Our first week back from Spring Break was jam packed full of events!

We started the week with 9 Lines of 6s division facts and our study of money was underway.  We used past Scholastic Book Orders to choose 2-3 books and were given the stipulation of only having $15 to spend.  They then had to figure out the change.

We had an opportunity to go visit Strawberry Creek and see the projects that the 4th and 5th graders made to pair with their biography studies.  The individuals ranged from Frank Lloyd Wright to Eleanor Roosevelt and Malcolm X.  It was interesting for Temescalians to see what the 4th and 5th graders have done, and what they can look forward to in the coming years.

Our field trip to Coyote Hills Regional Park is an opportunity for the Temescalians to see the natural landscape that the Ohlone once lived off of.  Ranger Francis had a plethora of information to share with us.  We started inside of the visitor center and Ranger Francis showed us what Ohlone men and women would wear.  Women wore tule skirts covering their fronts and a deerskin covering their backside.  On special occasions, they would have fur piece covering their shoulders and a necklace of shells as decoration.  They had many different types of baskets, and we got to see one used for gathering acorns and was carried around by their foreheads.  The women also carried staffs to help them dig roots out as they went about their day, gathering food.  The men, when hunting, wore a deerskin and head.  The Ohlone would have arrows with separable arrowheads and carry them in a fox quiver.  Ranger Francis showed us a re-created bow and explained that they would use sinew to string them.  The bow, at rest, is actually bend the opposite way than when they are in use.  The bend helps with the force needed to send the arrow flying.  We also had the opportunity to see basketry, mortar and pestles, arrowheads, and tools made of bone.  We looked at dioramas of what an Ohlone village may have looked like long ago.  Their use of tule was prominent in their shelters, clothing, boats, and even bedding.  As we walked around in the wetlands, we were able to see why.  First stop: an Ohlone shelter, made of tule mats tied onto a willow branch frame.

With all of the rains that we have experienced recently, the wetlands were awash with water.  This was the most water we have seen here in the past 4 years!  As we made our way to the re-created Ohlone Village, we saw all sorts of local plants and animals.  Of this, we saw cattails, tule plants, willows, a frog, egrets, ducks, and even a great blue heron!  Ranger Francis shared that until recently, the village site was under water!  Many of the Temescalians commented on how pungent it smelled in the area, and we made the connection between the water that’s left at the bottom of a vase with dying flowers and how that also has a similar smell of decay.  The site features a recreated sweat lodge and a chief’s house.  The sweat lodge was too wet from the recent rains and flooding, but we spent some time looking at the shells that were left behind and talking about what might have happened at the chief’s lodge.  We learned that the chiefs were not necessarily male or female.  But they organized trading between tribes and helped to settle disputes.

We welcomed Ericka Huggins, an activist, former political prisoner, and leader in the Black Panther Party to talk about love.
She asked us:
What is love? “When you feel a special bond with someone.  There’s many ways.” “A connection.”  “Caring.”
What does love look like at TBS?  “When you have a friend.” “People caring for others.”
How does love show up in Berkeley? “In a store, a street.”
How about love in the world? When love doesn’t happen, why is that? “Being selfish.  Not sharing.”

Ericka introduced a book called She Stood for Freedom, that tells the story of Joan Trumpauer Mulholland.  She was a little girl who grew up in Virginia and then Georgia.  She was told to stay away from the black area of town.  (One Temescalian commented that being forced to live in a certain area was not fair.  “We’re all the same.”) She learned about segregation and got involved in Freedom Riders – civil rights activists who rode buses to challenge the segregation that continued in the South.  Joan got arrested for “disturbing the peace.”  (A Temescalian commented, “But there was no peace there for her to disturb.”)
Ericka asked us what we can do? “Black people who are getting shot.  I want to stand up for them.”  “Put yourself in someone else’s shoes.”  “Native Americans had their land taken away.  They don’t have their legends or traditions anymore.  They wear the same clothes as we do.  They don’t hunt anymore. ” (This Temescalian may be trying to emphasize that the Native peoples’ lives have been altered because their land has been taken away.) “People in the world come and take the big piece for themselves and leave the small piece behind.”
Ericka commented that, “You can give instead of holding your fist tight.  You can love people you don’t know.  Joan took risks.  She told her own children that what their grandparents thought was wrong.”
Joan Mulholland exerted her influence where she could and she, along with many others, made a difference.

Our study of water has covered the ideas of its physical states, absorption, how its molecular structure lends to snowflakes’ distinct 6 sided shapes, and surface tension.  We had planned with look at how the ideas of surface tension and water’s molecular structure help us understand bubbles with Julianne on Friday.  As it turns out, a few Temescalians noticed that there were deposits of foam on the plants along the windows.  With a quick search, we discovered that the foam deposits were actually created by the froghopper nymphs, known as spittlebugs!  The foam is actually frothed up sap that looks like saliva and acts as a covering until it matures to its adult stage.

We also focused on the foam covering and linked that to the giant bubbles we made with Julianne.  Here is a link to the recipe that she used to make giant bubbles!

Here are some snaps of our bubble making!

A highlight was celebrating a Temescalian’s birthday.  We so enjoy learning more about our community members and celebrating another rotation around the sun together!

A few other glimpses of the week:

We hope to see Temescalian grownups at the Wrap Party on Saturday, May 6!  Julia and I are already trying to figure out how to dress up according to the “Out of the World” theme!  (Thank goodness for internet and Pinterest inspiration!)

Spring Sing is coming up on Thursday, May 11!  The show will start at 6:30pm, but more information will come about what Temescalians should wear and their call time.