Third grade took its first walk through the garden this year. Guided by Mrs. Curran, students enjoyed a scavenger hunt. We located peppers, tomatoes, lettuce, Swiss chard, basil and much more! Students found the green beans that Chef Peter serves, too. Many students were excited to identify the plants that they had planted last spring before leaving school for the summer. It was a great beginning to year of environmental science!

Each member of our class chose an American hero to illustrate on the front of a cereal box. They researched their history online and told their story in their own words. Everyone also constructed a characteristics wheel on the back, listing positive qualities of their hero. We proudly display them for all to enjoy.

Third graders are hard at work researching and creating their cereal box projects of famous people. The students are focusing in on the important characteristics that helped each person achieve their best. Be watching for the finished products!

Did you know that a hand span is a form of measurement that farmers have used for hundreds of years to measure objects in the garden? Third and fourth graders traced their hands and measured the length from the tip of their thumbs to the tip of their little fingers. Then they set off to the garden with clipboards, rulers and meter sticks. Objects were measured in hand spans and centimeters and data recorded. Students measured everthing from the butterfly bush and espalier pear tree to the rain barrel, trellises and the composter. Students enjoyed the opportunity to be outside on a beautiful spring day and hone their math skills in the garden!

Third and fourth grades teamed up recently for a math lesson on lattice multiplication. Lattice multiplication is a unique and fun way to quickly multiply two, three and even four digit numbers using a grid. Fourth graders led the class and did an excellent job teaching third graders this skill. After some initial confusion, third graders were soon yelling, “I get it!”. Well done, everyone!

Unquowa third graders celebrated Earth Day on April 21st. We were excited to participate with presenters from the Maritime Aquarium, The Audubon and New Pond Farm. Each presenter shared interesting animal species that depend on a clean Earth. Children were able to investigate mussels, horseshoe and rock crabs from the Maritime, bees from New Pond Farm and two species of turtles and an owl from the Audubon. After eating a delicious lunch with our eighth grade buddies, Mrs. Fitzsimonds came in to lead us in a parent directed activity. The day ended with a whole school assembly including performances to celebrate a clean and healthy Earth!

Third graders have mastered telling time in Spanish. Students have enjoyed taking the lead to quiz their classmates and making their own personal clocks to aid them in their practice drills. Students have also enjoyed playing “Collectar Cartas” (Collect Cards) to show off the precision in their time-telling skills.

What is soil? Third graders at Unquowa have been discovering the answer to this question through many investigations, such as “soil sifting”. Here students were given three different soil samples and a multi-level soil sifter. As each layer of the sifter was taken apart, students discovered small rocks, roots, insects, sand and clay. In the classroom, students learned that soil is a very important natural resource that takes 500-1,000 years to produce!

Today grades 3 & 4 experienced life in the small village of  Nicaragua. We were pleased to have Samantha, a local high school student, visit our classes. Samantha is part of “Build-On”, a high school program of community service. Samantha, along with other students, constructed a school in Nicaragua. She shared her experiences and taught our students about the culture, art, food and education in La Chimpinella. Samantha ended her presentation by teaching us all the very popular banana song.

Equipped with binoculars and clipboards, the 3rd and 4th graders set off for an “animal homes” hike. Students observed surroundings for nests, rock piles, mounds and other possible animal homes and recorded their findings with tally marks. Logs were carefully lifted to reveal pillbugs, beetles, centipedes and clusters of slug eggs. Among the homes identified along the Horse Tavern Brook were a squirrel’s nest, brush pile, tree hollows, rock piles and many crevices along the brook. 3rd and 4th graders listed London’s Brook, the Horse Tavern Brook and the Rooster River as three water sources that are homes to abundant wildlife including fish, mallard ducks, herons and snapping turtles. As our walk concluded, trout lilies were sighted beginning to emerge along the trail. This lovely native plant has speckled leaves, similar to  the field marks of a trout, and flowers that bloom every four to seven years…a sure sign of spring!