Little Red School House
and Elisabeth Irwin High School

A Pre-K-12 Progressive Education

Middle School News Detail

LREI // LS News 9/30/21

Faith Hunter

I love being a part of a school where thinking about how we teach is as important as thinking about what we teach. Since the early days when Elisabeth Irwin encouraged her students to think big, LREI has been known for the creativity we foster in our children. I wanted to share a few examples of the creative experiences your children have had in the past three weeks as they connect with their teachers and peers, develop a growth mindset of courage and confidence, and find joy in each of the subjects they will be immersed in this year.

Third graders used their names as inspiration to share their individuality through music and art.

After listening to the book Your Name Is a Song by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow in music class, third graders thought about the rhythm in their own names as they improvised a corresponding melody on xylophones. Then, in art class, they approached their names from a visual angle by considering their use of color and space and the unique shapes formed by letters.

“4s and K, How many days have we been in school?”

As part of familiarizing themselves with the base-10 system, our 4’s and Kindergarten students celebrate every tenth day in school by learning about a different hero in our society. Understanding that ten ones make one 10 — as well as other ways to make the number 10 — builds a strong number sense foundation for our students.The creativity our teachers poured into the learning opportunities around the tenth day of school resulted in sheer delight and memorable moments of learning across our early childhood classrooms. Our Director Phil marked the end of a scavenger hunt that had our youngest students exploring the school building when he delivered the final piece of the puzzle that revealed Elisabeth Irwin as our first changemaker marking the 10th day of school.

First graders went on several local field trips throughout our neighborhood to notice the many signs and posters they can read, as well as the many ways that people are reading. As they begin to form their own reading identities and think of themselves as readers, they are asking members of our community, “What is your favorite book/genre?”, “Why do you read?”, “When do you read?”, and much more. Since reading will come to some students more gradually than it does to others, our teachers strive to imbue reading with as much pleasure and sense of purpose as possible.

This month, our students are being challenged to share 100 moments of courage in each class. Fourth graders reflected on a recent moment of courage that was significant to them.