Oak Farm Montessori January 2019
Philanthrophy with a Purpose
In November I wrote about the gift of time, talent and treasure. February is the month when we see all three of these gifts come together; represented in our annual Gala! In the past, Matt and I attended as parents in an effort to support the school. In my new role however, my eyes were opened to so much more around the significance of the Gala, the history of the Gala and the impact of the Gala on our Oak Farm community. This month I want to share that new insight with all of you! The purpose of the Gala has always been to raise funds in a way that builds community. While the Gala is Oak Farm’s top fundraising event of the year, it is so much more than that. The Gala is a great way to meet other parents and get to know the faculty in a light-hearted, adult only environment. Some of our closest friendships began at the Gala. Your presence at the Gala is a great opportunity to show your support for the school; as well as, having an opportunity to support the school financially. The evening provides guests with giving opportunities designed to fit within everyone’s budget, large or small. We have made a commitment to keep the cost to attend at $50/person to make the event as affordable as possible (this is made possible by our many sponsors). Whether you are new to Oak Farm and want to meet other families or are a returning family looking forward to catching up with old friends, the Gala provides you an opportunity to do both! Nicole Lowe, Community Relations Liaison and Tall Oak Gala chair, believes that, “If we reach our financial goal, but have not had an evening that brings our families and faculty together to build community, then we have not been truly successful”. Such a statement leads me to emphasize that the theme of the Gala, and all the planning that surrounds it, is intentional. There is purpose in every detail of the event. Last year’s theme, “Unmasking the Potential”, was a celebration of our Founder, Lorene Dekko-Salsbery, the potential she saw in every child, the potential of Oak Farm and what it has to offer the community. This year’s theme, “The Greatest Story, Let it be Told!” builds upon last year’s theme by celebrating Oak Farm’s history; how we came to be, what we have accomplished and where we are going in the years to come, impacting generation after generation! At the Gala, you will find family favorites, including the the opportunity to see and bid on projects created by the children, a vast array of silent and live auction items, personalized photos of your favorite children and I can’t leave out the ‘Fund a Need’ video that will pull at the heartstrings! But every good story leaves room for surprises and rest assured, there will be surprises in store for you on February 23rd that you don’t want to miss! How can there not be excitement when your theme is inspired by The Greatest Showman!? In conclusion, I leave you with the history of the Gala and how it came to be. Directly involved from the beginning, Kim Davidson, Oak Farm Strategic Partnership Director, graciously shared her notes regarding this event from its early years as a small community event, to the grand event of the year it has become. I look forward to seeing many of you at Oak Farm’s Tall Oak Gala on Saturday, February 23rd! Sharing the greatest story of Oak Farm,
Candice
What year did the Gala begin and where was it held? The Gala began in 2008 and was held on February 23rd, 2008 (same exact date 11 years ago as this year’s Gala). At that time, it was called “Winter Wonderland” and was held the 3rd Saturday in February to kick off Montessori Education Week. Year
Name/Theme
Venue
*Total Funds Raised
2008
Winter Wonderland
Ceruitti’s
$16,946
2009
Winter Wonderland
Ceruitti’s
$13,190
2010
Winter Wonderland (first live auction)
Ceruitti’s
$17,588
2011
Winter Wonderland
Ceruitti’s
$21,961
2012
Midnight in Paris
ACD Museum
$57,843
2013
Ritorno a Roma
ACD Museum
$64,494
2014
First Tall Oak Gala
Empyrean
$82,005
2015
A Night in the Garden
Dupont Downs
$81,896
2016
What a Wonderful World
Mirro Center
$114,425
2017
Reaching for the Stars
Mirro Center
$135,488
2018
Montessori Mardi Gras, Unmask the Potential
Mirro Center
$170,114
2019
The Greatest Story, Let it be Told
Mirro Center
???
Live auction bidding is fast,furious and fun! Last years Gala was no exception
Parents, friends and staff enjoy the 2013 event
*Total funds raised includes ticket sales, sponsorship opportunities, wish table and funds raised during the event.
Why did we begin to hold a Special Event such as this? At the time, the school administration knew that we needed to have a fundraiser and have a way to connect our families outside of the school setting. There were multiple ideas thrown around, but we landed on this type of event to raise funds and build community. The fact that over time the Gala has grown to more than 260 guests is evident that raising funds, while building community, remains at the heart of this annual event. Who planned the Gala? Until the 2014 Gala, the committee was completely comprised of parents and volunteers who gave countless hours to plan the event. How did the Winter Wonderland become the Gala? Around 2014, the school administration became more involved, and in 2015 a staff member was dedicated to working with a volunteer committee to plan the event. The 2014 event at the Empyrean became the first Tall Oak Gala. In 2015, the committee began theming the event on a consistent basis and our first themed event was, “An Evening in the Garden” and was held at Dupont Downs in Fort Wayne.
Student created projects have been the stars of the evening every year of the event.
Original chair of Winter Wonderland, Jillian Chaulk, with a classroom project in 2012
Discovering Me
Candy Slabaugh, I/T Teacher & Positive Discipline Educator
Here at Oak Farm Montessori we offer ParentInfant classes for parents and their beloved little ones throughout the school year. Our Discovering Me class offers parents valuable insight into child development and how to support the amazing growth of their own child. Parents receive ideas about activities to engage in with their child and tips for ways to interact and enjoy their unique child. The class becomes a small tight knit community where parents share questions and receive support while discussing child development from a Montessori perspective. The first important lesson is to help a parent learn how to observe. Observations is the key to knowing when to step in to offer assistance or when to step back and allow the child to explore and discover on their own. The class not only allows parents to discover their child, but most importantly; themselves. For more information about this five week class or to enroll for next school year, please email me at: cslabaugh@oakfarmschool.com “The essence of independence is to be able to do something for one’s self. Adults work to finish a task, but the child works in order to grow, and is working to create the adult, the person that is to be. Such experience is not just play...it is work he must do in order to grow up.�~ Maria Montessori
“If education is always to be conceived along the same antiquated lines of a mere transmission of knowledge, there is little to be hoped from it in the bettering of man’s future.” ~Maria Montessori
The Mind of a Young Scientist
Jenna Abbs, Primary 1 Teacher In the Primary classroom, a child has daily exposure to science through the works on the science and cultural area shelves. Topics they might explore in this area range from: how the world began, zoology, botany, and states of matter. How does that work? What made that do that? What caused it to make that reaction? Can I make it do that? Why does that happen like that? These are all questions we often hear asked by primary students in reference to science. For example, a child may ask, “Why does baking soda fizz up when you add vinegar?” These are wonderful questions to ask and it shows the child’s mind working to understand the principles of science! We often use these questions posed by the students as a platform to take off from and then quickly begin to explore ways of answering them together. Our weekly science experiment time is when many of these questions are answered. Each Friday we like to use our Community time to follow the child’s interest in science and address one of their many questions. This large group work allows them the opportunity to understand more about the topics they are studying, and explore them further through science experiments. Experimentation provides an opportunity to encourage a child’s sense of wonder and curiosity about the world around them. Students work from the beginning stage of creating a hypothesis, researching and evaluating, all the way to the conclusion process as a final result of the experiment. Maria Montessori believed that children’s experiences with real objects should always proceed the naming (nomenclature) and looking at pictures of said items. Experimentation provides students with the opportunity to concretely analyze and then visually explore, touch, smell, and ask questions. Students look forward to the experiments each week and it is an exciting way to foster a child’s desire to know more about a specific topic using a hands-on approach.
“Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.” Carl Sagan
The Early Years… A Parent’s Perspective By Kim Davidson, faculty member and parent of Robert (past student), Connor (’15), Katie (past student) and Claire(UE)
This month we are going to share Oak Farm’s story through the eyes of parents who had children at the school during the early years. We have asked them to share their first, fondest and personal favorite memories of their family’s time on campus. As I think back to our family’s first experience at Oak Farm, I remember attending an open house one evening in August 2000. There were a lot of new faces that evening; faces of other parents who have become friends over the years. On that night, we were each there to see the classroom where our children would begin their Montessori experience in the next few weeks. For most, this was our first experience with Montessori. Despite having no Montessori knowledge, everything about it seemed right: small chairs and tables, beautiful manipulatives instead of plastic toys and a nice, welcoming environment for our children to call home. On
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“When our daughter Jordan was a toddler, her teacher (Christy) had each student bring a goldfish to school. After that, Jordan was always excited to go to school.” Natalie Axel, parent of: Jordan (’13) and Ben (’15)
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“Visiting the campus after Lauren Moyer suggested I come out and take a peek. The beauty and peacefulness were so impressive.” Elizabeth Green, faculty member and parent of: Andrew (’09), Megan (’12) and Abby (’15).
“Coming to Oak Farm to meet with Joanne in the silo of the Red Barn. Also, dropping Gracie off in Toddlers and seeing the toddlers sitting around the table.” Krissy Mulholland, faculty member and parent of: Gracie (’12), Tatum (’15) and Sophia (MS). “Our tour with Patti Fulk (former administrative assistant). It felt almost magical watching the children work independently without desks lined up in a row or a teacher presenting to everyone at once.” Nikole Albright, faculty member and parent of: Reagan (’15), Reed (’17) and Hannah (MS). “My first memory is driving up to the Vic house, past the tire swing, past the racks with little multi colored rain boots, past the small benches and tiny gardening tools and thinking this looks like an amazing learning environment for my child. And also thinking.....how is this here, in the middle of Avilla?.....then thinking THANK GOD”. Stacy Hambrook, faculty member and parent of: Greta (past student).
“We always loved attending the Fall Festival as a family. Sharing the day with our friends and enjoying the activities and musical performances was always a wonderful time.” Natalie Axel.
Home was exactly what Oak Farm became for many. Being greeted by teacher’s smiles and hugs; a warm welcoming environment and often being met with the aroma of something wonderful the children had baked that day are among some of the favorites. One of my fondest memories, personally, was a year that it snowed a lot right after Christmas break. Our son, Connor, was about three years old and was not happy about missing so much school. One day he looked at me and said, “I know they are having school and you are just keeping me home. I want to go see my friends!” Well, they were not having school, but I have to say that his love for school reached beyond friends and encompassed many things that are still today, Oak Farm.
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“One of my fondest memories of Oak Farm was bringing Tatum to the infant room on a cold winter morning, it was cozy inside the classroom and smelled of warm cinnamon toast.” Krissy Mulholland.
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“Watching the joy on our children’s faces. The primary level, in particular, brought great excitement, growth and leadership in each of our children.” Nikole Albright. “As a teacher, I feel so blessed to have been part of the tremendous growth that has taken place over the years. I have met amazing families and worked with very dedicated teachers.” Elizabeth Green.
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“We always loved attending the Fall Festival as a family. Sharing the day with our friends and enjoying the activities and musical performances was always a wonderful time.” Natalie Axel. “Hard to pick just one…sleepovers in the Vic House, watching black bears from the Oak Farm bus on a school trip to Tennessee, campfires in the woods, family square dances at the Art Center… watching a play written, directed and presented by kindergarten students…just to name a few.” Stacy Hambrook. “When our kids were in their first primary class with Jill, I went in at Christmas and we made Christmas cookies. It was so much fun!” Susan Jansen, parent of Jack and Ben (past students).
In the early years there were several traditions that were not able to be continued as the school grew. The Restaurant and Mother’s Day Tea were two such events. “The Restaurant was a favorite among students and families in the early years. The students did everything: brainstorming, planning, determining the menu and even interviewing for various positions. It was always well attended and a huge hit. Often, it required two or more seating’s to be able to accommodate everyone who wanted to attend.” Joe Pounds, former faculty member He and parent of Matt and Sarah (past students). a th
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“I enjoyed the Mother’s Day Tea for many reasons. The care with which the students decorated the tables with teapots and teacups and the special treats and small gifts they made for their mothers. The students always seemed so proud of their work and the mothers loved the gestures and spending this time with their children.” Lauren Moyer, faculty member and parent of Allie (past student) and Jeffrey (‘16).
Lance and Belinda Burton being waited on by their daughter Marie at Uppter Restaurant.
Oak Farm is unique in so many ways. As we each reflect, we all have that one story or memory that stands out as our favorite. Our family has many great memories of the past 18 years and many lasting friendships began through connections made at Oak Farm. I am not sure I can pick a favorite, but without a doubt animal care always provided a number of good laughs and the everyday routine always provided a sense of comfort. If I had to give one thing that stood out, it was definitely outdoor play in any weather, in particular snow days and sledding. Where else can you go sledding at recess?
A bounty of fresh veggies from one of the early gardens. (approx. 2008)
Personal Favorite: “One of my favorite was the day Jordan came home and had eaten cow tongue at the school. Animal care was always an exciting time. We were chased by roosters, played with pigs and watched our children do things we (parents) had never done!” Natalie Axel. L or en
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“Joining our children in their classroom on Bring Your Parent to School Day. I always liked being in their learning environment and seeing their work; they were always excited to share their work with us as well.” Lauren Moyer nd ea
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“We loved the end of the year trip to the zoo that the Primary students used to take and the Upper restaurant was also a family favorite”. Nikole Albright.
“When we were in charge of the chicken coop on the weekend. What a hoot!” Doug Jansen, parent of Jack and Ben (past students). “One time Emerson and I showed up for animal care and all the animals had escaped. I felt like we were in a scene from Jurassic Park with herds and flocks going in all directions!” Eric Dietsch, parent of Erin Rose (’14), Emerson (’15) and Erikson (UE).
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It is so much fun to revisit the memories that made Oak Farm what it is today. While there are many great memories and traditions that continue to be favorites; there are also many new ones that we embrace and enjoy as the campus has grown and more families have become part of this special community. Thank you to everyone, past and present, who was willing to share your memories with us! Please join us next month as we speak with Judith Cunningham, Oak Farm Montessori head of school (2007-2013).
Abby Roughia, Lower Elementary 3 Teacher
Look who’s in the Kitchen!
Math and Science appeal to many students, Cuture and Geography provide endless possibilites of discovery, and Language and Writing stretch our imagination. So then, why does the area of Practical Life in Lower Elementary, which often looks like daily chores, attract such attention and joy for the students? Perhaps it has something to do with the process and not the product. From choosing a snack to make, creating a shopping list of needed ingredients, going out into the community to shop for the items they need, calculating the amount of each ingredient when doubling or tripling a recipe, to working as a team to prepare their snack, this monthly event is highly anticipated and packed full of learning. Monthly, each Lower Elementary classroom chooses a small group of students who will be the Cook Team for snack. Their responsibility is to, as a team, agree on a snack they will prepare for their classmates. This choice can vary from team to team and from class to class, but the requirement for all is that it be beneficial to ones health. The team then uses the decided upon recipe and makes any necessary mathematical conversions to their measurements based on the number of servings needed. They then compile a shopping list, and when the day comes, they load the bus and venture out into the community. During the outing they are provided lessons in proper courtesies to use while shopping, how to look for the healthiest options, how to shop on a budget, how to look for the best value, and additional life skills as the opportunity arises. While in the kitchen preparing the snack, teams learn how to use a variety of kitchen gadgets such as: crock pots, mixers, knives (and knife safety), rolling pins, stoves and ovens and griddles and hot plates. It doesn’t end there though! In addition to learning their way around a kitchen, they learn about fractions when measuring, they make conversions, they understand serving sizes, and most importantly, how to work as a team. As a result of these lessons, they grow to understand efficiency, precision, and compromise. In the end, they also learn how to serve and give back to their classmates in presenting them with a healthy, delicious snack! They have invested a great deal of hard work and take great pride in their work. Everyone wins when the Cook Team is in the kitchen!
I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach. ~Henry David Thoreau
The woods Linda Hoffman, Upper 2 Teacher Upper students may not yet have the maturity to consistently live deliberately, but their visits to the woods are practice in achieving this goal. It is amazing what a canopy of trees can provide for a developing adolescent. When Upper students enter the woods, they give themselves over to imagination. They work together to plan and construct forts; places to secret away from lessons and organized games. They dig, literally dig, again and again- just for the joy of moving the earth and the physical challenge of plunging a spade into its surface. Students change their perspective by climbing trees and hanging out above the others, feet dangling, backs leaned against the trunk - another place to talk and experience the power that height provides. The forest floor is littered with sticks. These are picked up and carried, or used to move things, or piled, or used to write with, or to imitate walking sticks. A common sight in the woods is friends, arm in arm, or side by side, walking, walking, walking; conversing along the paths they travel. They shuffle the fallen leaves, or kick at the small sticks and chunks of bark, their voices echoing among the trees. The fallen trees are a veritable Ninja Warrior course. Students climb, jump, balance and bounce among the timber. They work together to roll large trunks that become nature’s school desks; providing seats and tables for work that can be done in the woods. And lessons are given in the woods; both formally by the teacher and informally through exploration and play. These trees play a bigger role in the lives of Upper students than just a natural playground. They provide an outdoor classroom for lessons about habitat, carbon cycle, concept mapping, geography (which side of a tree does moss typically grow on?), observation (what made those tracks?), record keeping (journaling seasonal changes), identification (bird sounds and sightings), fire-starting, sound waves (how does sound travel among the trees?), all the while becoming still life subjects for hours of drawing. Studies from Rachel and Stephen Kaplan, the University of East Anglia, the University of Michigan, the University of Sydney, Harvard University, and a plethora of others have shown that the woods do have much to teach. The stress relieving, vision-improving, sleep improving, strength-building, esteemboosting benefits of time spent outdoors are well studied and documented. Fortunately, Oak Farm Upper students have a natural instinct to desire outside exploration. Dressed for the weather, they can enjoy the woods protected with bug spray in summer months, and warmly layered for the crisp air of winter. When students can be alone in the woods, or with just a friend or two, it seems a special world; just for them. Maybe that is living deliberately‌the Oak Farm way.
cows and coding...
we have it all at the middle school Joe Katinsky, 8th Year and Bridget York, Secondary Program Director
Imagine beginning every school day with the responsibility to care for all the needs of a cow, chicken, goat, alpaca or sheep. Then, you get to go to class and share your learning by writing your very own computer program. This is what you can do on a typical day at Oak Farm Middle School. It’s a pretty awesome place because we have so many opportunities to develop skills. The Tendencies of the Adolescent While elementary children are engaged in an exploration of the world using their extraordinary imaginative powers, adolescents tend to view the world through a much more personal lens. They still have a tendency for exploration, but now they need to look inside to see who they are, what they can do, and how they fit into society. Because adolescents need to begin to find their way into adult society, they have a strong need to gather experiences and to communicate. Coding and real world technological work allow students to merge the experiences of the farm and academics into meaningful work that allows them an opportunity to communicate their ideas on a modern platform. All of these tendencies must be understood and allowed to take place for adolescents to continue their self-exploration. Technology at the MS MS students are assigned Chromebooks at the beginning of the year and learn how to navigate all of the Google Suite: Gmail, Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Slides and Google Classroom to stay personally responsible for their work. 8th years currently have their own Chromebook to use at school and 7th years share with one other person. MS students also have a Makerspace with a 3D printer. Screen time at school is limited to meaningful projects. Students create Guiding Principles for technology use at the beginning of the year and return to these to make adjustments as needed.
Technology
Take care of yourself: · Plug in your computer at the end of the day · Use computers for school work only · Carry computer with 2 hands · Use computers at a table · Put your computer away in your own spot in the cart · During lunch/free-time computers are only used for homework Take care of each other: · Sign in and out each use · Share computers equally with partner · Take care of the extra computers with as much care as your own computer Take care of the environment: · Put cords away properly · Write on paper on a table versus writing on top of the computer · Carry computer on the top of your books for school · Put your computers completely in the cart; long-way What is Coding? Coding is another word for computer programming; which is, essentially, an interaction between a person and a computer. In this interaction, the person tells the computer what needs to be done and how, and the computer executes the task. Learning to code develops computational thinking skills. What is unique about coding is that it can be used to do such a wide variety of things, the opportunities never seem to stop coming! There are different kinds of coding, called languages. Learning to code is learning another language. You use that language to talk with and engage machines. Some are very simple and some are complex. You might have heard of some of the most common ones; Java, C, C++, or Python. Not ringing a bell? Well that’s okay, there are still many more out there to choose from. Overall, coding is very fun and has many benefits.
The Importance and Benefits of Coding Coding is such a useful thing to learn in modern education. “Learning to code is improving one’s digital literacy. Contemporary life is shaped by interaction with technology. Learning to code empowers students to have agency in navigating and understanding key parts of their everyday lives. Coding becomes a practical life skill in contemporary Montessori education.”- Bonnie Bloom, Creative Media Specialist. So many jobs require a knowledge of computer programming and, in our everyday lives, riddled with technology, learning to code can be a good experience for many different reasons. Dozens of jobs use code and since it’s growing in prominence, even more are opening up. Coding can also be an incredibly useful skill to learn, even casually, and you never know when an opportunity might come up to use that knowledge. For example, coding is an inclusive and interactive way to procure a lifelong understanding of different concepts of math. Here are some of the jobs/fields that require an understanding of code/computer science. • Computer systems analyst • Business intelligence analyst • Web developer • Software development • Computer science • Network designer • Graphic Designer • User Experience Designer • Entrepreneur • Small Business Owner • Educator
Coding Opportunities @ the MS MS students began the year learning Scratch coding that was created by MIT https://scratch.mit.edu/ MIT’s Lifelong Kindergarten at its Media Lab created this basic computer coding language with the intent to teach kids to code. It is a fun, interactive and colorful block based program that allows student to create educational games for others to play. Scratch coders are encouraged by the programmers slogan to “Imagine, Program, Share”. The MS students started coding to share the literary devices from the books they read over the summer. It was easy to start coding with Scratch because it is drag and drop coding. Students were able to use a variety of avatars and create their own to teach others about metaphors, similes, personification, hyperbole, symbols and other literary devices through an interactive game. After this was completed, they were able to use Scratch coding as a way to share their learning in the third period of the lesson in any subject. Many have chosen to create games that teach about the American Revolution battles, characters from The Scarlet Letter, genres in fiction, the Periodic table -just to name a few. Students are also able to participate in An Hour of Code through Khan Academy and develop additional coding languages through individual work time.
Anyone Can Code Here are some resources for you to begin coding at home: Hour of Code: https://www.khanacademy.org/hourofcode Scratch: https://scratch.mit.edu/ CodeAcademy: https://www.codecademy.com/ EdX: https://www.edx.org/course/introduction-to-java-programming-writing-good-code Code Avengers: https://www.codeavengers.com/
Creativity Hattie Baer, Art Specialist
Children are very creative when given the opportunity to be. As the Art Specialist, I can definitely attest to this; Oak Farm students are very creative thinkers! Parents, if you don’t feel creative now, can you remember a time as a child when you felt free to make and explore new ideas? Can you also think of a time when someone shut down that creative inquisitive spark? Unfortunately, this happens all too frequently. Now I am not saying everyone should pursue a job in the creative arts, but creativity plays a very important role in our lives and the ever changing world that we live. As Christine Carter of UC Berkeley says, “Creativity helps us deal with change, problem solving, affects our social and emotional intelligence, enhances our understanding of math and science, and is a key component to health and happiness.” When students are given the tools and opportunity to create a unique idea from start to finish, the learning that takes place is vast. They must plan materials to use, what it will look like and how to set up that work space. They then must problem solve as they work; how to attach things, what material might work better for their idea and then how to handle and store their work between work times. They connect ideas learned in different subjects, how to manage their time while working, and how to sometimes restore a very large mess. We, as Art Specialists, try to build general knowledge during our more structured lessons with students. We teach students how to use different materials, different techniques for those materials, and how to be safe with each material. We also introduce work from other artists to students, which helps them dissect how something was made and leads to a more profound understanding of how another human sees an idea or thing. Hopefully these lessons help them when they are navigating the world outside the Art Center as well. Being in a room where their peers are all making new things and trying ideas and materials for the first time can be scary. We want creative experiences to be positive with their peers and teachers. Students learn that people do things differently, and the different way might be helpful to them. Students learn how to help each other and build each other up. When asking about someone’s art, it is much better to say “Wow, can you tell me about that?” instead of “Whoa, what is it?” We also ask students to only speak positively about one another’s art. (Learning to critique others work begins in middle school). As adults, the way we talk to children about their creativity can have a lasting impact. I am sure your child has brought you something that looks like a bunch of junk glued together, but have you asked about the work or thought behind the idea? Ask questions like, “Tell me about that?” or “Tell me what this part is? What did you learn while making that?” Avoid questions like, “What is it?” or stating that it looks like something. You might think it is a horse, and it might be a horse, but it could be a dog and the fact that you thought the dog was a horse can make a child avoid trying an idea like that again. You may even want to start a creativity box at home. You would be surprised what kids can make with glue or tape and stuff you would normally throw away. Add in paint or other craft materials and they will blow you away with their creativity! If you are worried about the mess, throw in a washable tablecloth to protect the work surface. Interested in creating your own creativity box? Email me at hbaer@oakfarmschool.com and I would be happy to provide a suggested supply list .
steps to success
Gala Project Creation at the Secondary Level ~ bonnie bloom, creative media specialist
The Tall Oak Gala is an annual tradition at Oak Farm. All levels participate in creating something for the big event (February 23, 2019). This year, students at the Secondary Level used the Design Process to come up with their projects for the Live and Silent Auctions held at the Gala. The Design Process is part of our regular curriculum in the Secondary Makerspace/STEAM environments. It is an approach for breaking down a large project into manageable chunks. Architects, engineers, scientists, and other thinkers use the Design Process to solve a variety of problems. Step 1: Define the problem that you need to solve; in our case what we would make for our Gala Submission. Step 2: Collect information, or research to come up with how you might solve the problem. Steps 3 and 4: Brainstorm ideas and Develop models for how this might work. Finally (Steps 5 and 6): Students give each other Feedback while assessing areas for Improvement before finalizing the design. Students employed this process at the Middle School and High School levels to create what would be their final submissions to the Gala Committee. For one project, Middle School students spent several weeks researching different artistic styles. They then created small test paintings with different artistic techniques before finally creating a large abstract painting focused on emulating a peaceful and soothing feeling. The collaborative process was frustrating at times as each student worked to communicate their ideas. The Design Process is inherently a back and forth methodology between each step until the solution is achieved. Students were able to experience this first hand as they often had to return to the drawing board when one idea did not work out as they expected. High School students created original photographs and a handmade clock for their Gala projects. Students worked together to narrow down a list of over fifteen different possible ideas (Step 1 in the Design Process) before deciding on these two solutions. For the photograph set, all students took photographs of Oak Farm’s campus; utilizing digital photography skills, then students voted on their favorites (Steps 2-5). Students then edited the selected images using Adobe Photoshop (Step 6) and printed out the photographs to complete the submission. The Original Bike Wheel Clock was a more hands-on undertaking, requiring a lot of steps forward and a lot of steps back. One student dubbed it the “Stress Clock� while helping to finalize it! It became a lesson in perseverance, brainstorming solutions, and collaboration on a group project. All the High School students chose to make a clock out of a bike tire because it combined elements of the High School program at Oak Farm (the Bike Shop Program and the Innolab Makerspace). A smaller group of students completed the actual crafting of the clock. Step 1 and Step 2 in the Design Process were combined as students identified the clock as their goal and the materials they would need to make it. The interesting part came in Steps 3-6 as they tried out different ways to make it work. Three different types of glue were tested and used in the construction of the clock! The 3D printed numbers for the clock face were affixed with a type of glue that caused them to slide off. This problem sent students back to Step 3 to brainstorm a solution and to try different number sizes and different glue types. A housing to hold the mechanical parts of the clock had to be designed on the computer and printed out three different times on the 3D printer before it actually worked in the initial design. (Repeating Step 6 three times). The Design Process creates a framework for research and development. It creates space for learning from mistakes and room to solicit feedback before returning to refine and complete a project. It is an important step in learning and building creative and critical thinking skills. This is just one example of how it is used on the Oak Farm campus.