A writing life is a life with all the windows and doors open * * * * * * * -Julia Alvarez Ideas are all around -Philip C. Stead These two quotations were an instrumental part of launching writing work in Opal 3 this year. We wanted to dispel the idea that the writers we …
In the spring, because our third graders had become so engaged with statistics of our global population, we decided to share some of the Material World photography collection with them. This powerful project documents the disparity in material possessions around the world. Here is a sampling: COPYRIGHT:© 1994 Peter Menzel www.menzelphoto.com Material World Photograph © 2004 …
As children journey through Opal 1 and Opal 2, they spend a lot of time considering with their teachers and their peers the ways in which we depend on each other in this world. What is a community? What is our relationship to the natural world? “The we that …
In recent years, much has been said about creative thinking, teamwork and research as positive resources that will support the advancement of human culture. I believe that it is important for those of us who work with the children and youth of today to constantly rethink these concepts, and make connections between them and contemporary …
Re-reading this article tonight, after a particularly creative third grade Literacy Studio today, I was thrown against the cold reality of the mindset of those who really would have us believe that control, certainty, and the dehumanization of the students in our care is the way to a more robust economy and stable society. In Creativity …
There is an exciting rite of passage that takes place for students in third grade at Opal School. The children receive, and learn to use, writer’s notebooks. After much preparation and anticipation, the children received their notebooks this week… and we took them into the world. We know children are actively making meaning and connections …
Sparks connect together like a vine but the big pink flower is the idea that goes through the picture. The flowers grew together in my yard and one of them grew really big. It’s like the idea that grew from the others. The flowers naturally grew together because they sparked. And there was a big, …
“What kind of blocks does each classroom need?” “What is the space like where they will store their blocks?” “How are the pre-schoolers using the blocks?” These were questions asked by the group of students charged with researching the four Opal classrooms which had asked us to build them hollow blocks. While the majority of …