walls, furniture, and drawing
The rain pouring from the sky this morning rang crescendos through our school-warehouse as it pattered on the skylights and flooded the streets. It was dark and we were worried about the lighting as projects continue. But after morning circle and some staring out the window, the sky cleared and the sun came out.
Heights. Kid City is many, many inches taller than our smallest kids. How lucky is that.
Watching the radial saw closely.
Walls!
Hmm.
Finger-knitting is the newest craze.
Strolling down Mission Street with some canvas for Kid City.
Major glue spillage!
Chane made a small space for kids interested in building furniture together or one-on-one. Lots of beds and chairs were constructed!
The view from the second floor of Kid City.
The kids add more walls, and this piece of redwood.
Some drew gravestones for Henry (no idea). Earlier there was lots of illustrating happening on the cork floor.
And so goes another beautiful day at Brightworks. We find that these days – where outwardly it doesn’t look like much is happening but inwardly the kids are bubbling with excitement and soaking up their days like a sponge – are thrill because we’re able to experiment with teaching, scaffolding, and building the kids’ relationships to their school, their peers, and their teachers. “I feel like I’m learning more here than I did at my old school,” one of the older kids told me today. I have a feeling that we’re on the right track.
read, build, design
The kids planned their own days again today! The bands wrote out their activities for their Tuesdays on white boards so everyone would know what the plan was. They were busy and focused as they worked on their projects, took breaks at the park, and read all day.
Clementine, Zada, and Kaia decided to try their hand at busking and became trobairitzes – the feminine version of a troubadour – performing poetry and songs for passersby.
Construction moved forward.
Designing utili-aprons with fabric and staples.
Our beautiful library! Thank you for the generous donations from our families, as well as a friend to the school who gave us a whole set of YA books.
A half an hour of quiet reading after lunch, a practice we’re beginning to structure into our days.
The Brightworks Book Club – Coke’s idea started today. We read the first two chapters of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
The preciseness of the chop saw.
Trapped!
Furniture for Kid City houses.
Writing at the end of the day.
