We continue to speak more about the Growth mindset and reflect on how we are continuing to grow our mind by changing it one step at a time, one day at a time. We also spoke about mindfulness and how to practice mindfulness for ourselves and others. The different ideas they had for being mindful were taking deep breaths, using kind words to each other, holding hands, holding onto one's mouth with hands when the brain sends a signal to say a mean word to stop themselves from being unkind. They also shared different ways of why they practice mindfulness - stressed out, frustrated, sad, mad, angry, when something is not in my control are some of the responses we received. These are all their ideas when we are having socratic discussions. The learners are now responsible for taking care of what time they clean the outdoor space and checking the time. The learners take their responsibilities so seriously. Our efforts continue to make the space a more learner-driven place and community.
Montessori moments of the week:
Ella, Ilai, Maya and Niko are working on the 7 long chain. It was a team effort of counting, recognizing the digits, finding the arrows, and putting them where they belong on the chain. Omer is measuring the Constructive triangles, Shelly was measuring her foot, Naomi measured a notebook. They learned about the metric length measurement. Kalina was reading a book to all the learners when the thunderstorm hit and they were all waiting for their parents to arrive. Gaya is seen working on the 4 long chain. She was so elated to finish it all by herself. Ariel and Emma are working on the cursive sandpaper letters. Maya is recording the 6 chain numbers on paper. Shelly is working on the interjection parts of speech. Gaya is listening to the book on tape and reading the story.
For Water Quest, we learned about water purification and the importance of having clean drinking water. The learners purified water using ingredients that can be found or made such as rocks, sand, and charcoal. In order to understand the importance of purifying water, the learners had to filter out glitter from a cup of water. Then we experienced how dissipation and diffusion works within liquids by dyeing the water different colors and filtering out the pigments with the homemade purifier. We also had a socratic discussion about which water is safer to drink and the different conditions of water.
