Trip to Gray Bay and Surfing on North Beach

November 12th
A lot has happened since my last post, including me dropping my trusty phone/camera in water.  Sadly, I have not been taking as many photographs lately, and feel as if I have missed the ability to document some pretty exciting events here at school.  I did have my camera on a recent trip to Gray Bay and will share a few photos and stories with you.  Our day began with a ferry ride to Sandspit, and a rather bumpy drive down a logging road.  The children were surprised to see a large flock of seagulls in the woods rather than by the ocean.  The birds were feasting on dying salmon in the river as was a startled bear that ran along the roadside until it managed to find an escape route.  It is clear that our kids feel at home on the beach, and although it was October, I know many of them would have been willing to swim without question.  As soon as we arrived they took off running, digging, building, collecting and exploring.  A group of students worked together to create a range of impressively smooth and contemporary-looking sand castles and challenged each other with math questions written in the sand.   At one point, Bobbi-Lee gathered the group together for a Geology lesson.  She handed them each a small bag and asked them to collect a range of rocks that were as different as possible.  When they had gathered their bags of treasures, we drew circles in the sand, and worked together to sort them into a number of groups.  

During the afternoon, two of my Kindergarten students noticed a rainbow in the sky when the sun shone between bursts of misty rain.  One little girl waved goodbye and said, "See you tomorrow if it rains and suns!"  It is always gratifying to see your students making connections between what they learn in school and outside of the classroom.  

At one point, a little girl found what looked like a piece of kelp on the beach.  One of our older student recognized two hooks along the side, and explained that it was likely a shark egg case, sometimes called a 'Mermaid's Purse'.  The kids who live here, particularly those who grew up on the island, have an vast amount of knowledge in regards to their environment.  I feel so grateful to share these experiences with such an amazing group of children and I am grateful for their teachings.  

Last week we travelled up to North Beach for the third annual 'Expression Session', an event that celebrates surfing on island.  It was a cold morning, and the longhouse was pretty icy when we arrived.  We huddled by the wood stove as the children were organized into groups according to their age and height.  I waited until the very end of the day to try surfing (for the first time), and spent most of the day walking in the woods and playing on the beach with a small group of five year olds.  Beaches and forests are the best playgrounds for children, and we are fortunate to have access to so many interesting outdoor spaces here.  Finally it was our turn to hit the waves.  We squeezed into our wetsuits and paraded off to the water with our tired but enthusiastic instructors.  A few of the kids were nervous, while others grinned from ear to ear as the waves pushed their boards along.  I tried to be brave and stand up before I knew what I was doing and ended up with a face full of salt water, but otherwise had an incredible time.  I can see why surfing is such an addictive sport, and it didn't take me very long to experience the rush that surfers get that keeps them coming back for more.  

I am off now to plan for the next week at school.  See you again when it rains and suns!

Noticing the Details

October 17th
For me, drawing has always been a meditative experience.  As a shy child, most of my 'choice' time in Kindergarten was spent at the painting easel.  My dad used to bring my brothers and I stacks of one-sided paper from work, and we would spend hours drawing together.  When I was a teenager, my mom pulled garbage bags of old drawings that I thought had long since disappeared out of our crawl space upstairs.  For me, drawing was a way of exploring my inner self.  It calmed me and allowed me to be quiet and reflective.

Obviously not all children feel the same way about drawing and painting, and many would rather dance, build structures or play soccer.  These days, I view drawing as a way for young children to communicate their ideas, when written language is still somewhat limited.  Currently, most of my students choose to draw in their sketch books during quiet time.  Some are beginning to play collaborative games on paper,  while others spend their time diligently working on observation drawings of the beach, shelves in the classroom or interesting objects from our Science corner.  We have been running an after-school club, and I lead an art class on Wednesdays.  Last week, I took the children outside with view-finders to draw alone in an outdoor space.  One little boy chose the plum tree to sit in, while others sat on the rocky beach and drew the islands in the distance.  Another lay in the grass and carefully drew a row of trees in magnificent detail.  One little girl discovered that she could use a leaf as carbon paper and another child worked on an observation drawing of all his friends.   The following week, we warmed up with free line drawings using graphite sticks.  I challenged the children to use only their fingers to draw with, then their wrists, elbows and whole arms.  Once they had warmed up, I took out mirrors and asked the kids to look closely at their faces.  I asked them to tell me what they noticed, and the answers ranged from the colour of their eyes, to the tiny pores on their cheeks.  One Kindergarten student spent a good portion of the afternoon drawing tiny pores in pencil, as well as a small scar that he noticed under his left eye.  Another chose to do a separate portrait of his body with a sword down the centre.  The energy that young children can achieve in their drawings is impressive, and it saddens me that this freedom often gets lost along the way as we begin striving for perfection.  For me, true beauty lies in odd angles, and bold strokes.  

Trip to the Salmon Hatchery

October 5th

I tried my hand at salmon fishing this summer and came home with enough coho and chinook to last the winter.  Catching the salmon was easy enough, but when it came to clubbing and gutting, I passed the job on to either the boat-owner or my seven year old friend, Roan.  Roan was born and raised on Haida Gwaii, and is accustomed to fishing, hunting and gathering food.  When there was a lot of blood, he was thoughtful enough to suggest that I look away, and when a near-dead salmon thrashed around inside the hatch, he gently told me that it was "just the nerves".  This week at school, we headed over to the Salmon Hatchery to learn about spawning.  Pat and Roger demonstrated how to catch and, sadly, kill the female salmon in order to take her eggs, and how to milk the males.  A few brave kids volunteered to club the salmon while others shielded their faces or watched with curiosity.  I tried to appear stoic, and ended up learning quite a lot about salmon.  I learned that it takes only ninety seconds for the eggs to become fertilized, and we watched the rejected sperm rise to the surface of the water.  I also learned that salmon spawned at the Hatchery have a ninety percent chance of survival, as opposed to in the wild where they only stand a ten percent chance.  When the eggs hatch, our school will be given a tank of salmon fry to look after over the winter, and I'm sure the children will have a clear understanding of where they came from.  When they are strong enough, we will release them into the wild to begin the cycle over again.  As I biked home from school, past the creek that is full of female salmon slowly dying, I realize that I am becoming more and more accustomed to living here, even though it can feel like a sensory overload at times. 

Kaleidoscopes and a Crow Funeral

September 30th

As the days grow shorter, and the rain continues to fall, a little sunshine is appreciated here on Haida Gwaii. Today was stunningly beautiful, and my walk to school began with a brilliant pink sunrise.  I knew that I wanted to take the children outside this afternoon, and we planned a beach walk and a trip to the library.  As the older students took their turn visiting the library, we finished making kaleidoscopes out of papier-mached toilet paper rolls, glitter, beads, and sheets of mylar.  To demonstrate how they work, I taped three mirrors together and placed them over a sparkly piece of plastic so that the kids could observe and document the repeated patterns they created.  They were mesmerized, and one of them exclaimed "It looks like a hundreds of rooms!" and also decided that the repetition of cubes and triangles reminded him of a city.  One little boy took the mirrored triangle over to a wall mirror and pressed his face against it.  Another boy began laying pencils inside the triangular prism and noted the patterns they created.  The kaleidoscopes turned out amazingly, and we figured out just how many pinches of beads and glitter to add to create the most interesting designs.  As we finished up, we went outside with sheets of construction paper and a variety of interesting objects, including scissors and pattern blocks.  We arranged them on the construction paper in the brightest patch of sunshine we could find and waited to see if the sun would bleach the paper.  I was unsure whether it would work, and thought that the wind might blow out papers away, but we were pretty excited to see the results happening very quickly.  As we waited, we grabbed buckets and walked down the beach  to collect crabs.  We have been talking about 'gentleness' and the children had to be reminded to be gentle with their crabby friends.  We returned them to their rocks and headed for the library where we spotted a dead crow on the side of the road.  

All of the kids stopped and stared with concern at the dead animal and began to wonder what had happened to it.  "Maybe it fell from the post", "Maybe it was a baby and it was trying to fly", "Maybe it was shot" were a few suggestions the children came up with.  The bird had a visible hole in it's side, but it was unclear what had happened to it.  As we looked up, we noticed a group of about ten crows sitting on the telephone wires overhead, and I told them about the mysterious crow funerals that I had read about.  We silently wished our friend well and headed off to the library followed by a visit to the park.  The kids have been very interested in butterflies and birds lately, so these topics will likely guide our research in the weeks to come.  Until next week!  xo

Invention time!

September 27th
"How we spend our days, is of course how we spend our lives."
-Annie Dillard

Trust can be a powerful thing when it comes to teaching children.  It can be challenging to give up a bit of control and allow your students to construct their own knowledge, particularly when you are a new teacher, and are unsure exactly how that might 'look' in action.  This week, I decided to jump in and go for it.  I set up a variety of centres, and provided my students with an afternoon to explore and create.  I spent most of the afternoon observing, questioning and initiating discussions while the children worked away in groups and independently.  One little boy in particular, is a very talented and creative builder and is constantly in some stage of planning a new invention.  Reading and writing have been frustrating tasks for him, and this year he has been waiting for a chance to demonstrate his true passions.  Today, I set up a 'Building Centre' with him in mind, that consisted of a giant bag of interesting items, a large tin of treasures, scissors, string and glue.  Three students teamed up and worked together on designing a ship with escape pods (made from kinder egg capsules and rubber string), and a styrofoam egg carton.  I listened in on a pretty heated discussion regarding how the escape pods would be attached, and our resident builder was not too pleased, but willing to compromise.  He was pretty convinced that they 'escapees' would be dragged under with the boat unless the pods were given enough slack and free from the inside of the boat.  "What if all these things are just sitting inside with no connection at all, then the lid on it will actually be buoyant and float right off so they can just float right out" he suggested.  His partner seemed a little more concerned with the aesthetics of the boat, and he eventually gave in and began planning his next creation.  A similar discussion ensued, when a five year old boy showed off his bamboo submarine with a floating gas tank to visually track the vessel from the shore.  "What if a plane drops a bomb on that and it would blow it up and it would burn down down down into the pipe and it would explode the motor?  It would make a fire inside and it would sink to the bottom" one student warned.  This initiated a debate about oil and water, and whether the water would put out the fire, which I sadly had to cut off so that we could finish up our day.  Another little boy presented a breathing tube that he had attached to a piece of foam that would float on the surface.  His clever invention would allow the diver to explore the ocean without an oxygen tank.  Another group of students worked on paintings, an experience that was particularly exciting for one little girl.  Every time she mixed two new colours together, she ran over to share her discoveries with me.  "I mixed pink and blue and it made purple!!"  "I mixed pink and yellow and it made orange!  I'm inventing colours!!"  We had worked on inventing new colours the week prior, and she was clearly proud to practice her new skill.  Our final painting 'critique' of the day warmed my heart.  All of the students stood around the easels, while the kindergarten students explained their thinking, and asked some very thoughtful questions.  Each child also expressed how "beautiful" both paintings were and how much they loved them.  I will continue to trust my students, by providing them with opportunities to develop their interests and share their talents with each other.  I can see so much potential in our classroom, and I am looking forward to next week.  Until then.  xo

Bluebirds of Happiness and Rose-coloured glasses

September 20th
Haida Gwaii is known for it's stormy fall weather, and this week we have had our share of wind and rain fall.  Luckily, there have also been quite a few bursts of brilliant sunshine, resulting in some stunning rainbows.  During a silent meditation on Wednesday, on little girl blurted out that she had seen a rainbow on her way to school that morning, and clearly couldn't wait to share the news.  This week we have been discussing the power of positive thinking, and I have begun introducing mindfulness and visualization techniques to our morning yoga ritual.  One of the parents brought a Tibetan bell to school, and it really seems to help the children quiet their minds by focusing on the sustained sound.  We discussed how colours can represent emotions and we worked on some colour visualizations.  On Tuesday, each child created their own bluebird mobile, hung with strands of coloured plastic, pieces of wood and feathers and paper hearts.  We strung our 'Bluebirds of Happiness' together on a long branch, and hung it above the table.  We discussed what was special to us, and drew pictures of our favourite people and things.  Our science lesson involved 'tie-dying' milk, by dropping food colouring close to the edges of a bowl, and squeezing dish soap in the centre.  The class took turns drawing and explaining their predictions, and were all excited to watch the dye move and change colour.

We finished the week with a Friday afternoon mushroom-picking adventure in the forest with one of our amazing parents, Glynn.  He taught us how to select and identify mushrooms, and how to cut and clean them.  At the end of the hike, Glynn demonstrated how to take a sample from inside of a tree to identify how old it is.  The children took turns counting, and after a few tries we learned that our tree was approximately sixty five years old!  The weather was gorgeous, and we climbed into the van with at least a few bags full of chanterelle mushrooms to share.

We returned to school and presented the children with their 'Home Bags', that Bobbi-Lee, Jessie and I spent a few evenings sewing.  This week, they were filled with jars of homemade  plum jam (my first attempt) a paper bag of chanterelle mushrooms, and of course, new agendas.  

I hope you all have a relaxing weekend, and see at least one rainbow in the sky.  Bye for now!  xo

How does your Garden Grow?

 

September 17th
Last spring, our students and parents helped fill our garden beds with strawberries, rhubarb, kale, cabbage, potatoes and carrots.  We also have a lovely tree in front of our school that is heavy with ripe plums that the crows and ravens have been helping themselves to.  Yesterday, Bobbi-Lee and I decided that it was time to make some jam and harvest some potatoes, so the kids headed outside to dig and pick.  They worked in teams to gather the food and returned from the rain with tins and buckets full.  Before heading outside, we brainstormed a list of local food, and to say it was long is an understatement.  Deer, crab, salmon, thimbleberries, halibut, mushrooms, salmonberries, clams and mussels to name a few.  We are so lucky to be have access to such a rich variety of food, and our students know this firsthand.  As a school, we are focusing on reminding our children to eat healthy local food and will continue to do so.  Jamie Oliver has been a huge advocate for teaching children the importance of nutrition.  Watch his TED talk on healthy kids, and his continuing efforts to improve the education system in a new series called Dream School.  I spent all morning watching clips of the show on youtube, and they were wonderful and inspiring.  

Playdough-makers and colour-inventors

September 17th 2011

We began the week with a play dough making session, while another group of students experimented with mixing and inventing new paint colours.  I explained how to read and follow a recipe, then asked one of the older students to make sure that they were taking turns.  They did a beautiful job, and when the play dough was ready, they came up with some very creative sculptural designs.  I presented them with a few textured objects to experiment with, including a fossil and a piece of wood filled with wood bug tunnels.  They began making prints with the dough, and were particularly curious when they saw the reversal of the fossil shell pattern.  There have been a lot of questions regarding fossils lately, and today a little girl shared her understanding of how Haida Gwaii originated from volcanic rock.  Another boy added his knowledge of underwater volcanoes while the rest of the children considered how quickly lava might cool under water.  Unexpected conversations like these help guide my practice by revealing my students interests and curiosities.  I will bring in some argillite and ask the children to search for fossils on our beach next week and see where our research takes us.  

The second group worked away at mixing and inventing their own paint colours on a visual recipe sheet.  They were very excited to experiment with paint, and were curious to see what happened when they added black or white to their colours.  They were delighted to see the results and began shouting out ideas for colour names.  They made connections to nature and objects in the classroom, and came up with some very inventive names, including Skunk Grey, Razor Red, Whirlpool, Sky, Banana Slug Grey and Old Fashioned Battery, (a purplish burgundy brown).  One little boy was afraid to look at his page when he saw the resulting colour, claiming that it was "too spooky".  He named it Spooky Grey and carried on mixing.  This week I showed the class an amazing rainbow-making plastic sheet, and one of the parents brought a kaleidoscope and a prism for us to play with.  I look forward to experimenting with these next week.  I will be sewing up some 'home bags' this weekend with Bobbi-Lee.  I hope you enjoy yours!

Making Waves

September 12th 2011
Today was a special day, and not only because it was our first parent-led 'School Monday'.  We headed up island to North Beach this morning, with a group of ten of our twelve students and five parents and teachers in tow.  When we arrived, the energy was peaceful and the sun was shining.  The adults started a fire and set up camp for the day, while the children began combing the beach for agates, shells and other treasures.  So many treasures in fact, that one five year old boy was worried that his pockets were so full of agates that his pants might fall down!  We found an enormous mushroom growing sideways out of the sand, an ancient canoe, and a range of animal tracks, belonging to deer, raccoons and bears.  As the day went on, a group of children began experimenting with the incoming waves, and built a driftwood structure to block them.  They decided on a triangular structure for strength, and soon learned that the dam needed to be moved closer to shore with the incoming tide.  This experience reminded me of how much I learn through watching uninitiated group play.  Children gain so much through collaborative problem-solving and it is fascinating to listen to their ideas and watch their wheels turning.  It was also exciting to watch our new Kindergarten students find the courage to try something new with the 'big' kids.  Two of our new five year olds braved a surf board for the first time, and were clearly proud of their achievements.  I was also quite impressed that most of the children spent almost the entire day waist deep in the ocean.  Although the sun was shining, on Haida Gwaii in September, the water is pretty frigid.  To be honest, on Haida Gwaii, the water is pretty frigid all summer long.  The kids didn't seem to mind, and spent all day in the ocean, eventually joining us, in soaking wet t-shirts and towels by the fire where we roasted hotdogs and marshmallows.  The first 'School Monday' of the year reminded me how wonderful it is to spend time together as a school community.  Now I suppose it is time to shake the sand out of our shoes, say goodbye to summer, and get ready for a year full of new experiences.  xo

Conversations about Rainbows

September 10th 2011
I just completed my first week of teaching at The Living and Learning School, a small independent private school located on the stunning island of Haida Gwaii off the coast of British Columbia.  I will be working with a group of delightful five to seven year olds, and look forward to having the most fascinating conversations.  Last week, my teaching partner and friend handed me a lovely little book about rainbows that she found at the thrift store.  On the first day of school, I read the story followed by the question,  "Where do rainbows come from?"  I was intrigued by the flurry thoughtful responses I received.  One five year old girl described prisms, that scattered rainbows on bedroom walls, while others discussed the mist that is left behind after rainfall.  Every child knew that there was a connection between the sun and the rain, and most of them were certain that rainbows had something to do with reflections of light.  They were a little unsure about where all the bright colours came from.  One little boy suggested that perhaps the sun reflected the colours on the ground back up to the sky.  A very creative child considered that the formation of rainbows might have something to do with lightbulbs or an invisible blind that is attached to the clouds.  I began recording my students conversations in order to capture some of their unique ideas and help guide our future explorations.  Next week I will introduce a variety of reflective materials, we will mix paints and dyes, and perhaps begin working on a giant colour collage.  I will continue adding stories, reflections and photographs soon so feel free to stop by!  xxo