Beginnings of Spring 2019
Thank you to Daniella for sharing her story of pain and triumph over the experience of bullying. She shared her poetry and inspiration.
We were also appreciative of Senior Pedro for sharing his love of the accordion and his world of art, from nature art, to ceramics, to canvas and experiments in canvas relief work.
Brainstorming individual interests along with collaborative pursuits were identified on Friday, December 28, 2018. This meeting set the compass for the semester explorations and adventures in learning. The children's individual interests directed the broad categories for basis of project based experiences this semester. For the next step we moved the categories to the schedule modules, with parents serving as lead and secondary facilitators. The final planning meeting for the semester was held on Thursday, 1/10/19.
Jan. 15 Module Week
Tuesday: We began with a gathering circle to help ground our presence. The group was then introduced to the idea of vision boards and in the closing circle we talked about the law of attraction as the kids shared their boards.
Thursday: An opening circle welcomed our energy and helped the group transition to intentional presence. We focused on our breath and thoughts on gratitude. Our work consisted of math circle games and review of our favorite board games and then collaborating on designing a board game. We hope to pick this up the following Thursday, 1/24.
Jan. 21 (MLK Day) Special Event: Irene Graves author of "Lovescaping"
Monday: We met with and learned about "Lovescaping" with Ms. Graves. Of the 12 pillars we focused on learning about Empathy and shifting perspective by attempting to be in someone else's shoes.
Jan. 22 Module Week
Tuesday: After our gathering mindfulness circle we learned about the predecessors of building something, planning and designing. One of the more popular modules is the "building models." Kids were anxious to build something that is clear in their mind, so needing to slow down and focus on putting their design on paper and thinking about what material is best suited to build was challenging. Some wonderful sketches and floor plans were developed as a result of the pause today preceding the building next week.
Open play time after designing
Thursday: First module of math completed after 2 weeks. They designed a board game and built it. For the younger group the building of the game varied far from the original design. The older group was quite precise. Both learned of collaborative work and team dynamics. Some with disappointment and others with surprised positive experiences. Some left wanting more team projects, for others not so much.
Jan. 29:
Concluding the Design/ Build module with focused work and new learnings of manipulating material to reflect their visions.
February Modules
Pet Service Project:
The love of animals drew the children to combine service with handwork and cooking. Dog and cats benefitted from loving hands that made toys and baked treats. Two families delivered the labor of love to an animal shelter.
Tai Chi & Qi gong:
Henderson Smith came to our sphere offering Tai Chi & Qigong. Beneficial in using movement to find mindfulness for children, Mr. Henderson is well liked and connecting with our community of learners of all ages.
Math by Cooking:
Learning math applications through cooking fused, resulting in delicious traditional Moroccan dishes and healthy flourless cake with cocoa & no refined sugar.
Science of fabric dyeing:
Natural dyes on silk and cotton. Also working with turmeric powder to create turmeric dye bath.
Performing Arts:
The module of performing arts resulted in a play created by student writers, costumes design volunteers and set design participants. There were 2 Zoom meetings where the 4 writers further developed the script beyond the Tuesdays co-op time frame. The performance module ended with a dress rehearsal, with the expectation of more fine tuning to ensue in the coming month culminating in final performance at semester's end.
Wood Shop:
Much loved and anticipated building module was a true testament to what can be achieved with the power of many minds focused on one deliverable. Moms came together with power tools, boots and spirit to help facilitate our children accomplish their desired outcomes of real wood work.
March Modules
Math: We calculated pi then made pizza "pi"!
World Culture: We learned about the world from all kinds of perspectives, including a family that had just returned from India.
Frida Kahlo joined us!
We learned about Mayan culture!
April Modules
Newspaper: Much care, excitement and creativity got poured into the hand made creation of a newspaper, fondly named "The Bird, print". Its' final printing included 14 double-sided pages filled with an impressive variety of topics including fashion photo shoot, recipes, stories, advertisement for pet care, crossword puzzle, cooking classes offered, and much more.
Beginnings of Spring 2019
After our initial vision meetings, the Parent Co-operative expects to begin Jan. 15 on Tuesdays and Thursdays through May 16, 2019.
Thank you to Daniella for sharing her story of pain and triumph over the experience of bullying. She shared her poetry and inspiration.
We were also appreciative of Senior Pedro for sharing his love of the accordion and his world of art, from nature art, to ceramics, to canvas and experiments in canvas relief work.
Brainstorming individual interests along with collaborative pursuits were identified on Friday, December 28, 2018. This meeting set the compass for the semester explorations and adventures in learning. The children's individual interests directed the broad categories for basis of project based experiences this semester. For the next step we moved the categories to the schedule modules, with parents serving as lead and secondary facilitators. The final planning meeting for the semester was held on Thursday, 1/10/19.
Jan. 15 Module Week
Tuesday: We began with a gathering circle to help ground our presence. The group was then introduced to the idea of vision boards and in the closing circle we talked about the law of attraction as the kids shared their boards.
Thursday: An opening circle welcomed our energy and helped the group transition to intentional presence. We focused on our breath and thoughts on gratitude. Our work consisted of math circle games and review of our favorite board games and then collaborating on designing a board game. We hope to pick this up the following Thursday, 1/24.
Jan. 21 (MLK Day) Special Event: Irene Graves author of "Lovescaping"
Monday: We met with and learned about "Lovescaping" with Ms. Graves. Of the 12 pillars we focused on learning about Empathy and shifting perspective by attempting to be in someone else's shoes.
Jan. 22 Module Week
Tuesday: After our gathering mindfulness circle we learned about the predecessors of building something, planning and designing. One of the more popular modules is the "building models." Kids were anxious to build something that is clear in their mind, so needing to slow down and focus on putting their design on paper and thinking about what material is best suited to build was challenging. Some wonderful sketches and floor plans were developed as a result of the pause today preceding the building next week.
Open play time after designing
Thursday: First module of math completed after 2 weeks. They designed a board game and built it. For the younger group the building of the game varied far from the original design. The older group was quite precise. Both learned of collaborative work and team dynamics. Some with disappointment and others with surprised positive experiences. Some left wanting more team projects, for others not so much.
Jan. 29:
Concluding the Design/ Build module with focused work and new learnings of manipulating material to reflect their visions.
February Modules
Pet Service Project:
The love of animals drew the children to combine service with handwork and cooking. Dog and cats benefitted from loving hands that made toys and baked treats. Two families delivered the labor of love to an animal shelter.
Tai Chi & Qi gong:
Henderson Smith came to our sphere offering Tai Chi & Qigong. Beneficial in using movement to find mindfulness for children, Mr. Henderson is well liked and connecting with our community of learners of all ages.
Math by Cooking:
Learning math applications through cooking fused, resulting in delicious traditional Moroccan dishes and healthy flourless cake with cocoa & no refined sugar.
Science of fabric dyeing:
Natural dyes on silk and cotton. Also working with turmeric powder to create turmeric dye bath.
Performing Arts:
The module of performing arts resulted in a play created by student writers, costumes design volunteers and set design participants. There were 2 Zoom meetings where the 4 writers further developed the script beyond the Tuesdays co-op time frame. The performance module ended with a dress rehearsal, with the expectation of more fine tuning to ensue in the coming month culminating in final performance at semester's end.
Wood Shop:
Much loved and anticipated building module was a true testament to what can be achieved with the power of many minds focused on one deliverable. Moms came together with power tools, boots and spirit to help facilitate our children accomplish their desired outcomes of real wood work.
March Modules
Math: We calculated pi then made pizza "pi"!
World Culture: We learned about the world from all kinds of perspectives, including a family that had just returned from India.
Frida Kahlo joined us!
Ninja in the house!
We learned about Mayan culture!
Newspaper:
Much care, excitement and creativity got poured into the hand made creation of a newspaper, fondly named "The Bird, print". Its' final printing included 14 double-sided pages filled with an impressive variety of topics including fashion photo shoot, recipes, stories, advertisement for pet care, crossword puzzle, cooking classes offered, and much more.
April Modules
Reuse Art:
We embraced a guest artist Rebecca Braziel in our midst to take us on a journey creating art using reuse materials.
One of our parent volunteers was instrumental in finding a venue to display the art work. The Good Vibe Tribe met at the cafe for the opening with friends and family!
Camping Skills:
There was a lot of interest around camping skills, esp. fire building! So, they learned how to build a fire at the module...
...and then did it again in the woods at the State Park! Along with an adult-free hike and other adventures!
Camping Skills used @
State Park in Bastrop
Candle Making: Dipped & Poured
Making hand dipped candles was a tedious and slow process! Understanding the art of candle making helped us to have a greater appreciation for the labor involved and the associated costs!
On the other hand, heating wax and pouring it in the candle holder yields a much different product and the group talked about how the cost of the different types of candles would be reflective of the labor involved!
Pinata Making: Traditional Method
How does a balloon turn into a pinata? We made home made glue with flour and water, cut up some paper strips and started wrapping the balloon. Took some time to get to the colorful end product.
May Modules
Plant Biology
Performing Arts
Biology was brought to us by biologist parents, through time extensive experiments done prior to the module to ensure some cool results without abrasive chemicals! The result was the use chromatography paper and rubbing alcohol. The students used various petals, leaves and vegetables to conduct the experiments.
We covered the history of performing and visual arts for context. An improv comedy show concluded the initial module. The second module provided an opportunity for a choreographed snippet from A Chorus Line! Taught remotely by a HS graduating senior (sibling) that has been taking theater for many years. Lastly the students scripted a play and an Aerial performance as the concluding piece to this semester.
Entrepreneurship
Once again we employed an outside expert to come be with our students to have a deeper dive into a 21st century experience of the skill set and mindset in entrepreneurship. The modules were facilitated by Enabling Young Entrepreneurs, founder Dora de los Santos.
This module was also significant in expanding the HGE organizers' mindset in setting the environment to match the complexity of the learners with the complexity of the content.
The Buds, younger sibling group, worked on a group pizza restaurant concept, fondly named Kids Kids Cafe, which concluded with a soft opening that included the Branches Group!
