Happy Halloween

 The children made 


"Haunted Houses".


If the children 


had time, they wrote a 


story about their 


house.


Safe Trick or 


Treating!

 

Eco Fair 2011

The Eco Fair was a grand success.

Guess who?

Inventive costumes filled the school.  

There was an ATM machine, a Box, and a Newspaper princess, just to name a few.

The classes were mixed together and traveled from room to room doing activities. 

We ended the day in the woods.  It just seemed like a perfect way to end the Eco Fair.

These are the things great memories are made from.

Number Book

My math group read a number book by Arlene Alda.  


Alda's book inspired us to make our own photograph number book.  The children looked for numbers around the room and school.  Here is what we found:

 After the children photographed the "numbers", the class decided that 12 copies of the book should be made.  One for each of them, one for each class, and a copy for the library.  I hope everyone enjoys their creativity.

Our Backyard Woods

Look close to see  what Oliver found in his hickory nut,

Friday afternoon, Faye was waiting for us at County Farm Park.  
She immediately gave us a mission to find a nut that was partly chewed by a squirrel or chipmunk.  The children scoured the ground and found numerous examples.  Then Faye asked them why they thought the animals just eat part of the nut and left the rest behind.  
"Maybe something frightened it."
"Maybe it was full."
"Maybe it didn't like the way it tasted."
"Maybe because there are so many around."

...a grub!

Faye said, she didn't know the reason but she thought all the ideas were good ones.

As we walked in the woods, Faye told us about some of the birds that migrate from Michigan to warmer climates for the winter.  She showed us how burs  can be used as "natures jewelry", and she showed us how to make the sound of a chipmunk that is worried.  
Towards the end of our tour, we stopped at the prairie and looked at a fox and coyote skin.  She taught us how to discriminate between a cat, dog, and coyote track.  (Ask you child.  The clue is it is all in the nails.)
We took a short walk through the prairie and found trails made by deer and indentations in the grasses, where the deer had slept the night before.
Then it was back through the woods to school.  Another educational trip through the woods with Faye was at its end.  Our next trip with Faye will take place this winter.

 

Are we doing math today?

Yes, and so much more...

Each day I write a brief outline of the days schedule on the board.  Last Friday, in the spot that usually says, "Math", it said "Cooking".  One child ask, "Why aren't we going to do math today?"  This question lead to a discussion about how cooking can be math:

"Because you measure things!"

"You have to count how much of things you need!"

"I know. You have to use a clock to tell how long to bake what you made!"

Good answers, I thought.

I love to bake with children because it does give practical applications to so many things we learn: reading, math, science, and social skills.  This day, my goal was more focused on the social skills, but I was glad they were thinking about the math aspects within the activity.  

I wanted to see how the children would handle working as a team for a common goal.  I divided the children into 2 groups of six, gave them a recipe, ingredients, and told them to make banana bread.  

Then I sat back and monitored as they divided up the tasks.  Each group found their own solution to the task at hand.  One group even found a way for everyone to stir at once.  

The only assistance I provided was to explain that they didn't need to find the "cream" that the recipe meant mixing the ingredients until they were creamy.

At Summers-Knoll, we think a crucial part of education is having children work together to solve problems and conquer tasks.  Having the ability to work collaboratively is a crucial tool for children in their every day lives and in their future.

Owls and Bones

At Summers-Knoll, integrating ideas across subject areas is an important part of the curriculum.  Sometimes connections are planned and sometimes they  happen by coincidence.  This week is a case in point.


Monday, Joanna lead the children in writing a poem during the morning meeting. She first asked the children for a subject for the poem.  One child said, "owls".  This idea probably came from a talk about owls the 1st/2nd graders heard while we were at Howell. 
The poem they wrote:
Owls in the night
They do not like the bright
They do not hunt in the day
They eat all their prey
Until their night is done.


I was had been thinking about the owls too, inspired by our trip to the Nature Center.  Over the weekend I found an interesting poem by Richard Wilbur, A Barred Owl .  This was our poem for the week.  The poem tells of a child who is quieted by learning the barred owl's call sounds like, "Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you?"  (One of the many facts we learned from the owl experts in Howell.)


Later this the children dissected owl pellets. Since the children heard about owl pellets last week, I thought it would be interesting for them to see owl pellets first hand.  As we discussed the bones the children would see in their dissection,  I realized this went back to our discussions about bones with Dr. George.  The children were already acquainted with the names of the bones, and were able to quickly identified them and find which animal they belong to on the charts.  


And thus...
the evolution of ideas spin their way through out classroom.

Eco Fair 2011

 What is an Eco Fair?  For several years,  Summers-Knoll has had an Eco-Fair in place of a traditional Halloween celebration.  


At home, the children make their own costumes out of recycled/reused materials.  It is a time for them to let their imaginations soar.  


On Friday, October 28th, children should come to school wearing the costumes they designed.
Then during the morning, we mix up the classrooms and they move from room to room, doing "Eco friendly" activities.  Everyone usually has a great time at this event.  

I've included photos from last years Eco Fair to provide inspiration.

Poetry

This month, each week we will be reading poems about the natural world.  
Before reading last week's poem to the children, I told them, to listen to the poem and then tell me what they thought the title might be.  The poem's title is the name of the thing the poem describes.  
I read the poem once and several children raised their hands with ideas, but I did not let them tell their ideas till I read it a second time.  After the second reading hands were flying up.  No one could refrain from calling out, "it's the wind!"
I asked them why they thought it was the wind and they pointed out stanzas of the poem that described thing wind can do. 

Here is James Reeves poem The Wind.

I can get through a doorway without any key,

And strip the leaves from the great oak tree.

I can drive storm clouds and shake tall towers,

Or steal through a garden and not wake the flowers.

Seas I can move and ships I can sink; I can carry a house­top 

Or the scent of a pink, 

When I am angry I can rave and riot;

And when I am spent, I be quiet as quiet.

Highlights from Howell

Eating together

Working as a team...

to build shelters.

Trying edible plants

Flying through the air...

on the zip-line

Learning about owls

Singing songs and

roasting marshmallows around the campfire.

October Calendar

Thursday, October 6    Howell Nature Center Trip

Friday, October 7           Teacher Inservice Day      - No School for Students

Friday, October 14    Field Trip to Materials Recycling Facility

Friday, October 21         Field Trip to Once Upon a Time 

                                                            at Wild Swan Theater                                                 

                                          and  a Nature Walk in County Farm Park

                                                      with Naturalist Faye Stoner

Monday, October 24      No School for Students

Friday, October 28         ECO-Fair (more details about this event soon)

Reminder

If you have not contacted me to set up a conference time, please do it soon!

Howell Trip

warm weather

chilly weather

Our trip to Howell is always one of the highlights of the year.  It is a long, fun day.  By the end of the day the children have experienced a wide range of activities from going over a gully on a zip line to trying edible plants in the woods.  At the end of the day adults and children are exhausted.  


One thing we can never be sure of on this trip is the Weather.  Believe me when I say, I have experienced everything except a tornado.  We have had nice warm days, pouring rain, and a blizzard.  One year we had all of these on the same day.


This year it appears we are going to be very lucky.  The experts are calling for sunny and 70.    Please, make sure your child has appropriate clothing for the weather.  You can pack extra clothes in a backpack.  We will have a lodge where we can leave the packs while we are out in the woods.  Your child will at least need an extra layer for the evening. My advise is to keep watching the Weather Channel and prepare for everything.

In preparation for the trip, I would suggest getting your child to bed at a reasonable hour Wednesday night and if you have the flexibility, let them sleep in Thursday morning.  If you are driving to Howell, you can meet us at the Nature  Center at 11:30.  If your child is leaving from school, they don't need to be at school until 10:00.  You should receive more information about the trip from Karen.  If you do not, please contact her.

rainy weather

snowy weather