How will we "grow" in session 6?

Year 4, Session 6, Week 1

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We wrapped up Session 5 on Monday with our Newton’s Toy Workshop exhibition and began Session 6. This session our quest is to build a community garden! We are starting by learning what happens inside the plant cells and what plants need to grow.

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Two learners wearing headphones work on laptops at a table during Session 6

Children stretch in yoga poses on mats in a classroom

Young learners pose on yoga mats in a classroom with shelves and a whiteboard

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Our older heroes had a great exhibition and demonstrated several physics concepts that they learned about in quest. They made cars, boats, and airplanes to model momentum and buoyancy. Additionally, they shared the creative science fiction stories they worked so hard on in session five.

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Smiling girl with glasses holds papers in front of a reception counter

Boy sitting on a wooden bench in the school hallway, smiling and holding a stack of papers

Three children sit at a table while one boy stands beside it in the gym during an exhibition

A display table with a laptop and handmade physics models in a gymnasium

Labeled certificates, a laptop, and a booklet titled The Alien Attack 2 on a display table

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This week in quest, the Elementary Studio began exploring plants by creating models of plant cells. They also conducted several experiments on real plants! We are using Thai mint plants to test what happens when plants don’t receive the same amount of sunlight and oxygen. We also used white carnations in blue dye to explore how water moves through a plant using capillary action.

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Plant cell models, a measuring cylinder, and potted Thai mint plants on a table

Four learners sit on a rug drawing plant cell models on poster paper beside a laptop and whiteboards

Plant cell components poster pinned to a whiteboard beside a marker basket

Hand-drawn plant cell diagram pinned to a blue board with colored labels and organelles

Two learners wearing headphones work on laptops at a table in the classroom

Learner sits at a table using a laptop in the studio with cubbies, chairs, and a whiteboard behind him

A child wearing blue headphones works on a laptop at a table in the classroom

Two potted Thai mint plants sit on a table for a plant experiment

A potted plant, a jar with a plant in water, and a photosynthesis experiment worksheet on a table

Three learners gather around a table with papers and a potted plant during a plant science activity

Learner tastes a Thai mint leaf beside cubbies during a plant growth experiment

Two learners smile beside a table with a plant and a dye bottle during a capillary action experiment

White flowers in a blue bottle vase sit on a table in a classroom

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Our topic for Writer’s Workshop this session is gratitude letters. The ES heroes will pick one person to write a letter of gratitude to and will read it to the recipient at the exhibition. We are starting off with powerful hooks. Everything in writer’s workshop will be handwritten this session!

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Four heroes lie on a rug writing on clipboards during Writer’s Workshop

Two heroes lie on a rug writing on clipboards during Writer’s Workshop

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In art this week we learned about Claude Monet and his impressionist style. All of the heroes made their version of Monet’s water lilies with paint, construction paper, and tissue paper. Afterwards, they went on a virtual tour of the Monet Immersive Experience which is currently running in New Orleans.

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Monet-inspired water lily art projects made from paint, paper, and tissue paper sit on a table

Monet art materials on a table: a small booklet, a water-lily print, and a basket of pink paper

Heroes make Monet-style water lily collages at a table in art class

Young learners cut and glue paper at a table to make Monet-style water lily art

Three heroes make paper-and-paint water lilies at a table in art class

Eight painted paper water lily collages arranged on a classroom table

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In the Montessori studio, Isabelle created her own water lily masterpiece with blocks! We’d call that creativity!!

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Girl in Montessori studio smiles while making a water lily with blocks on the rug

Colorful blocks arranged like water lilies on a rug in the Montessori studio

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The baking project on Wednesday in the Montessori studio was a chocolate chip banana cake! The little heroes mashed bananas, cracked the eggs, and mixed the batter all by themselves. It was a delicious afternoon snack to enjoy outside in the sunshine!

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Two children crack eggs into a mixing bowl during a baking project at a table

Two children in the Montessori studio mix yellow batter in a blue bowl with a whisk

Three children pour batter into a bowl during a baking activity in the Montessori studio

Five children give thumbs up around a baking tray in a classroom with cake samples on the table

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The ES started having “Foreign Language Fridays” where they get to learn and practice a language of their choice on duolingo. We can’t wait to see how much they have absorbed by the end of the session!

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