FROM UNDER OUR BIG TREE: Week 19

 

All Together
“You have been my friend,” replied Charlotte, “That in itself is a tremendous thing.”
― E.B. White, Charlotte’s Web
Hi!

Thanks for catching up with us.  We’re having an info night this Thursday…feel free to share the info: 7pm at TKG!

Here are some highlights from our classrooms:

Math
5 to 7: Building on our knowledge from the bunk bed stories we thought about ways to make bags of 5 apples with red and green varieties. The sprouts really enjoyed the hands-on activities and documenting their learning by coloring, writing, and sharing at meeting and we can’t wait to do more projects like this! Next week we will find ways to make 10.  We will also, taste different apples and graph our favorites.
Mathematics » Kindergarten » Operations & Algebraic Thinking: Understand addition, and understand subtraction//CCSS.Math.Content.K.OA.A.3 Decompose numbers less than or equal to 10 into pairs in more than one way, e.g., by using objects or drawings, and record each decomposition by a drawing or equation (e.g., 5 = 2 + 3 and 5 = 4 + 1)

7 to 9: This week, I met with Teddy and Isabella to help them meet their own personal learning goals of learning multiplication and division and we have determined that we will meet regularly  to really dive into these subjects.  With Zoe, Hayden, Maddie and Bennett, we continue to explore number sense as we play a multi-level math game that incorporates money and algebraic expressions with equivalency and comparisons.
Mathematics » Grade 4 » Operations & Algebraic Thinking: Use the four operations with whole numbers to solve problems.CCSS.Math.Content.4.OA.A.1 Interpret a multiplication equation as a comparison, e.g., interpret 35 = 5 × 7 as a statement that 35 is 5 times as many as 7 and 7 times as many as 5. Represent verbal statements of multiplicative comparisons as multiplication equations.
Mathematics » Grade 1 » Operations & Algebraic Thinking: Represent and solve problems involving addition and subtraction. CCSS.Math.Content.1.OA.A.1 Use addition and subtraction within 20 to solve word problems involving situations of adding to, taking from, putting together, taking apart, and comparing, with unknowns in all positions, e.g., by using objects, drawings, and equations with a symbol for the unknown number to represent the problem.1

Language
5 to 7: Continuing our learning though apples we used our senses to find adjectives that describe how apples look, feel, sound, smell, and taste.  At home, ask about different ways to describe an item your sprout is interested in. Next week we will explore similes.
English Language Arts Standards » Language » Grade 1 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.1.1f Use frequently occurring adjectives.

7 to 9: This week, we explored how we can utilize technology to capture our presentations, interests and stories. Maddie and Isabella worked diligently with Monica and then on their own to use PowerPoint to work on the class pet presentation. It seems like next week they will be ready to work with the class to see how to present it to St.Andrew’s.  As a counter to Powerpoint, Isabella and Zoe used a web-based presentation software called Prezi to create an interactive presentation of the characters they have created, Auggie Doggie and Zombie/Hoot.  On the ipad, Hayden, Bennett and Teddy used the application Pages to create posters related to a favorite topic, sports. At home, talk about your experience and process using technology to communicate ideas.
English Language Arts Standards » Anchor Standards » College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Speaking and Listening:  Comprehension and Collaboration CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.SL.1 Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.SL.2 Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.
Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.SL.5 Make strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to express information and enhance understanding of presentations
.

Writing
7 to 9:
 Students had the opportunity to re-visit Chinese calligraphy with Alice. They worked on how to say and write the numbers with Chinese characters and as artists, they learned the way to hold a brush. In addition, they learned that the reason why there is a certain order to the strokes used to create a character, rather than each person being able to decide how they would do it, is to support a consistent look for a character that can easily be recognized and replicated; An important factor in the transmission of language.  Did you know? Chinese is written entirely with Chinese characters or hànzi. To read Modern Standard Chinese you need to commit about 4,000 – 5,000 hànzi to memory. Most characters are built of components which represent physical things or abstract concepts. Learn what each of the components represents and try building up mental images featuring the components for each character.

Books and conversations
7 to 9: Our engagement with The Phantom Tollbooth (link is to the trailer from 1970) continues to bring us great enjoyment. In the book, we are being introduced to such ideas as synonyms (how many ways can you say that something is great?), sayings (out of the pot, into the frying pan) and the concept of half-baked ideas (good idea to half-bake ship-able Giordano’s Pizza). We will explore these concepts in class so we can add them to our writing to enrich our stories. At home, share your family’s favorite sayings and imagine the illustration that would accompany them.
English Language Arts Standards » Reading: Foundational Skills » Grade 2: Fluency CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.2.4 Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.2.4c Use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding, rereading as necessary.

Deep Learning
5 to 7: Deep Learning has revealed a “detective” plan, which in turn, has inspired us to scaffold the provocation with new materials.  Taking this interest into our mornings we will be searching for letters, words, numbers, and items around our room; and if detectives comes up during deep learning, we will be prepared with open-ended materials like: fabrics, cardboard boxes, writing tools and ‘treasures.’ (We would donations of: boxes and ‘treasures’ (interesting and beautiful items like old coins, bottle caps, faux gems and sleek rocks)
7 to 9: Bubbles- what do they bounce on, how far do they fly up before they pop, which direction gets the longest lasting bubble? Please consider donating bubble solution.  Some are creating the world’s longest Rainbow loom. If you have rubberbands you can donate, we would love to add them to our classroom stash.
English Language Arts Standards » Anchor Standards » College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Speaking and Listening; Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.SL.6 Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and communicative tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate

Social Emotional
5 to 7: We will scaffold emotional learning through art this week: In studio we will explore oil pastels and wonder how to artists feel about their work?  How do artists process criticism?  How do we want people to talk about our art (or ideas, food, etc.)?

7 to 9: We have a new part of our end of the day reflection meeting which is that each person, including teachers, reflects on the following sentence starters to solidify what was gained from the day together learning: I learned…, I figured out…, Now I know…

Learning in Nature (Outdoor)
“You did it, you did it!” – Zara to Alex after talking him through how to get on the new swing.

TKG-wide football game!  We had many players and much fun.

Science
5 to 7: Ramps and Cars:
Alex: Mine is actually taller, we need an equal amount.
Anna: (observing from the tree) The gray car is not that fast.
Lucas: Cuz it’s broken.
Racing, testing, and conversations continued.  Physics at its finest!
Mathematics » Kindergarten » Measurement & Data: Describe and compare measurable attributes.CCSS.Math.Content.K.MD.A.1 Describe measurable attributes of objects, such as length or weight. Describe several measurable attributes of a single object.

Have a great week!
CONNECTION LINKS
Lena Garcia, School Builder/7 to 9 Classroom
Michelle Goldbach-Johnson, Founding Teacher/5 to 7 Classroom
Yvette Fenton/Co-Teacher, 5 to 7 Classroom
Jaclyn Epstein-Calvert/Co-Teacher, 7 to 9 Classroom
Saundi Williams, 5 to 7 Room Parent
Erin Levin, 7 to 9 Room Parent
Shutterfly Info Site: photos, contact information, announcements
TKG Info

Tending the Garden

***TKG Book Club: Thursday Feb 20th, 7:00pm
Please mark your calendars! We will announce the book (it is usually a chapter or article) separately.

***Supplies Needed
Bubbles (bottles, mix, etc), cardboard boxes, index cards, ‘treasures’ (faux gems, sleek rocks, bottle caps, one-of-a-kind objects), 6 volt (V) lantern battery, Enamel-coated magnet wire, 30 AWG (75 feet), Alligator clip leads (2); Iron bolts; about 2 ½ inches long and ½ inch in diameter (4); 220 grit sandpaper (about 1 square inch), Masking tape (1 roll); Box of steel paper clips (about 100 count); 9V battery
scotch type Tape, electrical tape, Aluminum foil; small flashlight bulbs

***Parenting TOOLBOX: 5 Encouraging Phrases
It’s no secret that kids need encouragement to thrive. But what exactly does encouragement sound like? It’s different than praise or admiration or guidance. It is common to want to give evaluative feedback to kids for their work (“Good coloring!”), or to tell them what we like about their accomplishments (“I like how you set the table.”), or what we expect of their behavior. (“You need to try your best at school today.”) Though these kinds of responses are well meaning, they teach kids to rely on our evaluations rather than to learn to form their own judgments about behavior…READ ON

TKG Principals
  • CONSTRUCTIVISM, as teachers and parents, we provide the trellis on which students will build on their existing knowledge
  • WHOLE CHILD, cognitive, physical and social/emotional are inseparable
  • BRAIN SCIENCE, students are sensory learners, we honor each student’s unique developmental map
  • CAPACITY BUILDING, nurturing creative thinkers who are encouraged to solve problems that serve our community
  • COOPERATIVE LEARNING, small groups, low ratios, mixed ages and generations

From the TKG Office

  • ENROLLMENT Information Night – This Thursday @ 7:00pm.  Please invite your friends to join us – Registration is available here.
  • TKG OFFICE HOURS – Friday Feb 14 from 12:00 to 2:00pm.  We meet at the round table in the courtyard or at Green Roast Coffee (depending on the weather) – we’re at either spot.
  • School HOLIDAY – Monday Feb 17.  No school in honor of President’s Day.  Enjoy!
Thank you Families!  Contact Trish or Monica with any questions.
The Four Agreements
1. Be Impeccable with your Word
2. Don’t Take Anything Personally
3. Don’t Make Assumptions
4. Always Do Your Best
Community Resource

“Simplicity is an acquired taste.
Mankind, left free, instinctively complicates life.”
Katherine Gerould (1879 – 1944)

In our efforts to live the ‘good life’, we can easily find ourselves overwhelmed by seemingly endless choices, decisions and activities.

Here are a few ways to help slow down, and give ourselves time to remember who we are and what’s really important in our lives.

And as we simplify, the environment also benefits. READ MORE…

Are the Humanities dead?

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