This past week we had the honor of introducing many Temescalians to the wondrous number that we know as Pi! To celebrate, we learned that this number represented the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. In other words, when you measure something round, that length will be about 3 and a little bit. Temescalians put this to the test and measured squishy cushions, cups, bowls, the blue mindfulness chime, and other round objects and found that the circumference (the distance around the entire circle) was indeed 3x, and a little bit, the diameter (the distance across the circular object).
We also played with words and came up with “Pi Puns”. The Temescalians came up with some great ones that reflects their great sense of humor.
Of course, we had to enjoy some pie (spelled with an “e” because you eat this type of pie!). Many thanks to those who contributed to our plethora of pies, including our very own Julie Walton! Eating pie and reading Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi seemed like a fitting way to end the Pi Day festivities!
In Science, we pulled out the balances from our FOSS kits to measure how much a dry sponge weighs. Our end goal is to guess how much water a sponge can hold. There are many ways to calculate this, but first, we needed to introduce our scales and how to use them!
We practiced writing possessive nouns. Knowing where to add the apostrophe can be tricky so we picked individuals who would possess something and we would make up sentences incorporating that possessive noun. We encouraged the Temescalians to write different types of sentences like statements, commands, questions, and exclamations!
We started our touch typing 2 week intensive and a big task is having the Temescalians put the correct finger on the correct key, as well as always returning to the “home row”. Tip! There is a raised bump on the “f” and “j” keys so you can always feel with your index fingers to see if you’re on the home row!
To start, the Temescalians do a quick warm up using a laminated keyboard before logging in and using the Chromebooks and starting the program. Each Temescalian types at his/her own speed, but needs to have a teacher check before s/he may move on to the next level. We explain that while the correct key may have been pushed, the computer can’t tell if the correct finger has been used to press that key. That’s why all three teachers in the classroom need to watch before each individual may move on. One Temescalian commented, “This is just like cursive.” This comparison is true. We watch closely for correct letter formation in cursive, and we watch closely for the correct finger usage on the keyboard. If we build good habits now, the foundation will be stronger as we continue on and type more and more!
Susan also came back to teach a class on digital citizenship. In the past, she spoke about security. What information is alright to share with others, and whom you should share it with. An acquaintance would be alright to know your name, but not your personal information like age, address, phone number, or birthdate. However, a friend that you have met in real life and your grown ups also know would be alright to share your age. This time, in conjunction with our upcoming research project on local plants and animals of the East Bay, she talked about searches. We first played a game where she placed a few objects from the classroom behind a carrel. A Temescalian was tasked with describing it to the class without saying what it was. One object was a stapler. To describe it, the Temescalian said that it was metal, you find it in the classroom, and it keeps papers together. By describing it, Temescalians could figure out what it was even though they couldn’t see it. Searches are much like that.
If, for example, you wanted to know “How many teeth does an adult dog have?” You could type in “dog” but the results would be varied and quite numerous, in the millions! If you type in “dog teeth”, the search would be narrowed down quite a bit to about 100,000 results. If you type in “adult dog teeth”, the results would be even less and the websites that would come up would be more specific. When we go to the library on Tuesday, Nora, the children’s librarian at the West Berkeley branch will show us different websites that we can also use to find information for our research on a local plant or animal.
Birthdays! We celebrated two birthdays this week, and it was a pleasure to have both of them bring in photos from when they were babies until now! We loved also sharing appreciations and asking them and their expert panel questions about them when they were younger.
Other views from our week:
Our Art Show is opening this Thursday, 3/23 from 6-8pm! We are busy preparing for this show entitled: Perspectives. The 3rd graders have been working on multiple intelligences, different kinds of “smart”, and how the brain works. There are many interactive components to the show. We hope that you have a chance to come on Thursday – Saturday to see your Temescalian’s work, and others too! There will be work from the ECC up to the Middle School, and it is always such a wonder to see the spectrum of work in this continuum, to see where they start and where they end up as artists and thinkers!
One last reminder is our upcoming walking field trip to the West Branch of the Berkeley Public Library on Tuesday.
We have already submitted the applications for the library cards for those who do not have a library card for the city of Berkeley. The librarian, Nora, will hand them out on our visit.
For those who already have their own cards, please bring them in on Tuesday so that you may check out books! If you do not have your card present, you may not check out any books. So find your library card and put them in your backpacks now!
