Curtains Up!

Lights, sound, costumes, and actors worked hard this week to bring our story, Oh My gods! to life. The best part was listening to the kids share compliments for 35 minutes after our show today. They had heartfelt appreciations to share with each other about their acting, enunciation, and support of each other backstage. As a teacher, I sometimes think that no complaints or problems must mean things are ok, but listening to our kids talk about how each person really supports everyone else warmed my heart today. They shared that some are very congratulatory to everyone when they exit to backstage, while others are flexible and supportive when lines or cues are forgotten. They talked about how they help each other remain calm and remind each other to breathe while backstage. It is heartwarming to see a community of kids who reach out to lift others when they are feeling stressed, instead of lashing out. How blessed am I to be included in their journey through this year. Enjoy some beautiful moments captured by Nellie Hester. Thanks!

Backstage Nerves

Glowy moments

Taking the golden thread to Arachne

Deciding how to hoard the power

The Concluding Battle

Our Quilt & take a bow gods, goddesses & Mortal!

Our Journey in Video

Here are the two videos that capture a few snippets of our journey as writers, actors, set builders, costumers, fabric artists, and problem solvers. Enjoy a glimpse into our learning and thinking.



Writing Oh My gods!

Creating Oh My gods!

Cast of Oh My gods!

As we move into our final rehearsal days before our performances, we are excited and a buzz with plans, ideas, and energy. Our last quilt squares are finished and ironed, our costumes are receiving their final touches, the fog machine is up and working, we constructed a stage, and are learning our final cues. Next step... To The Stage!

Celebrating Our Veterans

Last week we were blessed with a visit from John Knight to talk a bit about serving in the Navy. The kids loved listening to his experiences, and sharing about the veterans in their own families. Thank you John for sharing your memories, photos, and medals with us!

Duty, Honor, Country

The Greek Quilt of Mythology

Our nimble fingers are hard at work creating a stunning piece of art for our class play. From the onset of our project, we knew there would be a quilt as a central part of our story. We've dug into the finer arts of embroidery, applique, and puzzle making. Each square represents each character through a symbol of their heavenly powers and a symbol of their emotional experience. Here is a peak preview of the 3 Fates quilt squares.

Playground Construction

Watching the construction of our playground is an event most kids devote a few moments to during their recess, and many confer with the construction plans posted on the cafeteria windows to better understand the construction.

Today, while watching the excavator dig a hole for tree stumps, the kids noticed the construction workers were excavating and reporting numbers read from an interesting technology device attached to a tripod. 

They had lots of questions, and learned that it communicates with 16 satellites, including one in Russia. The satellites give various height and depth readings and create an exacting measurement, working to ensure our new playground will be level. This geospatial science sparked a lot of imagination and conversations, and helped them better understand the science behind the construction. To think Russian satellites helped build our playground is a mind boggling connection.