Celebrations of Learning

Last week was Celebration of Learning week at Aveson, so Wednesday and Thursday evenings we spent some time at school discovering what the boys have been up to at school this semester. First was Ezra’s COL which took on a different format this year. Instead of small groups of kids taking their parents on a tour of the classroom, it was held in the auditorium with all of the first and second graders in his block. And, because their studies this semester have focused on food and access to food, it was also a potluck. The kids had made posters of healthy foods by color, which were hanging on the walls.

Ezra’s largest contribution was this awesome blueberry.

And these blackberries.

I like how his fruit have feet. And glasses, in the case of the blueberry.

Part of the evening was spent discussing their field trip to Vons and the food bank, and some of the kids read their stories about that day. Ezra did not want to get up in front of the crowd to read his. But I think he did enjoy the evening, despite it being a little chaotic for his temperament.

Finn, on the other hand, had a COL closer to the format we’re used to. The Kindergarteners had been working on their All About Me Boxes and a book about themselves. They also did a circle project showing increasingly larger circles to symbolize themselves, their house, the city they live in, their country, etc.

The big difference with this COL was that instead of just showing off their stuff to their own family, each student started by presenting their All About Me Box to other families in the room. It was done in small groups, so it wasn’t overwhelming. Clearly Finn was in his element.

I didn’t have a chance to snap many pictures of him because I was listening the presentations of the other students. They all did really well. Here’s the group Finn was with — they’re getting a pep talk before the presentations from their lovely teacher, Ms. Jessica.

For the second half of the evening, the kids returned to their own families and showed off their work. Here are some pictures of Finn showing us his box, his book and his circle project.

We helped him fill in the states he’s been to.

For his favorite part of his city, he chose to draw “Christmas Tree Alley.” He thinks we live in Altadena. Well, close enough.

Not surprisingly, Ezra wasn’t all that interested. But he did find his friend Ben (whose sister is in Finn’s class) and they looked at a book together.

After Finn’s celebration, Bruce took the boys out to dinner — their pick was Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles. It’s become sort of a tradition.

I, on the other hand, went home and straight to bed. I’d been out with a fever all day and had just dressed myself up to make it to the COL. Luckily, the fever only lasted one day, unlike Ezra’s the previous week which lasted for 2-1/2 days. It’s pretty miserable, but luckily we’re all on the mend now.

And, we’re looking forward to what the second semester will bring!