The Dangers of Vaping
Event Recommendations for the Weekend
Sticking around for the three-day weekend? Check out these great art exhibits.
Bedford Gallery at the Lesher Center for the Arts
1601 Civic Dr, Walnut Creek, CA 94596
Tuesday – Sunday 12pm-5pm
Adult $5, Youth 13-17 $3, Children 12 & under free.
MLK Day of Service Fair
January 20, 12–4 pm | Oak Street Plaza
In honor of MLK Day, OMCA will be offering visitors an opportunity to connect with local social justice organizations who will share information about their work and how to get involved. Enjoy a free one-hour performance by The Marcus Shelby Quartet from 1–2 pm honoring Dr. King and the legacy of the work of Civil Rights leaders and other activists.
Participating organizations include: CARECEN (Central American Resource Center), Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, League of Women Voters of Oakland providing voter registration, the US Census, and Marcus Shelby.
The Service Fair is free and open to the public. Gallery admission is not included.
#SaklanExperiential
Head’s Corner
How to Stress Your Kids the Right Way
Every now and then I come across an article or podcast that is ideal for sharing with the community. Do you worry about being overprotective, overindulgent or overscheduling your child? Is there a right way to let your child struggle and fail? When should you help, and when should you chill out?
This short 25 minute “How To” podcast has some great advice from the author Wendy Mogel (The Blessing of a Skinned Knee) on building self-reliant children. Worth your time.
Warm regards,
David
#SaklanWellRounded
First Grade Invention Convention
The first grade class learned about simple machines. There are six types of simple machines. They are levers, pulleys, wheel and axle, inclined plane, wedge, and screw. They learned about each of these during their Science unit by doing fun investigations in class and each student made their own simple machine log book.
They invented their own machine and then created those machines using various scraps of recycled materials. During their presentation, they had to explain how this invention would work and why it was helpful. Way to go first grade!
#SaklanCreative
3rd Grade Alexander Calder and the Mobile
Alexander Calder. Constellation Mobile. 1943.
Wood, wire, string, and paint.
In understanding Kinetic Art – art that contains movement – we look to American Sculptor Alexander Calder for inspiration. He is most famous for his creation of the Mobile – a sculpture that has delicate parts, is suspended in air, and moves in response to air or powered by a motor. The class discussed the elements involved in creating a working mobile and the effects on the brain.
The students were given half the class to work in groups to create their “test” mobile using the same materials (minus paint). Working together they problem solved and created very different mobiles. They had a mini critique after the making to assess the functioning of each mobile. Next class they are to sketch out their model, including multiple branches, and create a theme for the mobile.
#SaklanCreative
Reptile Inspired Art
For the month of December, the Hoot Owls studied reptiles and had a lot of fun researching them. A guest expert from East Bay Vivarium came to Saklan yesterday and the children had a chance to see, touch and hold the animals.
Patterning is an important early math skill that is practiced often in the Pre-Kindergarten room. Hoot Owls worked on pattern making by exploring patterns seen in nature. The children compared the patterns of the venomous coral snake and the harmless king snake. Hoot Owls chose to copy the pattern of either snake while also working on their fine motor skills.
Process art focuses on the student’s experience while creating art, not on the end product. Process art allows children to make their own choices, ask questions and experiment. Students have the opportunity to make mistakes, explore materials and gain confidence while using their imagination and their senses. Hoot Owls thought about snakes and how snakes move while painting with thick pieces of yarn!
Hoot Owls strengthened their fine motor skills and sculpting skills while working with air dry clay. They used the information they learned about reptiles to freely create a reptile of their choosing. Careful! They might bite!
#SaklanCreative
You’re Invited!
Head’s Corner
A Change Is A Chance 2020
Sometimes Saklan kids do some pretty cool things that we want to take all the credit for, but can’t. A prime example of that would be the podcast A Change is a Chance by 6th grade Saklan student Ryan Lo. In Ryan’s inaugural podcast, he interviews Ms. Obenchain about an array of scientific issues. Some of the topics Ryan will cover in the coming months are global pollution, systemic racism, and gender equality.
What I like about the podcast (besides the fact that one of our students created such a professional sounding production) is that it emphasizes what real-world learning is. Ryan describes how discovering one thing led to a more profound interest in other topics and a thirst to know more. That curiosity led him to develop deep probing questions that he could not answer without the help of an outside expert. Hence, the interview with Ms.Obenchain.
This is what Saklan and learning are about. I would love for us to take all the credit for Ryan’s podcast, but many factors went into Ryan’s journey of creating it.
Definitely worth your 15 minutes.
Warm regards,
David
#SaklanCourageous
The Great Gingerbread House Project
Fifth graders worked together to complete The Great Gingerbread House Projects. Students worked in pairs to design and build a to scale gingerbread house. First, they reviewed how to figure Area and Perimeter. Then students designed their gingerbread house floor plans. All floor plans could not exceed 432 square centimeters. When complete, students submitted their floor plans, side and front view dimensions and calculations to the Project Manager (Mrs. Peters) for final approval before building. Students then built their gingerbread houses to scale. Of course, adding candy was a fun part of the project, too!
In addition, students worked together to complete a poster that included all of their calculations and plans. During this process, fifth graders: designed, added, multiplied, predicted, worked cooperatively and creatively. They turned out great! Awesome job fifth graders!!
#SaklanCreative
Free Writing
The seventh graders recently shifted their Language Arts focus from expository writing to “free writing.” For the purpose of the class, free writing simply means to write without stopping for an extended period of time (approx. 20 minutes). That said, this is not just a write whatevahhh exercise. While that kind of activity does have its merits, the students are currently being challenged to dig into all the possible meanings of a provocative or inspirational quote, such as “Truth is the first casualty of war,” or “Gratitude can make you happier.” And while they should write thoughtfully, even introspectively, they also are supposed to try to write without “thinking” (i.e., knowing in advance, self-judging, second-guessing, erasing, revising, rereading, etc.).
They are learning to FLOW from one word, phrase, or sentence, one idea, image, or story to the next. Questions beget more questions. Untethered creativity is encouraged. Tangents are also acceptable, as long as you stay in the realm of the initial prompt. The upshot? Fearlessness, confidence, invaluable brainstorm/first draft technique, and the potential for powerful revelatory moments when unexpected writing and ideas never imagined in your wildest Language Arts fantasies come to life on the page. Tuh-ruth!
#SaklanCreative
FRIDAY BLOG 
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