Open Studio - 10/9

Studying for Cranium Club

Boats under construction - next step, make sure it's sea-worthy!  Testing set up outside!

3rd grader helping a K with some precision cutting

One of our new favorite building materials, building forts out of plastic cups!

Forts under construction

"Open Studio"

On Thursdays, EDEP students will have the chance to design, create, research, and preform as we hold our weekly "Open Studio".  We imagine this time to be student driven, collaborative, and EXCITING for our kiddos.  So far we've worked on a large group art project, built in the Construction Zone, started designing and building our cardboard playhouses, and inducted our first members into our "Cranium Club".  Thursdays are shaping up to be my favorite day at EDEP, and the kids seem to agree!

We want our cardboard playhouses to be collapsible for easy storage...just a bit tricky!

The founding member of our Cranium Club, inducted on 9/11/14

How close can I get without making the tower fall?

Build a tower taller than Mr. Greenfield...challenge accepted! 

Summer Spotlight: Ms. Elzey

For my Summer Spotlight special I wanted to share some exciting news! I am officially "off the market"! :) My boyfriend proposed and we will be busy planning our wedding! Good thing I took the ENTIRE summer off work! :)
I also will be able to enjoy what I love the most! That includes spending time with friends and family, hiking, BBQ's, concerts, roller coasters and just enjoying the outdoors. 

Some special activities include:

~ A 4^th of July trip to Boston to see my fiancé's family to celebrate our engagement!

~TWO beach trips! My fiancé's family and my family decided to go to the beach during the same week but in different places, in Nags Head and Cape Charles, MD, therefore we will be splitting our time between the two beaches. That will be a busy week!

~Trips to see my family in Maryland (which of course includes a crab feast)! One in particular to send my cousin off for deployment to Afghanistan for the second time.

~Many, many days spent at the pool, taking my daughter to swim lessons. Also teaching her how to ride a bike without training wheels, tie her shoes and getting her ready to go to KINDERGARTEN in August!

~A trip to NYC to see my best friend and her  fiancé for some wedding dress shopping! 

~And hopefully some other grand unexpected ADVENTURES!

Gordon (my fiance), Taylor (my daughter) and I at Barboursville Vineyards for family pictures taken by Lauren Marie Photos

I hope everyone has some special activities planned! Have a fabulous summer! See you in August!

Summer Wishes from EDEP

Wishing you a wonderful, safe, and exciting summer! 

Read a good book (or ten!),

play outside, 

wear sunscreen, 

travel safe,

 take lots of pictures,

visit the Meriwether Lewis library during it's summer hours,

camp out in the backyard,

make lemonade,

visit with friends and family,

and we'll see you in August!

EDEP staff Ms. "Y.", Ms. Tasha, and Ms. Elzey hiking Old Rag Mountain the weekend school let out!

Can't Get Enough...Fairy Houses!

“This seems clear enough: When truly present in nature, we do use all our senses at the same time, which is the optimum state of learning.”  

 

-Richard Louv, The Nature Principle: Human Restoration and the End of Nature-Deficit Disorder

 

Working to repair a fairy house damaged in the heavy rain/winds we've had in the past few weeks

 

Love the improvised tools
 

 

 

 

Conversations overheard during this collaborative build included:
"Which job is mine today? Oh yeah, I'm the lumberjack!"
In response, "Don't forget to do your farming chores too!"
 



K students

I get the biggest smiles when we're building outside!
 

 

3rd grader assisting a 1st grader

Proudly showing one of the only houses that survived the rains/winds
 

Who wouldn't want to come home to that?!

Catching Up with EDEP

Take a look at some of our most recent fun at EDEP!

After learning about the Great Wall of China (during our "Around the World with Architecture" unit on Mondays) these ladies tried to build the longest structure possible

Another student working hard to build the longest structure possible!  Students were asked to build for height (like the Eiffel Tower), length (like the Great Wall), or symmetry (like the Taj Mahal)

We estimated that we saved about 60 sheets of paper by drawing on the sidewalk on Earth Day instead of drawing on paper

Earth Day artwork

Earth Day 2014

An additional paper saving activity for Earth Day - instead of each child making their own Earth mosaic, we made a giant Earth mosaic as a group!

Sorting land and water

Using library time as extra maker time - check out that awesome belt!

Fairy Houses

"Time in nature is not leisure time; it's an essential investment in our children's health (and also, by the way, in our own)."

 

-Richard Louv, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder

 

 

Ms. Cooke reading Fairy Houses by Tracy L. Kane



Working on the foundation



All smiles while creating outside



Collaborative building



A tree stump is the perfect starting point for an entire neighborhood of fairy houses!



Expanding the entrance



Stunning



Notice the architectural detail in the arched entryway



We'll have to check for fairies soon!

Cookie Excavation!

During "Real World Wednesday" our EDEP students recently learned all about archeologists and the work that they do.  After learning new terminology and watching real archeologists talk about their work, EDEP put their newly acquired skills to the test.

Instead of excavating outside we decided to amp up the excitement by having our kiddos excavate chocolate chip cookies!  Armed with grids and toothpicks, our mini-archeologists carefully extracted each chocolate chip from the cookie "soil". 

Maker Challenge - Stickies Building

This challenge came to us thanks to Mr. S., Meriwether's fantastically supportive and creative art teacher! 

 

Students broke into groups or worked individually to build with Stickies.  Our original intent was to build the highest tower, but once the kiddos started to create, it became clear that aesthetics mattered!  Check out some of the fabulous creations from our Stickies Building Challenge...

 

 

Trying to find the right technique for creating stable columns



The beginning of something beautiful...

 

...and the final product!



Brothers working together



Building for height



Can you tell our students have learned about Greek/Roman architecture?



Proudly displaying the rebuild, after a devastating collapse!