed a great deal about the structure: the shape, the way that the number of cups "counted down" from bottom to top, and what was needed to support the next level. Math and geometry!

Lunchtime discussion today was particularly interesting:

Catbird #1: "When the clock hand gets to 2, you will be dead!"

Catbird #2: "It's on the 2!"

Catbird #3: "I'm not dead!"

Catbird #4: "She is not going to be dead. People only get dead when they are REALLY old!"

Catbird #3: "Yea!"

Catbird #4: "So I'm not ever going to turn 5! Or 10!"

Catbird #5: "Why do people have to die?"

Catbird Teacher: "That is a good question."

Catbird #5: "I know why."

Catbird Teacher: "Why?"

Catbird #5: "Because there are not enough houses and new parents need to move into our houses, because there are not enough beds."

Catbird Teacher: "So you think people die to make room for new people?"

Catbird #5: "Yes."

Catbird #6: "Sometimes people die because the forget to breathe."

Catbird Teacher: "I see."

Catbird #7: "Or they just get smooshed by a car."

At this point, a story from another table morphed into a dance party, and the conversation moved on. Just wanted to give you a window on the depth of group discussion that has evolved in our group.