Nursery Rhyme Study, part 2

This week we started our second round of Nursery Rhyme Study. The different stations have new learning experiences as we move deeper into our study. At the Musical Station, students are asked to take a familiar nursery rhyme and turn it into a song. So far, we have heard a rock-and-roll version of Solomon Grundy and a rap version of Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater.  At another station, children need to map the setting of a nursery rhyme - showing and labeling all parts of the setting.  At our Kinesthetic station, groups of children are doing dramatic performances of rhymes. Kids at one of the Verbal/Linguistic stations study Nursery Rhyme anthologies to find a new rhyme to memorize and recite to the group, while kids visiting our other Verbal/Linguistic station are creating sequenced picture cards to go with a rhyme of their choosing.  At our Visual/Spatial station, children are using model magic to create small figures from their favorite fairy tales or rhymes. This task takes lots of patience as they have to work in small details. Finally, at the Logical/Mathematical station, students are working in groups to solve logic riddles posed in nursery rhymes, such as: Riddle me, riddle me, rot-tot-tote! A wee little man, in a red red coat! A staff in his hand, and a stone in his throat; If you tell me this riddle, I'll give you a groat.  At our final group share, we will reveal the answers to these brain teasers! (if you choose to research that riddle, please don't share the answer with your child)

Pictures below show students busy at work at stations this week!

Nursery Rhyme Study

This week we launched our Nursery Rhyme Study! Kids are organized into small groups named after Nursery Rhyme characters (like the Kids in the Shoe) and visit seven different stations to explore Nursery Rhymes using different smarts.

At our "Simple Simon" Logical-Mathematical Station, students need to solve math problems posed by or based on Nursery Rhymes.

At our "Queen of Hearts" Visual-Spatial Station, kids work in pairs or groups of three to build a bridge out of large blocks. They then read London Bridge is Falling Down with its many, MANY, verses and draw a picture of their creation (a photograph of their bridge will be put on the cover of their folders).

Groups visiting the "Little Boy Blue" Musical Station choreograph a group dance to a nursery rhyme put to music.

The "Jack Be Nimble" Kinesthetic station has students learn traditional jumprope rhymes and then practice jumping rope while reciting them. Many are meant to help kids learn to count, or learn the alphabet, or the months of the year - we turn the rope at "pepper" speed to see how far into their numbers, letters, or months they can get.

Students visiting the "Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary" Interpersonal Station play games where they advance their playing piece along a path of vowels based on the turn of a card. They work on good sportsmanship, especially when someone gets the "Lose a Turn" card!

The "Humpty Dumpty" Literacy Station has many nursery rhymes written on sentence strips for kids to mix-up and then fix-up. They choose a favorite to memorize to share with the group.

At our other Literacy Station, "Mother Goose", kids are learning tongue twisters. They practice saying them smoothly, then try to boost their speed when they feel more confident.

Groups come together after a station session in a large group to share what they have learned or done at their station. Watching and listening as other groups recite a nursery rhyme, jump rope, share math strategies, perform a dance, twist their tongues, or share how their game went help all of us to learn from their experiences which the next groups will build on.

Enjoy the pictures below from our first round of stations:

Harry Potter Halloween!

Tuesday was our big Halloween Celebration - Hogwarts style! Students got a chance to make a wand, create a winged key, identify the flavors of their Bertie Bott's Every Flavor beans using a dichotomous key, make paintings of gourds from the Hogwarts greenhouses, count seeds from some of Hagrid's pumpkins, practice their hand at writing a scroll with quill and ink, divine the future from the images in their tea leaves, play some "muggle" chess, and use the elixir of life to transform an ordinary rock into gold! And some special treats for snack - including chocolate frogs! A great time was had by all. Check out the photos below: