Open House 2017

It was so great to see so many families at the RES Open Houses this week.  I got a chance to see old and new members of our school community, and am so excited to work with all of you to make enrichment programming at RES awesome! If you did not get a chance to stop by the enrichment classroom....here are a few images of what visitors saw:

 Welcome to Room 32.

Save the Date!

 Flynn Performance dates can be found here:  https://enrichmentatres.blogspot.com/2017/09/flynn-trips-for-2017-2018-school-year.html
AND the Cougar Cub Inventor's Workshop Thursday November 30th and Science Fair Thursday March 15th dates are scheduled!

We explored some of the robotics that we will be adding to the enrichment curriculum this year, in particular in Grade 3.

 Families interested in after school robotics club had a chance to try out the tools and sign up for more information!

 Spanish information and curriculum was available.

 The classroom library is ready for readers and writers.

 We welcome all of the newest school members by learning their names and interests on this bulletin board.

 The kitchen is ready for exploratory play.

 Art easels, sand bins and light tables--ready to go!

 Puppet theater and building materials in abundance.

 You can sign up for the enrichment blog to get updates!

 The makerspace was open for exploration.

 Handouts were available to learn about materials we are collecting to make the makerspace great.

Families created spinning tops in the makerspace!

A video of kindergarten and first grade students showed some of the great building and teamwork that has been happening over the last few weeks.

Questions about enrichment programming or the makerspace can be directed to Darcie Rankin at darcie.rankin@cesuvt.org.

Happy 2017-2018 School Year

I am looking forward to a great year of learning with kindergarten - fourth grade students, RES staff and the community!

Students are the reason we are here! (Classroom Wall Sign)

As in the past few years every student will visit the enrichment classroom once a week to do a variety of fun and engaging activities that focus on their interests and strengths as well as learning NEW things. I welcome visitors to my classroom to share or observe and am happy to receive feedback and ideas that will make our classroom awesome. The best way to contact me is via email at darcie.rankin@cesuvt.org.

 Here is the current weekly enrichment whole class schedule:
Monday: Robinson, Girouard,Mumford, Darling, Berliner
Wednesday: Purvee, Ankerson, Babineau, Senning
Friday: Hackett, Ayer, Gilbar, LeFrancois

 Happy New School Year!

Just in Case You Missed Open House in Enrichment!

I enjoyed talking to many families at Open House over the course of two very busy nights! If you did not have a chance to connect with me, or ever have questions about enrichment programming at RES, please contact me via email at darcie.rankin@cesuvt.org. I am looking forward to an excellent year of learning with everyone!

If you did not make it to Open House, here are a few of the things that were on display in the Enrichment classroom.

I also noted the dates and time of some enrichment events during Open House (they are also on the school calendar, but it does not hurt to mention them again! ):

Flynn Trips

Grade K:

11/3/2015  Noon  Caps for Sale

Grade 1: 

3/8/2016  9:30am  Dr. Suess's The Cat in the Hat

Grade 2:

4/15/2016  Noon  Peking Acrobats

Grade 3:

11/2/2015  9:30am  Andes Manta

Grade 4: 

3/9/2016  9:30am  Math Dance

All School Events

Cougar Cub Inventor's Workshop

Working with the Vermont State Science Fair, the Society of Women Engineers and Technology Teachers at the Middles School we will provide an evening of making!  Last year many teachers visited/hosted booths. 

Thursday November 12th, 2015 Evening (Exact Time TBD)

RES Science Fair

Students and families are invited to work together to create projects and share at this family oriented science fair. 

Thursday March 10th. 2016 5:30 - 6:45pm

My goal  for all of these events to provide enriching opportunities for as many of our students as possible.  From guaranteeing that every student in K-4 see a live performance once a year, to evening opportunities to extend learning in science and engineering.  I am always open to add other events....so let me know if you have ideas!

The Sounds Of Learning

Image from Krissy Venosdale at venspired, downloaded from:  https://s3.amazonaws.com/storage3.magcloud.com/image/e52cb461b8c3464db675a746f3d39ece.jpg

A few weeks ago, our principal was scheduled to stop by and observe my class (this had been on the schedule for months).  When I looked at the time slot I cringed---this was the first day of student interest driven projects in second grade and we were scheduled to do kitchen chemistry! I had already spent a lot of time wondering what this lesson was going to look like (my classroom in carpeted!) But I also knew that it was a great opportunity for me to get feedback on classroom management on a brand new lesson to me, and one in which there would be a lot of energy and messy materials!

The lesson was a ton of fun, including when students cheered at the beginning of class when they found out the topic.  I am honored that this lesson was then embedded into a weekly school podcast, which you can find here:
http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/michael-berry/resvt-podcast
(Episode 23)

When I first listened to the audio from my lesson I was nervous that the volume was going to be too loud, or that it would be hard to hear the sound of learning.  I was wrong! Students were engaged in conversations, I was able to ask open ended exploratory questions and we were all having fun!  Clean up was a bit of a mess that day (several of our chemistry concoctions spilled over as they foamed and expanded!)  but as students left they asked--when will we do that again??  To me, this is the greatest sign of a successful learning experience!

Learning sounds different in different contexts.....but I think it is important to embrace the noise and the mess to encourage student engagement, fun AND learning!

Learning During Playful Exploration

Enter the enrichment classroom on any given day and you may be surprised by the  level of movement, activities going on in parallel and the energy and playfulness of our space.  I think that sometimes this playful exploration can be confused for a lack of planning, or learning opportunities.  This week during enrichment I took a few minutes to capture some of the ways that our students in grade K through 2 use their choice time to support their writing and reading.

You will find that students are engaging in a variety of writing and prewriting activities.  Our earliest writers are drawing pictures and telling stories.  You can find them in the puppet theater, at the easels, in the fairy house or creating islands of sand in their ocean scenes. You might find them collaborating to build structures as they develop a story that explains the details of their design.  Students negotiate and revise as they build and collaborate.  These prewriting activities lead to amazing stories and oral communication.  Our writers are producing stories ( one was even published and placed in the classroom library!), making lists and menus for our kitchen space, creating signs, and even' blogging 'on the chalk easel! In all of these cases, I am not requiring them to write, but instead they see a need and so are driven through authentic learning!

You will also find students tucked into a space in the classroom library, or sharing a book with friends.  Students are reading and writing by choice and this freedom is exciting and engaging.

It is empowering for students to be given space and choice in learning and I am lucky to be able to be a participant in their learning journey!