We’ve hit the ground running in our new Makerspace space, as the students have been excited to get started on new projects. We now have a linear connection to the FabLab where our 3D printers and laser cutter live, and we’ve already been putting those to good use. We’ve also added grow lights to the Tower Garden, which continued to grow over the summer. We’ll be harvesting some bell peppers in the coming weeks and starting more cucumbers, lettuce, and peas to add to the tomatoes and peppers.

Kindergarteners are currently working on decorating animal masks that were cut out of cardboard based on their own drawings. We will continue to add more color and detail to these for a few weeks, adding fur/whiskers, cutting out eye holes, and attaching straps.

Lower El has picked up where they left off with their knitting skills and is getting started on a number of projects on the circular looms. We’ve only had a few classes to work on these, but their imagination and ability have been inspiring. In the coming months, we will hopefully see them wearing any number of hats, scarves, bags, and even simple sweaters as their projects progress.

Upper El has mostly been busy working on honing their robotics skills, utilizing the Lego Spike kits to help teach them about the construction of certain bases and the coding to go along with them. As these skills build, we will challenge them with more imaginative challenges. In Makerspace, we’ve spent a few classes brainstorming a new 2-bay compost bin made out of pallets that we will hopefully begin construction on in the next week or so. We evaluated the site, took measurements, and even made a prototype out of Lego to figure out how many pallets were needed. Once the compost bin is complete, they will work with Karen to restart the school-wide compost collection.

Middle School has already taken on quite a number of projects in Makerspace, STEAM, and Robotics. We’re getting in the Halloween spirit by making masks or props to go along with their costumes. These include giant cakes, computers, mice, and various other characters. The skills they learned with our mask-making last year have carried over in a number of ways, and the detail they’ve been able to incorporate so far has been wonderful. STEAM has given us the opportunity to use the FabLab to make name tags for their lockers using materials cut from cardboard to wood and acrylic on the laser cutter to 3D modeled parts printed on the 3D printers. We’ve also just begun a larger group project working to design and build a model city, keeping in mind the proportion and scale of all the buildings and infrastructure. There have been lengthy conversations about the needs of the citizens and the space available within the city limits. Robotics has focused heavily on weight distribution so far. They were presented with a flexible bridge that their robot had to navigate across, keeping in mind how the center of gravity would impact its stability. They were also challenged to think about the center of gravity and weight distribution as they made robots compete in a sort of reverse tug of war, pushing the other beyond a marked line. Traction and torque also came into play with various tires and speeds being tried out.

Primary and LE: “Mi cuerpo” & “La Primavera”; UE: “La Comida” & “La Primavera”; MS: “Verbo Tener” & “La Primavera,” reading, comprehension, listening, and vocabulary from each topic.

A general review of all we have learned to this point in this school year has been done at every level. In addition, FWM students are still working on their usual conversation skills, such as Spanish greetings, feelings, the calendar, and descriptions of the weather, as repetition is the key to learning another language. They are continuously improving their Spanish understanding. Students from Primary, Lower Elementary, Upper Elementary, and Middle School listened carefully to Spanish books and songs and participated in interactive games that were displayed during class.

Primary and Lower Elementary students started to learn names of some parts of the human body in Spanish, the lesson is called “Mi cuerpo;”: cabeza, hombros, rodillas, pies, codo, ojos, orejas, boca y manos. In addition, Primary students and Lower elementary students learned some new vocabulary that we use in “La Primavera”such as:  pájaro, patito, nido, abeja, mariposa, mariquita, oruga, tulipán, hoja, semillas, sol, Lluvia, arco iris and many more depending of the grade. The same type of Montessori lessons, such as the three-part learning cards and matching cards, were used to reinforce concepts. The children also really enjoyed singing and participating in classroom games. Spanish Montessori Lessons were presented in class and left in their classroom to be practiced during the week, in addition to some worksheets.

Upper Elementary Students continued practicing the use of the articles (el, los, la, las) in Spanish. In addition, they are learning about food in Spanish “La Comida”. They continue practicing their writing, listening and vocabulary through activities, worksheets, and games we used in class. We also learned new vocabulary to use in our lesson about “La Primavera”. Children enjoyed the outdoor Spanish scavenger hunt, singing about “La Primavera,” enhancing recognition and repetition of the sounds that help with the pronunciation of the language.

Middle School students also continue working year-round on their Spanish greetings, description of weather, feelings, and their daily calendar, including days of the week, months, and seasons. Students continue working on the Spanish curriculum in the “Avancemos” program. They also focused on learning the verb “Tener” (to have) and its different conjugations depending on the pronoun used. When they learn a new verb, such as “Tener,” they practice it in worksheets that include exercises focusing on listening and comprehension.  We are reading short stories for youth in Spanish to enhance their vocabulary, reading, listening, and comprehension.

Children in all grades enjoyed the beautiful weather, learning about “La Primavera,” participating in an outdoor Scavenger Hunt, and reading some stories outside. All the students at FWM are enjoying learning Spanish, and I am very pleased with their progress in accomplishing goals in my class.

As spring rolls along, we’ve had all grade levels help revive our aeroponic tower garden. The Kindergarteners planted seeds in January, which grew large enough to transfer into the tower garden in early March. We currently have beans, tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumbers, and lettuce growing. As time allows, everyone has been doing their best bumblebee impression, helping to hand pollinate the cucumber flowers, which will hopefully culminate in a small harvest in the coming months.

Kindergarteners have taken on a variety of challenges. We worked on finger knitting in January and February, which requires incredible focus and hand-eye coordination to successfully complete all of the steps. More recently, they began a joint project with the Middle Schoolers, where they drew and colored an animal or character, which the Middle Schoolers are currently working on sewing into stuffies as gifts. They’ve asked many times to see how theirs are progressing, but it will be a fun surprise once they are finished in the coming weeks.

Lower El also began the year with knitting. We began with the basics, learning finger knitting and then progressing to small circular looms, which the Third Graders made themselves. Once everyone was proficient with the small circular looms, we began on the larger circular looms, which resulted in a variety of completed projects such as pillowcases, scarves, bags, and arm warmers. Most recently, Lower El has been very interested in what their older peers are working on in Robotics class, so we’ve worked on various Lego challenges that utilize the same obstacles and lessons, such as ramps and our paper airplane launcher.

Upper El has just completed a larger mask project, choosing an animal and utilizing cardboard as the main material. They’ve been passionate about the details and final touches for the last few weeks, and the results are impressive. In Robotics prior to Spring Break, they were challenged to make the longest car possible in teams of 2-3 students. We then connected all of the cars together to make one incredibly long car, totaling over 24 feet in length. It was exciting to see their creation make its way down the hallway. Since Spring Break, Robotics has focused on smaller, seemingly simple challenges that require very innovative solutions, such as making a vehicle go up the steepest ramp possible, creating a gondola to go up a tight line, and using gear ratios to make the fastest car possible.

Middle Schoolers are in the midst of a number of projects. A furniture design challenge presented in February has progressed from sketches to 3D modeling and 3D printing, then refining to finalize dimensions with a preliminary design cut on the laser cutter. The final step will be a ⅓ scale model version, which will have all of the needed detail to assemble as if it were a real piece of furniture. At the moment, they are busy working to turn the Kindergartener’s drawings into stuffies. This involves cutting pattern pieces before cutting fabric to ensure the proportions and details are correct. They are now working to get those pieces sewn up, stuffed, and adding any final touches to make the Kindergartener’s drawings come to life. In Robotics, they’ve spent some time brushing up on some construction and coding basics with the Lego Spike kits and some more advanced tutorials. Using that as a foundation, additional challenges have been presented to push their creativity and come up with innovative solutions.