London Bridge

This week, we read the COMPLETE version of London Bridge is Falling Down (all 12 verses!) and talked about how this rhyme connects to the real London Bridge which did, in fact, fall down many times only to be built up with different materials or, in the end, in a new location along the river. 

The House Table groups then were given various construction materials to create a bridge that would span a gap between their tables. This was a tricky collaborative effort as there had to be an actual road bed or walking path that allowed a vehicle, or animal, or minion to cross it. Look closely and you will see ramps as well as staircases to help travelers access the bridge get to the other side.

 Challenges with stability were all too real as there was no way to really connect the parts of their bridge (except for that lego group…) and much care and patience was needed by all. Many a bridge collapsed and needed to be rebuilt yielding great lessons on what to improve in the next model. 

Groups had fun with this problem solving project and took pride in their finished bridges. The bridges were varied in their designs and sizes. Some were stoutly functional, while others had decorative elements. You may recognize the "salt and pepper" bridge in one of the models. 

Later in the year, we will be revisiting bridge building as part of an engineering study and the lessons learned from this experience will be a good foundation for those bridges which will be tested more strenuously. 

Enjoy the before and after pictures below of each of their constructions! 

Humpty Dumpty

This morning, the 1-2 kids worked on their own or with a buddy to memorize an alternate version of Humpty Dumpty. Some took on the challenge to try for the German or Scottish version! See the videos below to hear all three versions as well as the pictures of the practice work leading up to these recitations.

Humpty Dumpty - German Version

Wirgele-Wargele, auf der Bank,

Fallt s'runter, ist es krank,

Ist kein Doktor im ganzen Land

Der dem Wirgele-Wargele helgen kann.

English Translation (from Google Translate):

Wirgele-Wargele, on the bench,

If it falls down, it is sick,

There is no doctor in the whole country

Who can help Wirgele-Wargele.

Humpty Dumpty - Scottish Version

Humpty Dumpty ligs in t'beck*

Wid a white counterpane** aroon his neck;

Forty doctors and forty wrights

Will nivver put Humpty Dumpty to rights.

* ligs in t'beck = lies in the brook

**counterpane = scarf

Humpty Dumpty (alternate version)

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall,

Four score men and four score more

Cannot put Humpty Dumpty where he was before.

(This version is closest in line with Humpty Dumpty's true identity - a cannon!)

Geometry

The 1-2s have embarked on a Geometry Study in math. Kids are learning the names and attributes of different 2-D and 3-D shapes. There is a lot of new vocabulary they are tackling - words like parallel, vertices and congruent! First graders are using pattern blocks to learn how to compose larger shapes from smaller ones while second graders are using geoblocks to learn how to recognize a 3-D shape from the "foot print" outlines of each face. All kids are working on drawing shapes. 3-D shapes require extra elements to make them seem to "pop-out" from the page, like showing more than one face and the use of shading. 

As our study continues, first graders will take a deep dive look at different types of triangles while their second grade classmates will be exploring quadrilaterals and what specific attributes make a shape from that group a rectangle. 

Check out the pictures below of our shape explorations with Geometry!