We have been up to quite a bit in the 2/3 group in the past few weeks! We’ve done several art projects, including infinite perspective names, pointillism watercolor paintings, and Minecraft-style selfie drawings. We’re also in the midst of a science project investigating crystal formation. Last week we made crystals with magnesium sulfate and water, and this week we will break geodes to see how crystals are formed naturally. On nice weather days we have started playing handball, which is a new crowd favorite among our children who like to play sports.

And also welcome to our newest team member Charlie! Charlie started just over a week ago and is already having tons of fun with us and building great connections with our children. They are a poet and a musician, and plan on bringing those interests to our second- and third-graders here.

The month of December saw a lot of fun activities in the 2/3 group! We started a craze of designing trading cards which continues into the new year. We spent several weeks perfecting a complex watercolor art project where we made serene winter woodland scenes. We introduced our children to new games like the card game “President” and Capture the Flag. We also conducted a smelly science experiment testing the effects of vinegar on eggs. Finally, in the midst of the cold and rain, we decided it was a good idea to cozy up with some hot cocoa.

We had a fun and eventful week last week in the 2/3 group! We experimented with a new gym game called Battleship, which the children loved. Each team has a large mat with six cones on it that constitutes their battleship. The players must stay on their respective battleships and throw dodgeballs and bean bags at the other ships’ cones. When all of a ship’s cones are knocked down, that ship sinks. We found that this game engaged all of our students, even the ones who don’t normally opt for playing in the gym!

We’ve also done a few fun art activities this week. Gus led our students in creating cute cat silhouette collages, which came out incredible. Erika led a painting experiment where we mixed tempera paint with different fluids such as dish soap and hydrogen peroxide to see how it flowed. The result was some really interesting abstract art! Finally, we ended the week with a game of Jeopardy while Sam ran Nerd Club for some fourth- and fifth-graders.

We only had three days this week with the 2/3 group, and we made the best of it by getting as much outside time as we could. We played kickball and football on the field, as well as introducing circle soccer to the routine. The big project of the week was making volcanoes out of our leftover halloween gourds! It was an explosive time!

Last week in the 2/3 group we had a ton of fun enjoying the nice weather outside! From pick-up football games to kickball to tag, we’re making the best of the season while we can. Inside we’ve done a few really fun projects, namely painting pumpkins on Halloween, sugar skull symmetry art on the Day of the Dead, and dissecting owl pellets on the days in between! 

With the clock change we’ve had to adjust our schedule to accommodate more outside time before it gets dark. Instead of going outside at 4:15 on regular days, we will be going out at 3:45 for the time being.

These past few weeks have been a blast! We’ve done our best to make the most of the nice weather while it lasts by staying out on the playground or playing Four Square and Kickball. Inside we’ve started a new read-aloud book, titled “A Tale Dark and Grimm,” by Adam Gidwitz. Our second- and third-graders requested a fantasy adventure novel that is both scary and funny, and this novel is the perfect match. It follows the adventures of Hansel and Gretel through various Brothers Grimm-style fairy tales that remain true to the dark and brutal nature of the source material, while also being sharp-witted and silly. I really love reading this book, and our students seem to enjoy the goofy German accent I use for the main characters. Further leaning into the spooky vibe of the season, we’ve made TROLL SNOT ( or oobleck with food coloring), bat moonlight silhouette paintings, and played our first game of Werewolf, a cooperative murder-mystery discussion game.