Student-led Conference

In case you didn't know already, I'm a fan of the Harare International School. In particular, I love the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program. Students focus for weeks on in-depth studies called units, and they are able to make their reading, writing and math studies relevant to the unit of study. 

For example, Miles recently did a unit on weather. He and a fellow 6-year-old classmate were lab partners collecting weather data every day: wind direction and strength, types of clouds, amount of rainfall, and weather. They recorded data in computers, through illustrations, writing narratives, etc. They bar graphed their results to analyze the variation over 4 weeks. They did a performance, singing songs with lyrics like "The Hydrologic Cycle." Miles was the West Wind. Other kids were sunbeams, scientists, air currents, hydrogen and oxygen....or aliens from another plant who needed to be told how all this Earth weather works. They're taking a field trip to a Weather Station tomorrow.

Not everything they do is related to their unit. Miles still wrote stories from his own imagination, practiced phonics for reading, and did math sheets. But the majority of their work is tied in with the subject of the unit. Kids feel like they really know something about the world by the end of it. (Seeing this in practice is all the sweeter since my mom was pushing for this type of approach 20 or so years ago, that hers was a lonely struggle that she was passionate about, and that in the end, she was right! Curriculum revolution. You did your part, Mom.)

One day per year is the Student-led Conference where kids age 3-10 take their parents around to show them what and how they've been learning. Portfolios are put out with examples of the work they've done all year, and students explain how they have improved. It's such a great idea. The kids and parents enjoy it. Teachers don't participate (on the day) at all.

Miles shows us his portfolio

Eliza shows us her portfolio

More photos from the day.

Ballet

Race Day

Finishing up the last quarter of the 300m.

I arrived just in time to see Miles at the starting line with the rest of the boys in the first grade. They were about to run around the soccer field - probably more like 300m than 400m.  It was their quarterly field day called "Color-house Day" since all the kids in the elementary school are split into 4 colors that compete against each other.

He was on the outside, but by the time they rounded the corner, he had sprinted in front of the whole pack, and I was seriously worried he wouldn't be able to keep that up and that things would end very badly (emotionally for him) with everyone passing him. But he stayed in the front and pulled ahead until the last quarter when Victor, the boy behind him here, started to catch up. Miles was slowing down. They crossed the finish line with Victor a half a step ahead. It was so exciting that I could hardly see - my tears were fogging up my sun glasses and I was crazily taking photos and cheering. Memories of the races I ran in school came rushing back to me- oh, the nausea and nerves!

He came in first in the sprints, as well. His time was the fastest in the first grade - obviously, he gets that from his dad.  I had a great photo of him crossing the finish line, but I lost that and a lot of other photos, unfortunately. At least I have it in my head... His class was very supportive and cheered him. It was all really special.

Eliza's field day was more like herding cats. Kids her age don't get simple things like running in a lane - all the kids ran straight to the teacher who was on the side line - or running a relay - oh, right, there's something in my hand. What's that for? I'm just so excited to be running!

Relays with 3- & 4-year-olds = pretty silly

Pixie-Do

Eliza's hair grows slowly. The sides she cut to the scalp in early October are still less than an inch long, but the top was getting too heavy to hold back in barrettes. So we went for the pixie girl look. That said, Eliza has no concerns about her hair. She's got it in her head that no matter what her hair looks like, she's beautiful!

5 Months Difference

This is Miles's first journal entry in Grade One:

 

This is his most recent entry:

How Life was Made, by Miles Brigham

A journal entry at school:  "This is earth five hundred and five billion years ago, a toxic world with no hope of life. Then everything changed. Another planet, Thea, smashed in to the Earth, creating a new world - our world. A smaller chunk of Thea became our moon, and slowly our oceans were formed until life on Earth was ready to begin." (facts remembered from BBC's "Walking with Monsters")

First Sleep-over

Aljosha & Eliza

Earlier this month Eliza was invited for her first sleep-over (or as I would say spend-the-night). It was her friend Aljosha's first time inviting someone, as well. Aljosha is in a grade above Eliza, but they see each other at carpool and every Sunday when his family (Bettina, Clemens, Janalou - Miles's age, & baby Noah) come over to our house for tennis lessons. As with Miles's first time sleeping over, everyone ended up in bed with the mommy (no tears), but it was a good time by all.