Welcome to the Enrichment Classroom! Open House 2018

I am excited to meet with families at the RES Open House.  If you cannot be here or did not have a chance to visit the enrichment classroom....here is a peak into our room!

All students in fourth grade will be designing PinBox3000s this year during enrichment

We played with an 3D Augmented Reality iPad application called Quivervision

The puppet theater 

The kitchen area

A take a break spot

Kindergarten interests showcased

The classroom library is always open!

Save the date for the Flynn trips and plan to chaperone!

 And here are the videos which were playing while students and families explored the space:

If you ever have questions or ideas about enrichment, please do not hesitate to contact me throughout the year at darcie.rankin@cesuvt.org.

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.

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 Enrichment Room is OPEN for PLAY

Kindergarteners excitedly enter the enrichment room pointing out all of the centers that will be open for exploratory play this week.  After five weeks of introducing new centers each week....we are excited that everything is OPEN FOR PLAY!  Our process of the guided discovery of spaces in the enrichment room allows students to feel very comfortable as they explore and discover together.  I find that although this slow introduction is hard in some ways(why isn't the kitchen open yet???!!!), it is very beneficial to our learning for the rest of the year.  Students understand the expectations at each center and can play and learn with few adult reminders.  As the teacher this allows me to really focus on working with students to learn about them and their interests.  Play is such an important part of our learning and I welcome this chance to play as much as students! 

We are performing puppet shows, painting, creating art on the chalkboards, writing, drawing, building with Legos and No Ends, exploring the fairy house, cooking imaginary meals in the kitchen, playing house, creating a restaurant and a shop, exploring the classroom library, and creating stories in the Fairy House and Water Mill! We are learning together as we think, create, collaborate and share in this playful environment! Each week centers will be added or changed, and we will explore in directions based on student interests.

Enjoy some playful moments captured over the last few weeks! (Some first and third graders had to join in!)

Circle Seat Challenge!

Since my time with students always feel too short (forty minutes goes by quickly!)  we work really hard to make our transitions as quick and smooth as possible.  One transition is the transition from the hallway into the classroom and seated in a circle.  Because the enrichment space is fluid, and is shared with another teacher, we do not have tape on the floor or fixed circle spots--students have to enter, survey the scene and decide how and where to sit....so it is a challenge to come in and make a circle that includes everyone and is the right shape so that everyone can make eye contact with everyone else quickly!

One class does this beautifully and I have given them many compliments! I think they have gained more than fifteen minutes of enrichment time with their efficient teamwork--it is AWESOME!  So this week, I filmed this class.  I will share their skills with the younger grades and challenge the older grades to see if they can match their time!  It will be interesting to see how everyone does....and the end benefit is that we will all have more time to LEARN!

Here is the video! The time to match is 32 seconds from entering the class to ready to learn!  I would be interested to hear if other classes can match these first graders and their mad skills!

http://youtu.be/N56A0awHmVU

RES Has Got Talent

At the beginning of the year I asked families and students to send in pictures of students doing something which they were proud of---a picture that showed their talents.  These pictures have covered the back wall of the enrichment room all year.  They have served as a constant reminder through the year of our individual strengths, interests and talents.  I love looking at the wall and seeing all the special skills that make up our learning community.  We are fishermen, soccer,hockey and baseball players, dancers, horseback riders, swimming champions, artists, caring siblings, chefs, hikers, skiers, ..just to name a few talents!  

It is important to me as an educator that I seek the talent in each student.  I appreciate that every individual might not be able to share their special talents during the school day ( I do not think a horse stable is in our future school plans), but by recognizing and celebrating these talents we can find ways to incorporate them into our learning--- even if it is just by connecting students with common interests, asking a student to share about an experience or a hallway conversation about their special talent.  Today I began taking down the wall, as I prepare to return pictures and create some activities for the last month of school.....it is humbling to me to see all the special kids that I get to teach and learn with each week.  RES has got talent!!!