Diamond Band’s Monster Arc Exploration

Diamond Band is home to students ages 6-7 and is led by Emily with assistance from Nathan.

During the Monster arc, Diamond were curious, engaged, and collaborative explorers of new ideas and challenges. Nowhere is this more obvious than our monster masks, which required students to work together to learn the new medium of paper-mache, commit to a single project for months, try hard things, and explain their thinking verbally and in writing. Students used so many different expert models to visualize and judge their products, adding layers and details of paint and asking each other for feedback. Making these masks required commitment, perseverance, and imagination, and they were all in service of thinking about how we show and explain big emotions.

We used monsters as a way to explore expectations and how to challenge stereotypes. We read books about monsters that wanted to be friends, and asked what makes a monster.

In science, Diamond band was exposed to key biological concepts, established social emotional learning practices of self-awareness and community care (human and non-human), and practiced reflection through different art media. Exploring the environment in and around our campus, we observed animals in their natural habitat. We adventured in the woods, the students noticing and wondering why millipedes and centipedes differ, and how the size of a banana slug’s breathing hole is related to their level of activity. Inside the building, we deepened our investigations by looking at animals in controlled environments, identifying and labeling animal body parts, watching videos of interesting animal behavior, and using art projects to share our understanding.

We built skills using new materials including clay, paint, and cardboard. We used these tools to examine a number of organisms we encountered, growing student understanding of fungi, plants, animal anatomy, biological classification, and ecosystems. Our time outside together built resilience, patience, group cohesion, and wonder and excitement about the natural world. At the Academy of Science, we learned about sharks and explored many different facets of nature, from butterflies to San Francisco earthquakes. 

Beginning readers need to work parallel on decoding (reading words) and comprehension (understanding stories), and Diamond did so. We learned so many digraphs, spelling patterns, and vowel sounds, and practiced how to blend and segment sounds so that we can read and write our own ideas. Students are now able to read thousands more words thanks to their knowledge of patterns like Vowel + E, and when writing cards, stories, or anything else, they can hear every sound in a word and make a good guess how to spell it.

During our daily read-alouds, we read both picture books and chapter books, fiction and nonfiction. We predicted what would happen, shared what we would do if we were in those situations, and reflected on character growth from beginning to end. We expanded our vocabulary and knowledge of the world as we learned more about everything from Komodo Dragons to Diwali. 

In math, we have been working intensely with the tens structure of our number system and building fluency with addition and subtraction under twenty. Through games, explorations, and tools, we are seeing numbers in new ways, as doubles or in groups of fives and tens. Our math racks have helped us visualize numbers and see that a number can be represented in many different ways, some easier to work with and some harder. Our games have built our knowledge of combinations that make ten and how to use known facts to figure out unknown facts.

One of the greatest parts of Brightworks is being able to shape your curriculum around the interests and needs of your particular group. From the beginning, it’s been clear that Diamond banders are all artists ready for new materials and inspiration. From paper mache to clay to oil pastels and watercolors, Diamond has been experimenting with new ways they can make both abstract and figurative art. We have learned from artists around us like our Pearl band buddies, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and mask-makers from around the world. Our works are now decorating both the Little Gems building and the main building, and we are able to admire both our own and each other’s art.

The projects and independence fostered by Brightworks require many social emotional skills, like self-regulation, teamwork, and problem-solving. By explicitly modeling and practicing these skills, Nathan and I are giving Diamond the words and tools they need to succeed independently. We are practicing self-regulation with our calm corner and building empathy when we do “check-ins” that ask how the other person felt when we did an action that affected them. We are also working on solving small problems with minimal adult support by sharing our feelings and asking for what we need. We’re also practicing teamwork and collaboration by taking responsibility for spaces as a band and listening to each other's ideas and responding with “build-ons.” As we spend time with our Pearl Band Buddies, we build connections throughout Brightworks and learn how to share and learn from our older buddies.

During the expression phase, Diamond will have opportunities to select their own monster projects and build their skills in decision making, following through, and overcoming challenges. We will continue to approach every day as an opportunity to learn, explore, and create community. “The world offers itself up to my imagination,” wrote Mary Oliver, and that is how each and every Diamond Bander moves through life.