Unquowa School | Kindergarten Category Page

Nature Happens!

Posted by Colleen Noyes on September 5th, 2025

While we are going about our busy lives, nature is doing its thing right in front of us.

Here at Unquowa, some eye spy detectives spotted some super cool things happening right under our noses.

Super sleuths detected an interesting insect on the playground bars. After consulting an app called Seek (that helps to identify many different types of species) we positively identified the Red-legged grasshopper! Its scientific name is Melanoplus femurrubrum. A femur is the bone of the upper thigh or hind limb and rubrum mean RED!! This insect is aptly named.

Next a keen eyed student saw the exoskeleton of a Cicada on the Blue Spruce tree outside of the corral. It was incredibly camouflaged and not easy to distinguish from the similarly colored bark. Well done detective.

Lastly our incredible kitchen gurus took notice of an insect outside the Dining Room entrance that looks a lot like a green leaf. Turns out it is a Katydid just hanging out (maybe they were looking for a nice easy meal inside the kitchen) on the wall.

Thanks to all who used their observation skills. Please keep it up and let me know of anything that you find interesting. Go Nature, go Gators (hope we don’t stumble onto a gator- for real)

Now Available for Viewing – Unquowazine Volume 7

Posted by Karen Engelke on July 9th, 2025

Working with the Lower School Art and Literary Club members on Unquowazine Volume 7 has been such a pleasure. They have worked tirelessly on various stages of magazine development. This year, they have included more original content in the form of interviews, comics, and book reviews. Together with their staff, Cassidy and Micah worked very hard on all of the various components. They did a fantastic job of being mindful of each student’s work while honoring its authenticity. As their advisor, I guided them and gave them structure and support. Kudos to all of their hard work and dedication!

Discovering the Ancient Marvels of the Sea!

Posted by Ann Palm on June 12th, 2025

For the past ten years, our kindergarten and fourth grade students have had the incredible opportunity to participate in the Limulus Program in collaboration with Sacred Heart University. Each spring our young scientists meet Sacred Heart University students at Southport Beach, for an unforgettable hands-on learning experience centered around one of nature’s oldest most fascinating creatures, the horseshoe crab.

During the beach visit students learn to identify horseshoe crabs, examine their anatomy, and observe their behaviors. We helped tag the crabs for future research. If a horseshoe crab gets flipped onto its back, it can use its long tail not for defense but as a lever to flip itself over. Their blood is crucial for medical research and vaccine safety. We also learned horseshoe crabs are more closely related to spiders and scorpions than crabs!

This program offers more than just science education. It fosters curiosity, environmental awareness and respect for living creatures. We are grateful for our continued partnership with Sacred Heart University and look forward to many more years of exploration and discovery.

From Caterpillar to Butterfly: A Magical Journey in Kindergarten

Posted by Ann Palm on May 9th, 2025

In our Kindergarten classroom science recently fluttered to life in the most magical way! Our young learners dove into the fascinating world of butterflies, exploring each stage of their life cycle with wide eyes and curious hearts. We have let our butterflies go free to explore their new world and we wished them a safe journey.

Learning Mandarin is So Much Fun!

Posted by kellyyeh on May 9th, 2025

This past month was filled with exciting activities for our students! We learned animal names in Mandarin and played a fun Chinese character “Spot It” game—which the kids absolutely loved. They also practiced writing Chinese characters through interactive games.

To help remember the animal names, students created adorable animal crafts. This not only reinforced their vocabulary but also supported the development of their fine motor skills.

Our 3rd graders even tried their hand at Chinese calligraphy, and they did an amazing job! It was so impressive to see their concentration and creativity shine.

To wrap it all up, the 3rd graders used a special communication sheet to walk around the classroom and chat with their classmates in Mandarin. It was wonderful to see them confidently using the language in real conversations!

Growth Mindset Using Dots!

Posted by anniehenry on March 6th, 2025

Over the course of January the entire school focused on Growth Mindset with Mrs. Henry. Students learned what it is, the importance of it, the role mistakes and failure play in our life, and the strength in resilience. Lower schoolers practiced flipping their mindsets and power in positive affirmations. Upper Schoolers learned about neuroplasticity and the literal growth we can have within our brains. The whole school ended the unit by reading The Dot, by Peter Reynolds. A story that reminds us that sometimes the best way to get unstuck is to simply get started, and that growth often means taking a risk. Every student in the school then decorated a dot and 5th graders worked to display them in our dining room. If you find yourself stuck, turn to our mural of dots and remember to have a growth mindset!

We Love Deep Play!

Posted by Faith Barbuto on February 13th, 2025

Each week students in PreK, Kindergarten and First Grade join me after school to learn new ways to calm their bodies and regulate their emotions through play. During this less structured time, we do crafts, play games and have lots of hands-on fun. To celebrate Valentine’s Day this week’s classes focused on self love. I wrote affirmations on conversation hearts with white crayons that students revealed with paint. What a heartwarming surprise! For homework students were instructed to to post these notes somewhere they could read them every night. This week the same students chose to make our own puffy paint and tackle an obstacle course. One of the things I love most about these sessions is that the students direct a lot of the activities, it really is their time!

新年快乐 – Happy New Year!

Posted by Carina Blackwell on February 3rd, 2025

In one of our many celebrations centered around Chinese New Year, our 4th and 5th grade students rolled up their sleeves to make over 600 vegetable dumplings for the entire school to enjoy at lunch. As part of the celebration, our students shared insights into Chinese New Year traditions and the significance of the dishes we were about to enjoy.

Our talented chefs also prepared an array of delicious dishes to complement the dumplings, including house-made scallion oil, a soy-rice vinegar dipping sauce, and a flavorful vegetable lo mein with bok choy, peppers, onions, and carrots. We also enjoyed yummy miso soup and a vibrant Chinese chicken salad, served on a bed of fresh spinach with mandarin oranges, edamame beans, scallions, broccoli, crunchy chow mein noodles, and zesty mandarin ginger dressing for the salad bar. Oranges were served for dessert, symbolizing good luck and happiness in the new year.

It was a festive and flavorful way to ring in the Lunar New Year, celebrating both food and tradition with our entire school community. Here’s to a year filled with good fortune and joy!

Lower School Celebrates Chinese New Year!

Posted by kellyyeh on January 31st, 2025

In Lower School Mandarin classes we had a fantastic time celebrating the Chinese New Year, the biggest holiday in Chinese culture! We dove into many fun activities to learn about this festive occasion and the twelve zodiac animals.

We explored all the delicious foods people enjoy during the celebration and even talked about the beautiful clothes worn for the festivities. Our creativity was fully displayed as we made snake paper crafts and dragon dance crafts. Plus, we had a blast using clay and Play-Doh to shape dumplings!

The absolute highlight was when the students received red envelopes, a special Chinese New Year tradition. Everyone was so excited! What a fantastic way to celebrate together!

A Gift for the Birds!

Posted by Ann Palm on January 13th, 2025

After reading the book Night Tree by Eve Bunting, Kindergarten discovered the family in the story was going to the woods to decorate their favorite tree for the animals of the forest. Before break Kindergarten made bird feeders out of bagels, crisco and birdseed and hung it on one of Unquowa’s favorite trees, the Blue Spruce located near the Corral. When we returned from break we learned the birds, or animals enjoyed their treat. The only thing left was a few strings. Maybe the birds can use the string when making nests in the Spring!

Lower School Visits SHU!

Posted by Joey Casey on December 5th, 2024

All of Lower School thoroughly enjoyed the performance of “The Elves and The Shoemaker” at the Sacred Heart University Edgerton Center for the Performing Arts. Everyone learned about the importance of “how” and sang along to many holiday songs, including the Unquowa Winterfest favorite, the Twelve Days of Christmas. We even did the Hokey Pokey, now that’s what it’s all about. A huge thank you to Patty Carver, our Performing Arts Department Chair, for this special field experience!

Unquowa Election Day – “Green Menu” or the “White Menu”?

Posted by Ariel Warshaw on November 8th, 2024

The entire Unquowa community participated in our own election on Election Day in order to decide on a very important issue… LUNCH!

Voters had to choose between the “Green Menu” or the “White Menu”, which was a very tough choice. Voters agonized for weeks over which to choose, and many quickly realized that there was no “perfect” menu – they’d have to compromise on some items in order to prioritize what they most wanted.

In the weeks leading up to the big vote, 2nd graders made campaign posters for both menus and hung them around the building. 3rd and 4th graders wrote persuasive advertisements for the Green and White menus, respectively. They presented their well-reasoned arguments to all during lunch periods. Our 5th graders helped design and laminate all students’ voter registration cards. Upper School students also learned more about the US electoral system during the run up to the election.

On Election Day, 8th graders served as poll workers. By checking students’ voter registration cards, managing the polls, securing the ballot box, and distributing “I Voted” stickers, they ensured an orderly, fair, and secure election. Once the polls closed, the ballot box was transported to the Pre-K classroom, where students sorted ballots between Green and White votes. From there, kindergarteners grouped these ballots into stacks of 10, and, with the help of Ms. Palm, placed these stacks in secretly color-coded envelopes – this way, no students would know the results!

The last stop for our ballots was 1st grade, where they counted these envelopes using their 10s counting skills. Then, the first graders graphed the results! Because we used a decoy color system for the envelopes, the students were able to count and graph our results without actually knowing who the winner was – election security at its finest!

At our assembly the next morning, the results of the election were revealed! In total, 173 votes were cast. With 96 votes – 55% of the vote – the White Menu was victorious! We can’t wait to dive into grilled cheese sandwiches, tomato soup, corn on the cob, caesar salad, and brownies for dessert next week!

This election simulation was such a joy to experience. Students in every grade were invested in the “issues,” argued passionately for their beliefs, learned about compromise, and participated in the important democratic institution of a free and fair election. Go Gators!

Gators In Training Fall Season!

Posted by Sarah Pollex on October 31st, 2024

The Unquowa field is buzzing with excitement as our cheerful kindergarten, first, and second graders show off their growing soccer skills! With their amazing dribbling, passing, and shooting, these young Gators are learning how to work together and find open spaces on the field. They’re having a blast while getting ready to be the stars of tomorrow. Go Gators!

October Fun Mandarin Classes!

Posted by kellyyeh on October 31st, 2024

In October, we had such a fun time introducing students to numbers and colors in Mandarin! We learned to ask “How old are you?” and “What color do you like?” and even how to reply to those questions.

Our classes were filled with exciting activities and lots of practice, and the students were enthusiastic about everything they learned!

The third graders also enjoyed their very first culture class, where we took our communication sheet outside to practice. After that, they got to have a blast playing shuttlecock kicking (jianzi). I’m so excited to see all the amazing things we’ll do together in November!

Acting Out with Ms. Karen!

Posted by Faith Barbuto on October 16th, 2024

This fall, PK- 2nd grades were treated to visits by Ms Karen from Acting Out. Her exuberance and creativity are unmatched. She brings all her homemade costumes – made out of ordinary household materials – and the kids love dressing up and bringing the stories to life! Somehow with Ms Karen even playing the part of an oven can be fun. All the students get to be a part of the show. With movement and music a part of every session, everyone has a great time.

Enjoy the Latest Performances!

Posted by Lloyd Mitchell on October 15th, 2024

We have been busy with performances at our assemblies! Enjoy some of the most recent performances including: Grade 1 performing “Do Re Mi”, Grade 2 performing “Free to Be”, Grade 3 performing “Black Socks”, Grade 5 performing “Wilkkommen” and PreK and Kindergarten performing “The Backpack Song”. Enjoy!

Exploring our Five Senses!

Posted by Ann Palm on October 10th, 2024

In our Kindergarten science class while exploring our five senses, Mrs. Palm decided to take the lesson on touch outdoors to create “Mud Faces.” Equipped with water, shovels and trowels, we ventured out into the Unquowa Woods to find suitable trees and to make the mud…Yay!

Unearthing the dirt proved to be a bit challenging but we worked together to find “soft” dirt to dig and collect. Once we had enough dirt, we added water and mixed it together to become mud. Now, we were ready to make our “Mud Faces” on the trees!

The first step involved taking a handful of mud and smooshing it onto the bark of a tree. Next, we gathered natural objects to give our mud a face, using leaves, stones, sticks, and acorns. By the end, we were all messy but excited about our masterpieces! Who knew that learning about the sense of touch could be such a fun adventure?

Mandarin Fun in September!

Posted by kellyyeh on October 1st, 2024

We had a fantastic start to our LS Mandarin Classes in September. We practiced using classroom language in Mandarin and celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival. The students were also introduced to Chinese characters and learned to ask, “How are you?” and “What is your name?”

It was a great month of learning, and I look forward to creating more exciting memories for our Mandarin students in the 2024-2025 school year!

1st Performance of the Year!

Posted by Jacqui Mudre on September 29th, 2024

Entertaining us with this catchy song, PreK and Kindergarten students were the very first assembly performers of the year and they did a great job!

Teacher Olivia!

Posted by Thomas Iezin on May 28th, 2024

6th grader Olivia recently had the full teacher experience! She prepared the lesson plans for Early Childhood classes last week, and helped Señor Iezin teach PreK and Kindergarten students all about Shapes and Family. Teacher Olivia helped start the class off by doing our hello song, and prepared for our two activities; drawing and labeling our family tree and a quick review game for shapes. Finally, she helped wrap up the class with our good-bye song! Thank you teacher Olivia, you did a fantastic job!

View the Lower School Magazine: Unquowazine Volume 6

Posted by Karen Engelke on May 16th, 2024

Unquowazine Volume 6 – View Here!
Working with the Lower School Art and Literary Club members on Unquowazine Volume 5 has been such a pleasure. They have worked tirelessly on various stages of magazine development. This year, they have included more original content in the form of interviews, comics, and book reviews. Together with their staff, Mila and Arianna worked very hard on all of the various components. They did a fantastic job of being mindful of each student’s work while honoring its authenticity. As their advisor, I guided them and gave them structure and support. Kudos to all of their hard work and dedication!

Body Parts & Animal Fun in Mandarin Class!

Posted by kellyyeh on April 30th, 2024

From March to April, we focused on studying body parts and animals. The class had a lot of fun with various activities. For the body parts lesson, we sang songs and danced, and students followed my directions to draw their little monsters. The second-graders used Play-Doh to create Chinese characters such as eyes, mouths, ears, and hands. The third and fourth graders tried to make sentences describing themselves. During the animal lesson, we played silent animal acting games and sang songs. In addition, during our culture class, we continued to practice calligraphy and learned how to play Chinese Dark Chess. I am pleased to say that the students really enjoyed learning these new skills.

Early Childhood Celebrates Earth Day!

Posted by Faith Barbuto on April 23rd, 2024

While the rest of the school was off to the zoo, the PreK and Kindergarten classes had a full run of Unquowa and made good use of it. From hands-on snacks, an edible Earth moon cake, and rolling our own Earth shaped meatballs for lunch, the kids really loved getting to be in the dining room and having some one on one time with the chefs. Next we had an animal encounter with creatures from Earthplace. We got to meet a salamander, snake, turtle and screech owl. We learned lots about these fascinating and adorable animals, all of which are native to Connecticut. After a bit of outdoor play, we scrubbed up and headed into the dining room for a pasta bar with our own homemade meatballs. The chefs surprised us with a really fun dessert, worms in dirt! Next up was an outdoor sing-a-long with the upper school music teacher, Mr. Coe. Art class was also outside and inspired by nature. Our school gardener, Ms. Amie, had some fun Earth day arts and crafts set up in the Makerspace and outside on the new picnic tables. We made bird feeders and hung them up for our feathered friends. Our Earth Day Mandarin lessons taught animal names in Chinese and focused on water pollution. As the saying goes “Every day should be Earth Day!”

Quilters!

Posted by Alice DesGranges on April 1st, 2024

The Pre-K and Kindergarten classes learned about the art of quilting and the women of Gee’s Bend, a small remote black community in Alabama, who have created hundreds of quilt masterpieces dating from the early 20th century to the present. Gee’s Bend quilts transform recycled work clothes and dresses, feed sacks, and fabric remnants into sophisticated textile designs. Quilt designs were created using colored felt boards and geometric shapes.

Black History Month – a Time For Reflection

Posted by Krissy Ponden on March 1st, 2024

In the month of February Unquowa celebrated Black leaders, recognizing their innovations in science and contributions to history, literature, art, and mathematics.

PreK students enjoyed reading and discussing the famous Black women in the book, Dream Big Little Leader. They asked lots of questions and celebrated each other’s uniqueness.
Kindergarten students read a variety of books and discussed important historical figures such as Martin Luther King Jr., Ruby Bridges, and George Washington Carver.
First graders began each morning in BHM month reading and discussing figures from both the past and the present. Students focused on artist Kehinde Wiley, abolitionist Sojourner Truth, and gymnast Simone Biles among others.
Second graders incorporated BHM into their literacy time. After a group read aloud, students read independently or in small groups to practice reading strategies. They discovered the stories of Henry Box Brown, Dave the Potter, Satchel Page, and Jackie Robinson.
Each third grader researched a famous Black leader, created detailed portraits and wrote a poem about the life and achievements of that leader.
Fourth graders puzzled together a large portrait of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and decorated it with their own dreams. They created illustrated timelines highlighting important events in history to recognize the efforts that African Americans have made in the struggle for equity and justice.
In literature class, fifth graders read Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt, a story about a young African American girl who sewed a map to freedom in a quilt. In humanities, students also read about Etta James and listened to her music, learned about Jean Michel Basquiat in art and created mixed media paintings inspired by his work.
Sixth, seventh, and eighth grade art classes learned about a different Black artist each week and sixth graders further discussed artists such as Kerry James Marshall and Bisa Butler.
Seventh graders watched Titus Kaphar’s TED talk, “Can Art Amend History?” and in Mr. Izen’s Spanish class students were tasked with a project to create a video or an essay highlighting both a Black and Hispanic person that has brought a positive contribution to society.
Eighth graders visited the Ruby and Calvin Fletcher African American History Museum to deepen their historical analysis on their studies of race, slavery, Reconstruction, and Jim Crow America They also learned about the origins and innovations of Afrofuturism.

Teachers also participated in professional development discussions on how to ensure they are presenting inclusive and celebratory representation during Black History Month. They had the opportunity to create “zines” inspired by Black-Latina educator and art activist Jennifer White-Johnson’s project, “Zine-Making for Justice and Joy”, that she led at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery.

While February was a time to celebrate Black individuals in history, we recognize that Black History is American History, and we strive to embed these lessons and discussions throughout the year at all levels and in all disciplines. It was important to pause and reflect this month to honor the contributions and sacrifices of those who paved the way and those who are continuing to work towards a just and equitable society.

Xīn Nián Kuài Lè，Gōng Xǐ Fā Cái

Posted by Carina Blackwell on February 12th, 2024

People who celebrate Chinese New Year say to each other – Xīn Nián Kuài Lè，Gōng Xǐ Fā Cái – Happy New Year and Wish you Good Fortune.
It is that time of the year again at Unquowa! Last week Mandarin students made enough wontons and dumplings for the entire school to enjoy a Chinese New Year lunch and the younger students practiced their skills with Play-Do! All of our Mandarin students have been learning stories of the Twelve Zodiac Animals, making CNY crafts, and they received a Red Envelope to kick off the year of the Dragon. Instead of having money in the red envelope, this year each student received a pass such as One Day No Homework, Earning Fortune Cookies, White Rabbit and Extra Fifteen Minutes Recess. We are grateful to share this culture with the Unquowa community and we wish everyone a prosperous and healthy New Year!

Down By The Bay!

Posted by Megan Kirk on February 6th, 2024

On January 24th, the PreK and K students were so excited to get up on stage to sing “Down By The Bay”! This is a song that really emphasizes how we often use rhymes in songs! In class, students would come up with their very own silly rhymes to add to verses of this song! It was a great way to reinforce their learning of what a rhyming word is! I was so proud of the PreK and K students for wanting to share this song with their Unquowa community!

I Love My Family!

Posted by kellyyeh on February 1st, 2024

Recently, in Lower School Mandarin class we learned about family members. We all had fun with many games and activities, including playing spot-it game cards, rolling and reading, making family trees/houses, playing Play-Doh Chinese Characters, writing calligraphy, and singing songs. Through games and activities, students enjoy learning Mandarin and the students did a great job!

What’s Blubber?

Posted by Ann Palm on January 30th, 2024

Recently in Art Class Kindergarteners made polar bears! Their artwork sparked an interest about these large mammals who live in the cold. How do they keep warm in the frigid waters of the Arctic? Blubber was the answer. But what is blubber and how does it work? Using Crisco as our blubber Kindergarten did and experiment. First they put their hands in ice water. Kindergarteners decided they could never swim in the frigid water. Next we took turns putting Crisco in a plastic bag until it was half full. Then we wrapped our hands in another plastic bag and into the Crisco to surround our hand with “blubber”. Last we took turns submerging our hands in the icy cold water again. To our surprise we did not feel the cold as we did with our bare hands. From this hands on experiment Kindergarten learned that this thick layer of fat provides insulation from cold ocean temperatures.

Sneaking A Peek!

Posted by Karen Williamson on January 24th, 2024

Our Lower School students were excited to Sneak a Peek at what’s to come for the 24/25 school year by visiting with their future teachers and learning about what new, fun experiences begin when you move up a grade! Our Mandarin teacher highlighted our World Language Program for our future PreK students. Our Science Department Chair got future kindergarteners excited about science experiments. Soon to be first graders were introduced to the experience of having lunch in the dining room. Next year’s second graders worked on a fabric arts project in our Art Studio. Changing clothes for PE is a big change for our third graders, so our rising third grade class teamed up with our PE teachers. Fourth graders spend a lot of time in the makerspace working on STEAM projects, so Saturday, our future fourth graders did too! What’s more fun than spending a Saturday morning at Unquowa?

PE Out In Nature

Posted by Sarah Pollex on December 11th, 2023

When you teach and learn in an outdoor classroom we always expect the unexpected. Today when we were running our lap, clockwise around the field, we spied…a “snow rainbow”. There were snowflakes in the air and a crisp north wind, but above the Unquowa trees, a rainbow curved in the sky. “Quick, a picture!” we shouted…and we gathered in a row…and since it was right overhead it took more than one picture to capture. We must be getting close to Winterfest!

Sib Squad!

Posted by Sarah Raggio on December 11th, 2023

Sib squad is not a class, but it is a community that is kind, cooperative, playful and learning every day. This wonderful group of siblings show up each and every day and work like a well oiled machine. Some of our sibs choose to complete their homework. Some sibs are card sharks and always looking for the next game. Some sibs like some peace and quiet after a long stimulating day and curl up with a book. Some sibs play an imaginative game with Miss Deutsch and others challenge Mrs. Raggio in a game of Connect Four or Chicken/Wolf. With a rotating variety of games, the sibs can always find something to do. Whatever their mood, they coexist beautifully for the last 15 minutes of their school day in a kind and nurturing environment. Way to go sibs!

Meet Your PE Teacher For the Day, Nina, Grade 2!

Posted by Sarah Pollex on December 4th, 2023

“Coach Nina” joined us on a “Fun Friday” to take charge of the PE classes. She hit the ground running with the first class at 8:30 am, motivating when necessary, helping with warm up exercises, narrowing down the “Game of the Day”, setting up, cleaning up, and even tying sneakers!

Nina, like a devoted PE teacher, participated with her students and put in the laps all day. Somehow, she even convinced the sixth grade class to play “Island Hop” (her favorite), a game these upper school students hadn’t played for years! What a walk down memory lane. When asked: “What’s it like to be a PE Teacher?” Nina said, “It’s tiring…but fun!” A great day for all! Go Unquowa! Go Gators!

Acting Out with Ms. Karen!

Posted by Faith Barbuto on November 1st, 2023

The day before Halloween is perfect time to act out a spooky story! The Early Childhood Classes were thrilled to have Ms. Karen, an actor, author and expert crafter here to do just that. After warming up singing and dancing as some spooky Halloween creatures, everyone got to be a part of the show. The children got to get involved in the story playing the parts of ghosts, spider webs, trees, pumpkin and of course, trick-or-treaters! Ms. Karen makes all the costumes and props herself and many out of recycled items! It was a great way to get ready for the big day- Halloween!

Finger Gymnastics

Posted by Ann Palm on October 16th, 2023

Kindergarten has been busy working on Finger Gymnastics. You may ask what is Finger Gymnastics? Before Kindergarteners use a pencil they develop strength in their pincer grasp with various fine motor activities. This helps to develop a good and strong grip on the pencil for now and in the future. Some of the Finger Gymnastics activities include playing with play dough, using tweezers to pick up various small objects, screwing a nut onto a bolt, hole punching, and lacing. The favorite was transferring water from one cup to another using an eyedropper. As they transferred the blue dyed water into the other cup with a drop of yellow food coloring it turned green! Was it magic?

Art in “Plein Air”

Posted by Alice DesGranges on September 28th, 2023

Kindergarten and PreK students took advantage of the beautiful weather to create art in “plein-air”. Outdoor art is a wonderful way to enjoy nature, engage our senses, and sharpen our observational skills. Our beautiful Unquowa garden provided the perfect setting for the class to draw plants and caterpillars while enjoying the aroma of the herbs grown here.

Kindergarten Assembly Performance

Posted by Megan Kirk on September 27th, 2023

I am so proud of the Kindergarten class for wanting to be the first students to perform on stage at assembly this school year! With unafraid spirits they took the stage and did a wonderful job singing the song Inch by Inch! Bravo Kindergarteners!

Warming up with Ballet!

Posted by Megan Kirk on September 22nd, 2023

Students in both PreK and Kindergarten were so excited to use the bar this week in performing arts! We talked about how the bar is used as a tool for balance when we are warming up our bodies! Students learned a basic port de bra, demi plie and releve! It was a beautiful and fun start to class!

Mindfulness on the Move

Posted by Faith Barbuto on September 21st, 2023

Creating a Peace Corner in a room with no empty corners seemed like an impossible task but renovations to my classroom over the summer had me reimagining every bit of space. If you are not familiar, a Peace Corner is an area of the room filled with objects associated with mindfulness that can be visited to help regulate emotions and find peace. This is a self selected time to calm down when feeling angry, sad, frustrated or excited. We all have those uncomfortable feelings from time to time and in our classroom, I strive to show my students ways to manage them. Throughout the year we learn socio-emotional lessons as well as daily mindfulness practices that help us quiet our bodies and minds. One hundred or so targeted ads for rolling bookcases on social media gave me the idea to create a quiet corner that could be brought anywhere in the room! In the Mobile Peace Station students will find things they can use to remind them to breathe. We have mandalas for calm coloring, glitter jars to emulate how your mixed up body can settle with breaths and other objects we will learn to use to destress. With this age group everyone usually wants to try the new thing which makes the mobile station perfect because we all can use it and learn to add new strategies to our mindfulness tool kit!

Cars!

Posted by Joey Casey on June 8th, 2023

PreK through 3rd grade were busy this spring making and racing cars. Students built their own vehicles out of cardboard, straws, metal axles and tires with a cup on top. Some of the classes even made 3D printed cups! In rainbow colors, no less. After construction of the cars were complete, the experiments began. Classes raced their cars and we talked about gravity, force, and friction. To take our experiments to the next level, we added some weight to the cars to see if it changed the speed. Students could pick from marbles or cotton balls to add weight. We discussed which was heavier, and why…hint: it may have something to do with gravity! While the student-called results were a mix, the experiment was a fun success.

K and Grade 4 Tag Horseshoe Crabs

Posted by Karen Engelke on June 7th, 2023

Kindergarten and Grade 4 traveled together to the beach in Southport to tag horseshoe crabs with students from the Project Limulus program. Project Limulus, based at Sacred Heart University, was created in response to Long Island Sound’s declining horseshoe crab population. Unquowa students did some studying of their own on the horseshoe crab before the experience. Project Limulus students furthered their education about these living fossils, highlighting horseshoe crabs’ importance to the ecosystem and human health.

衣服 Clothing in Mandarin

Posted by kellyyeh on May 23rd, 2023

In this unit, we learned about clothing in Mandarin and how to say shirt, pants, skirt, socks, shoes, hat, etc… by singing songs, dancing, and making paper origami, clothes crafts and using play-doh. The lower school students loved it!

Fairy Sightings expected on Camping Day!

Posted by Alice DesGranges on May 17th, 2023

In preparation for camping day, the Kindergarten class made clothespin fairies. Each fairy has its own unique set of clothing, hair, jewels, and of course fairy dust. We expect to have fairy sightings all around the Unquowa campus on the Kindergarten camping day!

The Velveteen Rabbit

Posted by Betsey Young on May 16th, 2023

The Velveteen Rabbit genuinely came to life for Kindergarten and Grades One & Two. We took a trip to The Edgerton Theater at Sacred Heart University for an adaptation of the beloved classic. With songs and audience participation, this play was truly entertaining….for REAL!

Welcoming Refugees Project

Posted by Alice DesGranges on May 15th, 2023

The Unquowa School has once again partnered with Students Rebuild, a program of the Bezos Family Foundation, in support of a new Challenge – the Welcoming Refugees Project. This year’s Challenge invited students from around the world to learn about refugees and their experiences and then take action to make local and global communities more welcoming and inclusive through art.

Our School created 240 postcards to welcome people displaced by war and other crises that will be sent to young refugees around the world. The Bezos Family Foundation is donating $5 to refugee-aid organizations for every postcard created. In total, the Unquowa School was able to contribute 1,200 dollars to aid refugees.

Making Animals in Mandarin Class!

Posted by kellyyeh on May 12th, 2023

In this unit, we learned the animals in Mandarin by singing songs, dancing, and making animal crafts. Lower school students enjoyed tearing paper into pieces and creating colorful animals to learn the names, which also doubled as a hand-eye coordination exercise. Good job Lower School!

Grandparents and Special Friend’s Day Concert!

Posted by Megan Kirk on May 12th, 2023

All of the students at the Unquowa School had an amazing morning showing off their many talents to our audience of family and friends! This year the theme of our concert was Broadway! Each grade chose a fantastic Broadway piece to perform. From our youngest students, to our 8th graders about to graduate, everyone did a wonderful job! Bravo to all!

Good morning, afternoon, night, Good-bye?

Posted by Ms. Fernandez on May 5th, 2023

Kindergarten loves singing our greetings and good-bye songs! Using their furry puppet friends makes it even more fun! Can you guess which greeing they are singing?

Early Childhood Earth Day at Unquowa

Posted by Faith Barbuto on April 27th, 2023

While grades 1-8 went off to explore Webb Mountain, the early childhood classes had the whole school to ourselves! Our focus was bugs and students really enjoyed making bug homes and working together to create bug hotels for the community. Once we collected our materials construction began as well as some good old fashioned bug hunting! While one group was playing outside the other was making environmental art with Mrs. DesGranges. The students were really excited to make their own snack and lunch with our school chefs in the dining room! We could not believe our eyes when the snack was creating your own edible bug. We used fruits and vegetables along with healthy dips and spreads to create edible art! Lunch was hands on to as we created our own French bread pizzas- they never had that for lunch when I was a kid! The meal was rounded out with a hummus and veggie platter and Caesar salad which almost everyone tried! To finish off a sweet sprinkle cookie that looked like the Earth. Next we headed back outside for an Earth Day sing along with Mr. Coe. We put our finishing touches on our big hotels and placed them out in the woods with hopes of all vacancies being filled. Both Mandarin and Spanish were taught outside where students learned nature words and played games in those languages. A fun, exciting day was had by all. Thanks to all the teachers and staff who made this day so memorable for our kids!

Ms. Math Returns to Unquowa!

Posted by Lloyd Mitchell on April 13th, 2023

We were fortunate to have Rachel McAnallen return to the Unquowa campus to work with students and teachers on the love of math. Known simply as “Ms. Math” to children across the globe, Rachel McAnallen has devoted her life to sharing the joy and beauty of mathematics with learners of all ages. A professional educator for over half a century, Rachel travels the world teaching her subject at every grade level. In addition to her experience in the classroom, Rachel has served as a department chair, a school board member, and a high school administrator.

Rachel spent the day working with students of all grades looking at different math concepts followed by an evening student-parent math night where Rachel demystified math through fun interactive activities. Our partnership with Rachel began six years ago and she continues to invigorate our teachers with new, innovative ways to approach math. It is validating to know that Unquowa’s math program continues to help develop strong math thinkers who are not just learning procedural knowledge, but more importantly for enduring understanding and the conceptual knowledge of math as well.

Destiny Calls

Posted by Sarah Pollex on March 28th, 2023

Students in grades PreK knew their name could be drawn at the shooting raffle during the 8th grade/faculty and staff basketball game played earlier in March. During PE classes the morning of the game, students practiced for their big moment to shine. The intensity of the game was only matched by the excitement as the lottery winners took their chance to sink a shot. The entire gym exploded with joy as the shots went in! Go Gators!

I Love My Family!

Posted by kellyyeh on March 6th, 2023

In Mandarin, Lower School students recently finished a unit learning about the family members, by making a Finger Family and singing songs! We also used American sign language to sing ” I love my family.”

面(Miàn) Noodles!

Posted by kellyyeh on March 1st, 2023

In Lower School mandarin lessons we have learned a new vocabulary food word – Noodles!
Making handmade crafts about noodles helped the students memorize the new vocabulary instead of just looking at a picture. The students had fun learning while creating their own pretend plate of noodle-面(Miàn).

Early Childhood Imagined….Eighth Grade Created!

Posted by Krissy Ponden on February 14th, 2023

The eighth graders have been busy bringing our youngest students’ drawings to life! The Pre-K, Kindergarten and First graders drew imaginative characters for the eighth graders to turn into stuffed toys. Staying true to the original designs, the students have been carefully sewing and stuffing football players, colorful cats, dragons, and mermaids. These finished toys will be given back to the original artists, who are anxiously awaiting their completion!

I Wanna Be Like…

Posted by Sarah Pollex on February 13th, 2023

At Unquowa PE we start the pro-league dreams early. Here, the preschool and Kindergarten athletes play follow the leader with Mr. Taylor. Once their dribbling skills and fundamentals are mastered, Mr. Taylor will demonstrate 360 degree dunks…well, maybe we’ll move on to throwing and catching! It’s all smiles and fun on the basketball court with Unquowa PE. Go Gators!

Celebrating Chinese New Year

Posted by kellyyeh on February 1st, 2023

Chinese New Year was on January 22nd and it is the biggest holiday in Asia. Many people celebrate Chinese New Year, not just Chinese people but also people in Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, and Laos. Lower School Mandarin students also celebrated the biggest Chinese holiday by learning songs and stories about Chinese New Year and about the Chinese Zodiac. We also created art projects to decorate our classroom and the Dining Room and had a fun time making dumplings with the older students!

Creative Minds At Play

Posted by Sarah Pollex on January 27th, 2023

Four square tag…ultimate bean bag toe touch…pinball 8…Can you invent a game that has never existed? “Fun Friday” in PE class becomes a time for students to showcase their talent with creating a variation of a beloved game or an entirely new activity itself! They try it out and if it works, students at every level of the school benefit by enjoying all sorts of new Gator-inspired games!

Muscles and Bones!

Posted by Sarah Pollex on December 14th, 2022

We had a guest in our early childhood PE classroom, grade 7 student and future early childhood educator, Bryael Gonzalez! She taught us how our muscles and bones work together to help us excel in our PE activities. Did you know that we have about 603 muscles and 206 bones! We learned about voluntary muscular movements while we did our warm-ups and involuntary muscular movements while noticing our hearts were beating faster as a result of the exercise. We experienced the difference between immobile, semi-mobile and mobile joints during a challenging game of Simon Says. Bryael’s message was to keep our muscular and skeletal systems moving by daily physical activity. This will keep us strong and healthy!

Stained Glass

Posted by Alice DesGranges on December 14th, 2022

: Winterfest stained glass windows

Inspired by the medieval decor of Winterfest, Kindergarten gained an understanding of the history of stained glass. They learned how stained glass is made, how to read a glass window, held stained glass from the Chartres Cathedral, and viewed up close a piece of 17th-century stained glass from France. To complete our study the class created their own stained glass window designs to decorate our exploration room.

Mona Lisa Smile

Posted by Alice DesGranges on December 12th, 2022

The Kindergarten class is learning about Leonardo da Vinci and his famous painting the “Mona Lisa” painted between 1503 and 1506. In addition to being the best-known, most-visited, and most-parodied painting in the world it also has an exciting history. The Mona Lisa was gifted to the King of France, hung in the bedroom of Napoleon, and stolen in 1911. The class finished the lesson by being the star of their own masterpiece by posing as Mona Lisa.

Early Childhood Students Vote Too!

Posted by Ann Palm on November 8th, 2022

On Election Day, Early Childhood students at Unquowa headed to the polls and went through their own voting process to pick a leader for their favorite color. It was a close race and the results are in… BLUE won! Way to make a difference Gators!

Feeling the Music!

Posted by Megan Kirk on November 1st, 2022

In Kindergarten Performing Arts class we talked about how music can make you feel many different ways! We listened to music that made the students feel like they were “floating”! We decided to use the scarves to help show this floating feeling! Students had a wonderful time expressing themselves!

Traveling Back in Time!

Posted by Maureen Diallo on October 24th, 2022

The Kindergarten, First, and Second-grade classes traveled to the Shoreline Trolley Museum for a morning of history and fun. The Shoreline Trolley Museum has the oldest continuously running suburban trolley line in the USA! We were able to make comparisons about transportation then and now as we rode along one and a half miles in the Shoreline’s vintage 1926 trolley car! Mr. Tom, the conductor, gave us a glimpse into what life was life traveling from one place to another. We also learned how the trolley car changed directions on the line without turning around! We even helped to switch the direction of the seats so that everyone was facing forward on the return trip! We enjoyed our snack in the beautiful shoreline sun and picked some pumpkins before heading back to Unquowa! Many thanks to the Shoreline Trolley Museum!

I am sorry, and it is OK!

Posted by kellyyeh on October 21st, 2022

Lower School Mandarin students enjoyed singing a new song in class. This song says, ” I am sorry, and It is ok” in Mandarin.

Music is always an excellent way to learn and the students could be heard singing this song all over school.

Hispanic Heritage Month

Posted by Ms. Fernandez on October 20th, 2022

Grades PreK to 4th grade celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month with so many fun activities! We played musical instruments along with Tito Puente, danced the Bachata, made churros con chocolate, read about Antoni Gaudí and 4th graders presented a project on a Hispanic person of their choice. Students really enjoyed seeing so many different cultural items I brought to school from my trip to Spain. They loved smelling Spanish soaps and voting on their favorite one, seeing all the beautiful abanicos (fans) from the different cities in Spain, my flamenco apron and getting a Chupa Chup treat to take home, just to name a few. It was a fun filled month learning about the richness of the Hispanic culture!

Marching Band!

Posted by Megan Kirk on October 17th, 2022

Students in both PreK and Kindergarten performing arts class had a great time becoming their own marching band! We talked about how musicians in a band have to work together and listen to the beat on of music to stay in tempo. We then took some of our classroom instruments and played along to different songs that were different tempos! Students had to listen to find the beat and then keep the beat in their feet and with the instruments. We also talked about how important it is to share! Students took turns with each instrument and did a wonderful job sharing and keeping the steady beat!

Eighth Graders Head to Lower School!

Posted by Carlene Gordon on October 17th, 2022

A rainy Monday left us unable to get outside with our scheduled Park City Compost project but that didn’t stop service learning! Eighth graders headed to lower school to work with our younger classmates. One group headed into the Early Childhood classrooms where they assisted with leaf drawings in science class, while the another group headed up to Fourth grade to support the math lesson at hand. Our Eighth graders served as wonderful & certainly adored teachers today! Great teamwork!

Young and Wise

Posted by Sarah Pollex on October 14th, 2022

High five planks…seesaws…rollups…who ever thought building muscular strength and endurance could be so much fun? Our youngest students have learned you don’t need fancy equipment to improve physical strength and stamina. All you need is your own body weight and a buddy!

Acting Out!

Posted by Faith Barbuto on October 14th, 2022

Early Childhood classes had a very special visit from Ms. Karen of Acting Out! We creeped up to the Performing Arts room where Ms. Karen and her trunk of treasures, Chester, helped us act out a story she wrote herself, A Friendly Ghost Tale. Students were able to dress up and act like ghosts, a tree, a spider web, a pumpkin and trick-or treaters. Ms. Karen makes all her own costumes and props, mostly out of household objects- talk about creative recycling! The story was not too spooky and had a familiar theme of the Three Little Pigs! The kids loved dancing and singing like Halloween creatures and we can not wait to read the book! Bravo, Ms. Karen and the PK/K performers!

What’s The Buzz?

Posted by Joey Casey on October 12th, 2022

We have been reviewing some of the broad topics of Makerspace as we have started the school year, including electrical circuits. Students have been challenged to create a circuit that can make an LED bulb light up, and eventually they have a circuit with an on/off switch, an LED bulb, and a buzzer. Everyone is super excited about the buzzers! With these basic circuits, we have been able to discuss the following vocabulary: conductor, insulator, current, and volts/voltage. Students have been so excited when completing a successful circuit and have learned about working with electricity, especially safest practices. We have been busy conducting experiments with basic circuits, and have yet to create a project for the topic to take home. As I discussed on Back to School Night, Students are laying the foundation of skills for the remainder of the year so that we can continue to build upon those skills in future projects. Looking forward to sharing our progression with volts!

Little Surprises in Unquowa’s Garden!

Posted by Ann Palm on October 10th, 2022

In the fall there is a surprise in the Unquowa Garden! They are very small creatures that love and only eat milkweed. On the milkweed leaves Kindergarten found very small caterpillars. We brought them inside thinking we had two caterpillars but we actually had five hidden in the leaves! What a surprise! Daily we watched them change. “What are those black balls at the bottom of the aquarium?” the Kindergarteners asked. We soon learned that as the caterpillars grow they loose their skin and grow new skin. The black balls are their old skin. When the caterpillar hangs from the top of the aquarium looking like a letter J we know it’s getting ready to makes it’s chrysalis. The chrysalis is beautiful. It is bright green with gold dots. “Can we keep the gold?” asked the Kindergarteners. Again another discovery, after the chrysalis breaks open the gold is gone. Could it be in the color of the butterflies wings? After observing our adult Monarch butterflies for a few days we let them free. Some of us were sad to see them go and we wondered what else we could find in Unquowa’s garden?

Horseshoe Tagging!

Posted by Karen Engelke on June 1st, 2022

Unquowa Kindergarten and Grade 4 students visited the beach in Southport this week to help tag horseshoe crabs as part of a research program at Sacred Heart University called Project Limulus. Graduate students working on the project met us at the beach. They shared their knowledge about the horseshoe crab with our students and taught them how to tag them. It was such a huge success that the Project Limulus students ran out of tags!! All in all Unquowa Students tagged 25 horseshoe crabs and learned so much about this remarkable creature.

Unquowazine Volume 4!

Posted by Karen Engelke on May 10th, 2022

View Unquowazine Volume 4 – HERE

It has been such a pleasure working with the Lower School Art and Literary Club members on Unquowazine Volume 4. They have worked tirelessly on various stages of magazine development. This year they have included more original content in the form of book reviews, comics, and a Lower School survey. Together with their staff, Alex, Maxim, and Denny reviewed much of the work themselves. They did an amazing job of being mindful of each student’s work while honoring its authenticity. As their advisors, we guided them and gave them structure and support. Kudos to all of their hard work and dedication! Mrs. Engelke and Mr. Casey.

Catching the Wind!

Posted by Ann Palm on March 9th, 2022

As part of Kindergarten’s unit on Weather we learned about wind. The children learned that wind is moving air. Wind has energy! For Science we went outside to experiment with our Wind Catchers. We did lose a few in the trees because the wind was so strong. The wind pushed our catchers across the sky and we had fun seeing how the wind made our Wind Catchers dance!

Throwing Kindness Around Like Confetti

Posted by Carlene Gordon on February 28th, 2022

To celebrate Kindness Month in February, the lower school has been completing random acts of kindness throughout the building…some quietly and some out loud.
Fourth graders snuck into the upper school hallways while they were at lunch on Valentine’s Day to leave small notes of positive affirmations and heart stickers on lockers. Fourth graders were so anxious to hear the reactions that they excitedly hid around corners to sneak a peek at the discovery by their upper school friends.
Third Grade made cards of appreciation for all that Nurse Tracy does for our class and the whole school! One afternoon, students quietly went to the Health Office and surprised Nurse Tracy with special cards made by each student. “Nurse Tracy works so hard for our school, especially during Covid times. She always has bandaids, water, extra masks and she is so kind.” (grade 3 student)
Our Second Graders throw kindness all around! This month, they completed “sweets for sweets” by giving a compliment and a sweet treat to a friend. Hearts of the giver and receiver were full!
First Graders created 21 rainbows for the 8th grade class. They wanted to “be a rainbow in someone’s cloudy day”. They tiptoed over to the 8th grade lockers one Thursday afternoon for the secret drop off!
Kindergartners decided to brighten the day of Miss Cerone with a great big, WARM FUZZY. Our kindhearted kindergarteners also each made her a card to bring her a smile and say thank you for all she does!
In PreK, to show some kindness and to thank our 5th grade buddies for our new virtual reading program, preK created small wooden heart tokens. First we did a math lesson to count by 5’s to discover how many hearts each PK students needed to make. We also made a card that read- “These hearts are small, I am too. Keep one because I love you!” Once we knew the 5th grade were safely outside for snack, we snuck into their classroom to leave our gift!

“There’s no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end.” – S. Adams

Xīn Nián Kuài Lè! Happy Chinese New Year!

Posted by Carina Blackwell on February 2nd, 2022

Xīn Nián Kuài Lè! Happy Chinese New Year! This year we are celebrating the Year of The Tiger. On the first day of Chinese New Year students came to school all dressed in red or gold and opened the traditional Red Envelope, which symbolizes wealth and luck. Some students crafted tigers and others decorated the Mandarin classroom. Our grade 3-6 students loved making wontons to put in a delicious soup for everyone’s school lunch and at assembly our Kindergarteners boldly took to the stage to perform a song in Mandarin for the entire school to enjoy. We are grateful for sharing this culture within our community and we wish everyone a healthy and prosperous 2022!

Composing Across the Classrooms!

Posted by Megan Kirk on February 1st, 2022

All of the students at Unquowa have been working on their musical composition skills! In music theory, one of the best ways to test your knowledge is by composing your own rhythms or melodies! Students from PreK all the way to 8th grade recently worked on these skills. In early childhood classes, students used popsicle sticks to compose rhythms in 4/4 time. In lower school classes students used staff paper to create short melodies that were then played on the piano. In upper school students used downloaded staff paper on their chromebooks to write their short compositions. Students were excited to hear what they had written! I was very impressed with all of their work!

Lucky Beans!

Posted by Faith Barbuto on October 20th, 2021

Early childhood classes were treated to an interactive performance by Acting Out with Ms.Karen! She brought lots of fun costumes and everyone got a part in the show, Lucky Beans, her spin on the tale of Jack and the Beanstalk! PreK class is currently in the middle of our Jack and the Beanstalk unit so we knew the story and characters very well. The Kindergarteners remembered the story from acting it out with me last year! We all loved being giants, castles and even growing beanstalks. Thanks to Ms. Karen for making it so much fun and to Mrs. Engelke, our lower school English chair, for setting it up!

“Mud Faces” – Kindergarteners Explore the Sense of Touch!

Posted by Jacqui Mudre on September 21st, 2021

Armed with trowels, a wheelbarrow and water Kindergarten students headed out to the Unquowa Woods. While studying our five senses in Science we decided to take the sense of touch lesson outside to make “Mud Faces”. Digging up the dirt wasn’t always easy. The children searched for places to find ”soft” dirt and announced it to the class. After we had enough dirt in the wheelbarrow water was added to make mud. Now Kindergarten was ready to make “Mud Faces” on the Unquowa trees. Taking a handful of mud and slapping it on the tree was our first step. Sometimes it would fall off but we didn’t give up! Another handful of mud was soon added. Next Kindergarteners looked for nature’s objects to make their facial features. Leaves, stones, sticks and nuts were just some of their creative ideas. At the end we were dirty but proud of our creations! How could it be that learning about the sense of touch could be so messy and fun?

Yoga in Performing Arts!

Posted by Megan Kirk on September 20th, 2021

In performing arts one of the ways that we learn how to navigate through our space and in our bodies is through yoga! Todays class started with some basic yoga movements to stretch our bodies, become aware of the space around us, and to get our blood pumping! Students loved working on their chair pose, cobra and down dogs! It was a great way to start our class! Students felt focused and ready to learn after a few minutes of this mindful movement!

Stepping!

Posted by Megan Kirk on February 18th, 2021

The entire school was able to take a “virtual field trip” to the Shubert New Haven theatre to learn about a style of dance called stepping. Stepping or step-dancing is a form of percussive dance in which the participant’s entire body is used as an instrument to produce complex rhythms and sounds through a mixture of footsteps, spoken word, and hand claps. Students learned all about this style of dance and how it originated from the gumboot dance. Rooted back in the dark gold mine tunnels of South Africa, the gumboot dance was initially a codified tap used by black miners deprived of conversation. Gumboot dancing today is one of the most expressive South African dance genres. The dance troupe, Step Afrika, performed both the traditional gumboot dance along with the more modern step-dancing. The students were captivated by their performance! We then got to take a dance lesson in which students learned the basics of stepping and got to perform a short step dance of their own! From PreK all the way to 8th grade, students truly enjoyed and learned so much from this experience!

Only a Title!

Posted by Megan Kirk on November 9th, 2020

Kindergarteners used their wonderful creativity to make up short plays today in performing arts! The students were only given a title to work with and they had to come up with the rest! Some examples of the titles used: “The Three Wishes,” “The City Under the Sea,” “The Castle in the Sky” and “The Lost Sun.” I was so impressed with the teamwork and detailed stories these students came up with! They then practiced with their groups and finally each story was presented on our outside stage. It was so much fun!

Andy Goldsworthy – Environmental Art

Posted by Alice DesGranges on October 9th, 2020

Kindergarteners explored the work of Andy Goldsworthy, the British environmental artist, who creates works of art using natural materials. The students created their own works of art using flower petals, sticks, rocks, and other natural objects.

Exploring Our Senses

Posted by Ann Palm on September 29th, 2020

When learning about our five senses kindergarteners had fun making mud! With the mud we made “mud faces” on our trees at Unquowa. We added leaves, rocks, acorns or whatever we could find in nature to make a face. Exploring our senses wasn’t over yet. Making “mud” inside with chocolate pudding, crushed Oreos and even a gummy worm added to the fun. It was a fun exciting way to learn about using our senses.

Music Technology

Posted by Megan Kirk on June 4th, 2020

Students have been exploring so many areas of music technology during distance learning! A favorite has been using Chrome Music Lab. Students across all levels have been able to use this chrome extension to enhance their understanding of many elements of music! The younger grades have been working on their steady beat and rhythm through this program while the older students are putting together melodies and rhythms to create their own short songs. It has been really fun listening to all of the students’ creations! Students have really enjoyed expressing themselves through these lessons!

Virtual Ponding

Posted by Faith Barbuto on May 8th, 2020

Usually the kindergarten class would have spent most of April studying life in a pond, culminating with a trip to the Audubon Center to scoop up pond water and investigate all the forms of life to be found. Instead, we have been learning about the ecosystem of a pond and through read alouds with me as well as YouTube, they have learned about the plants and animals that live in ponds. Students have learned about interconnectedness of the pond biome and begun to understand food chains. Here are some examples of their work, we love the creativity! Inspired by our distance learning topic, one family went to explore the pond and even found a salamander! Trails at the Audubon Center are open so we encourage you to get out there and explore.

Singing from a Distance!

Posted by Megan Kirk on April 29th, 2020

Students had a fun class this morning in performing arts! We started the class getting our bodies moving with a new song called “Clap Your Hands Together” and then went right into moving around our spaces! This week is all about presto and largo, fast and slow! Students listened to me play different selections on the piano and had to dance around their rooms if they heard a fast (presto) song or slow (largo). The smiles and giggles were wonderful to hear! Then we sang through a silly song about a crocodile washing his clothes! Students acted out being the crocodile as they sang this jazzy song. We had lots of fun connecting and singing together virtually this morning!

PE Obstacle Course Challenge

Posted by Sarah Pollex on April 16th, 2020

Turn a shovel into a lever and send a ball flying! Catch it, go for the basket! Scooter around cones and send the family dog on a chase! Jump the croquet hoops and hot lava, turn the playset into a jungle! Roll down the hill and send the frisbee through the target! Get your younger sibling following your leader! Then do it again! And again! Nothing is better than an obstacle course created by a child! Unquowa’s younger students’ first virtual PE lesson was to create their own obstacle courses. They demonstrated their speed, endurance and agility by navigating challenging physical obstacles. Students finished their lesson by drawing their favorite obstacle course event to include in their virtual PE journal. Their creativity and joy is an inspiration to this teacher! Go Gators!

Follow this link for a mashup of all the obstacle course videos!

Movement!

Posted by Megan Kirk on April 9th, 2020

Students are getting their bodies moving with performing arts this week. Yoga is a wonderful way to exercise, stretch, relax, and move your body – it has been great seeing the students doing their yoga from home!

The Snowy Day

Posted by Megan Kirk on February 7th, 2020

Even though we have not had any “snowy days” in a while that did not stop the kindergarten and transitional-k performing arts class from making snow angels in class today! We took the book The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats and turned it into a little class play! The students loved bringing one of their favorite stories to life!

Measuring Up

Posted by Faith Barbuto on January 25th, 2020

Kindergarten has been exploring lots of different ways to measure. We have been using standard and nonstandard units of measure depending upon what is being measured. Students are getting familiar with measurement language like height, width, weight and volume. For a an active math lesson we buddied up to measure each other. You can’t measure yourself after all! Students used links to measure parts of their buddies’ bodies and recorded that data. In a cross curricular activity, we set out to measure the largest animal- a blue whale! We used the arm span of a kindergartner- approximately 3 feet- to stretch out to the massive 90 feet of a whale! Now that’s big!

Inspiring Young Mathematicians

Posted by Eric Werner on January 16th, 2020

Upper Schoolers in 7th grade are hard at work preparing math lessons for TK, Kindergarten, and 1st Grade. On alternate Fridays, my 7th grade students travel across the school to work one-on-one or in small groups to teach a math lesson to their younger peers. Ranging from addition and subtraction to pattern recognition, these lessons are developed entirely by 7th grade students who have researched curriculum and designed a lesson to inspire younger students to learn and to get excited about math. This program will continue throughout the year with every 7th grade student having the opportunity to design and implement a lesson.

Art Detectives

Posted by Betsey Young on January 15th, 2020

The Transitional-K and kindergarten classes visited the Yale Art Museum to examine three portraits and other art works. We discussed the medium, subject, history and visual story of each. This gave our students the opportunity to become art detectives and truly examine each piece with a discerning eye. We were both critics and connoisseurs!

Celebrations of Light

Posted by Faith Barbuto on December 18th, 2019

In the spirit of inclusivity we in kindergarten celebrate all things holiday! By exposing my students to aspects of many different faiths and cultures it is my hope to increase their understanding of the world around them. We have spent the last few weeks delving into Christmas traditions in different countries around the world and listening to music from those countries. To commemorate Hanukkah we created washi tape menorahs and learned how to play dreidel. We painted kinaras while learning about Kwanzaa. We uncovered the history of Saint Nicholas day. We made tomtens to celebrate Santa Lucia day. We examined celebrations of the winter solstice and in all the quite varied holidays we found a common theme, light. All of these holidays share a focus on light in a dark time of year. We carried this concept into our makerspace studies and carved wooden candleholders. Mr. RM taught us about circuits and we created a simple one to be a source of light. Students were very proud to carry their new celebrations of light through the Winterfest castle!

Kindness Delivered

Posted by Faith Barbuto on November 15th, 2019

The Kindergarten celebrated World Kindness in what has become an eagerly anticipated yearly tradition, leaving random notes of kindness on cars in the parking lot. We began by carefully constructing 50 notes with kind words and figuring out exactly how many each student needed to make to get to 50! The bitter cold did not stop us from out task, to put a note on every car in the parking lot. We had a first this year as one car was occupied and our delivery boy got to actually hand her a note! Everyone was excited to see the joy on the face of the recipient. After all our notes were dispersed, we enjoyed some much deserved fun jumping in a pile of autumn leaves. As William Cullen Bryant called it ” Autumn, the year’s last, loveliest smile.”

Early Childhood Earth Day Celebration

Posted by Faith Barbuto on October 21st, 2019

The Early Childhood classes had an amazing time celebrating our second Earth Day with a Forest Kindergarten approach. This year the school focused on the theme of Endangered Animals and the younger children chose to focus on the creature recently named most crucial to the survival of the planet, the bee. We started our day with a creative hands-on snack activity. Children were given all types of sliced fruits and vegetables along with cream cheese and sunbutter and charged with creating their own edible insects. Fun and delicious! We headed outside on the glorious autumnal day to explore the great outdoors. Later we had a visit from Jeff Schwartz, the President of the Backyard Beekeeper’s Association of Connecticut. He brought a section of a hive full of bees to teach us there is no need to fear these important creatures. We learned many important things about bees and also how to tell them apart from wasps. We even got to taste some delicious honey and smell the beeswax. Everyone enjoyed toasting our own hot dogs over the fire. Mrs. Curran led some outdoor explorations where kids did their part to help honeybees by harvesting sunflowers seeds to bring home and plant. Much more outdoor play led to hungry explorers and we came back in for our second snacktivity where the children made their own trail mix. A glorious day was held had by all and we can’t wait for next year!

First Impressions

Posted by Faith Barbuto on October 4th, 2019

This week both sections of 5th grade came to meet their new kindergarten buddies and get to know them. We spent some time acclimating ourselves and then did a simple opening activity writing what we liked about our new friends. The 5th graders wrote observations of their kindergarten buddy based on this brief encounter. For them, this activity will be a springboard for their upcoming unit on the interaction between the early colonists and explorers and the Native American people. We were hoping to impart that first impressions can often be deceiving and are always influenced by your perception of the world. As we come together this year to study topics of world culture, history and social justice we plan to keep this in mind.

Blue Bird

Posted by Megan Kirk on October 4th, 2019

“Blue bird blue bird through my window…” Students loved using a puppet today to help make the song Blue Bird come to life in class! They each took a turn being the bird, flying through “windows” that we made with our bodies! This song is used to for the purpose of singing an interval of a third clearly and on pitch. The students did an excellent job!

Back At School, Back Outside!!

Posted by Faith Barbuto on September 11th, 2019

Just because we are back to school doesn’t mean we aren’t having fun in the sun! Taking advantage of the great weather and helping us to adjust to our robust day of learning, the kindergarten class has been spending lots of time in the great outdoors. We have been learning math, making science observations and even held a talent show with our 7th grade helpers! There was also plenty of getting to know new friends, exploring our new environment and plain old fashioned fun. Just watch all the things we can learn outside!

Ponding!

Posted by Faith Barbuto on May 14th, 2019

Here is a question to ponder, have you ever ponded? Yes, ponding is a verb, and on a lovely, sunny, April day, our kindergarten class set off to the Audubon to do just that. First, we gathered round some picnic tables to see up close some examples of pond creatures that we might not uncover on our own. After a brief instruction, we were armed with nets to head to the pond and scoop. In class, we had been studying the pond ecosystem and this was our chance to experience it in action. We found nymphs, snails, scads of eggs, tadpoles and even a newt! The rest of time was spent meandering through the pristine Audubon trails and observing many pond plants and animals. Students also got to see some marsh and wetland habitats, you have never seen such excitement over a wetland! Although this trip is an annual kindergarten tradition, I am never less than amazed by the interesting things we find. This year, the pond was literally teeming with newts!

Poetry in Nature

Posted by Faith Barbuto on April 30th, 2019

Our kindergarten authors have become budding poets this month while reading and writing all kinds of poems to celebrate National Poetry Month. After drawing inspiration from Shel Silverstein, Dr Seuss and others we created funny poems and silly poems about food, pets and siblings! With our fifth grade buddies, we studied personification in poetry. Our next poems described the many roles we play throughout our school day. I am a pencil- when I am writing, a ball- when at P.E., a fork- at lunch, a map- during Geography. On another visit from fifth grade, they shared their “I am” poems and we delved deeper into how poetry can express how we feel about ourselves. We wrote acrostic poems about spring and used sight word lists to create found poetry. Our best muse was the great outdoors, where the sights and sounds of nature wrote the poetry for us!

Searching for Spring

Posted by Faith Barbuto on April 5th, 2019

On our first day back from break, it wasn’t feeling too springy but our intrepid kindergarten scientists headed outside anyway. Armed with clipboards and some years of prior knowledge we set out to find signs in our environment that spring was indeed on its way! As always, we started the experiment by making predictions of what we thought we might see based on what we know about the spring season. Although the air was chilly, the sun was shining and we felt a cool breeze. We found flowers beginning to bloom and noticed the different shapes of the buds on the tress. Students recorded their observations through words and pictures. Unlike our friend the Groundhog, who missed the mark with this year’s early spring prediction or the weathermen who seem to be wrong at least as often as they right, we can assure you that all signs point to spring weather arriving any day now!

Resolutions Check

Posted by Sarah Pollex on April 4th, 2019

Need motivation with your new year’s fitness resolutions? Look to our PK-4 and kindergarten students for inspiration with their newest creation – Lock Ups! Executed with a partner or in a group, they are a great way to build core strength. According to the students, “everything is easier with a buddy!”

Let it Snow!

Posted by Faith Barbuto on February 27th, 2019

Kindergarten is in the middle of a science unit on weather and this month is certainly providing us with varied real life experiences! Sunny and warm one day, then freezing and snowy the next, the class has been keeping track of the changing weather on a graph. We have been studying tools to measure weather such as a thermometer. We compared temperatures outdoors and indoors as well as in the morning and afternoon. Some unexpected flurries the other day were a perfect time to check the temperature! First we made predictions to what the temperature would be then went out to test and taste the flakes!

Feliz Día de San Valentín

Posted by Ms. Fernandez on February 15th, 2019

Students in PreK – 4th grade made Valentine’s Day cards in Spanish for the senior citizens at Spring Meadows in Trumbull. What a lovely way to spread kindness! Feliz Dia de San Valentin!

Literary Mustaches

Posted by Faith Barbuto on February 7th, 2019

Kindergarten has been honing their writing skills practicing using descriptive words. The other day we wrote words that could describe a bit of hair between a nose and mouth. If you could have a mustache, would it be curly, silly or long? Fortunately, mustaches these days are quite interesting so it was easy to find images that really sparked our imaginations!

Ribbon Dancing!

Posted by Megan Kirk on January 23rd, 2019

Today we added a new element to our movement lesson! Students used ribbons as an extension of their bodies to show how the music was making them feel. It was a joyous class!

Celebrating Light

Posted by Faith Barbuto on December 20th, 2018

For Kindergarteners at The Unquowa School, December means a whole month of festivals, crafts and exploring cultural diversity! As well as practicing for our very own school Winter Festival, we explored how people all around the world celebrate light during the darkest months of the year. While studying the holiday of Diwali, we made rangoli decorations to bring good fortune and danced to music from India. We learned the story of the first Hanukkah and created colorful menorahs using washi tape! Although most of us were quite familiar with American Christmas customs, we uncovered very diverse celebrations from other countries. We studied Saint Lucia Day and made adorable Tomten elves to help spread the spirit! We read about Kwanzaa, learning the six guiding principles and painting kinaras with candles to represent each one. Finally, we learned about festivals to mark the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year and in some ways the welcoming of longer days ahead. Wassailing, anyone?

‘Tis the Season

Posted by Faith Barbuto on December 11th, 2018

For germs that is! Kindergarteners finished their unit on living and nonliving things by studying the smallest forms of life, microorganisms. This group includes bacteria, germs and viruses. We learned more than we ever wanted to know about healthy bacteria that live all around and on us! Next, we explored how to keep ourselves healthy and germ free. We conducted an experiment to see the most effective way to remove germs from our hands, In this scenario, purple glitter played the part of germs, much less gross and much easier to see. Students predicted what method would work best, some answers were very creative! Then we put each method to the test, seeing if it really did remove germs and prevent germ transfer. We proved once and for all that warm water and soap is the best way to keep your hands clean!

Kindness Elves

Posted by Faith Barbuto on November 6th, 2018

Those kind kindergarteners are at it again. Students learned that each person carries an invisible bucket that hold all their good thoughts and feelings. We have been learning about how to use kind words to fill each other’s buckets. After spreading kindness around our classroom, we decided to move on to the school community. In a tradition that we all have come to love, the kindergarten kindness elves crept to the parking lot to leave anonymous notes of kindness on the cars of faculty and staff. We hope our notes brightened your days and stay tuned, the elves loved it so much they are already working on more notes!

8th Grade joins their Kindergarten Buddies for Math!

Posted by Lloyd Mitchell on November 2nd, 2018

This year, 8th grade has linked during their Friday math class and are spending that time working with the kindergarteners. Each week, the 8th graders will lead a different math lesson for kindergarten through various activities and games. We are excited about this linking opportunity!

Are you afraid of the…?

Posted by Faith Barbuto on October 30th, 2018

With Halloween looming, the kindergarten class has turned some of our mindfulness focus to fears. Specifically talking about what are we afraid of and what we can do when we feel afraid. We have read stories about ghosts and goblins that have just been created by overactive imaginations. We have talked about the way our “mummies” comfort us when we are scared. We have written letters to the monsters under our beds. We have shut our nightmares away in a closet! In one particularly moving activity, we drew pictures of the things that frightened us most, then faced our fears. Students looked their monsters in the face and shouted “I’m not afraid of you!” Then we ripped up the drawings and jubilantly threw them into the air!

Apple Boats

Posted by Alice DesGranges on October 17th, 2018

During Unquowa’s Earth Day the PreK and Kindergarten classes made apple boats using decorated leaves for the sail, skewers for the mast, and half an apple for the hull. We tested them out and are pleased to say that all of them are sea worthy!

Early Childhood Earth Day

Posted by Faith Barbuto on October 16th, 2018

On Monday, October 8th, our early childhood students and teachers spent the day in the great outdoors, celebrating the earth by creating our own version of Forest Kindergarten. It was a day filled with explorative play, nature-based crafts and activities and community building! Children enjoyed making muddy faces, sun catchers and headbands out of natural materials. Our literacy activity revealed how children felt when in the forest. We came inside only briefly to wash our hands and prepare a delicious make-your-own trail mix! The extended time outside allowed for building intricate block structures. Lunch was also hands on as we cooked our own snodbrod (or Danish hot dogs wrapped in dough) over the fire. The afternoon consisted of making boats out of leaves and apples and testing their buoyancy. We capped off the day with an outdoor obstacle course. Many thanks to all those who made this day possible, a great time was had by all!

An Apple A Day

Posted by Faith Barbuto on October 12th, 2018

We started our week with a fun filled Autumn trip to Silverman’s Farm to pick apples. We took festive pictures, dove into corn pits and had so much fun picking apples! Each child brought home a bag of apples but what they didn’t know was they were really bringing home a bag of science experiments. On Tuesday, each child brought in a peeled cored apple and we added them to a crock pot to make homemade applesauce. We made predictions about how it would taste and marveled over how the shape and texture of the apples were completely changed by the heat. Our next experiment was to see if an apple would float. Then we made predictions about what was inside the apples and we cut into the apples to find out. We learned how to read a diagram and found out that hidden inside every apple is the shape of a star. We tasted lots of different apples and made a graph to show our favorite color. We also studied how an apple grows and made a life cycle to review the four seasons of an apple tree! How do you like them apples?

The Outdoor Classroom

Posted by Faith Barbuto on September 19th, 2018

Yes, playing outside is fun, healthy and critical to child development and in kindergarten we do lots of it, but we also use the great outdoors to learn! Simple trips to the playground can become engaging math activities, where students are challenged to count objects or find examples of patterns or symmetry. The walk back from a fire drill can become a time to explore spider webs and mystery holes. When the budding scientists were armed with clipboards and asked to make scientific observations using their senses, the outdoor classroom really came alive! Sounds of insects, cars and babbling brooks were recorded. Lots of things we see everyday were more closely examined and noticed, rocks turned over to reveal whole villages of bugs! We smelled flowers, grass and hay – closing our eyes to breathe it all in. Using our hands to discover more about textures we felt rough bark, soft moss and damp grass. Everytime we step outside, a whole new world awaits!

Getting to Know You

Posted by Faith Barbuto on September 12th, 2018

We had our first weekly collaboration with our fifth grade social studies buddies on Thursday. During this time, Mr. Kayumba and I hope to explore the many nuances of cultures and diversity with our students. There will also be a weekly literature collaboration with the other section of the fifth grade class. We spent this first meeting getting to know each other. The fifth graders were asked to interview their kindergarten buddies and find out basic information like their names and hobbies as well as tell them about themselves. Then we challenged them to also share more personal information like fears and things they struggle with. It was a great opportunity to learn things we never knew about each other and break the ice. Some buddies found that despite the age difference they had lots in common. I even learned things about my former kindergartners who are now in fifth grade that were totally surprises to me!

Something to Pond-er

Posted by Faith Barbuto on May 17th, 2018

Every year, around this time kindergarteners get to experience spring in full bloom at the idyllic pond at the Audubon Nature Center. After a brief instruction, our intrepid scientists are armed with nets and get to scooping. Specimens of muck and pond slime are carefully sifted through looking for all forms of pond life. What surprises me most about this trip is that the haul is always quite unique. Highlights of this year’s ponding event included not one but two snake sightings, several frogs caught and one huge bullfrog tadpole. After, we returned all the bits of rotting leaves back to the pond for we know that each leaf could be the nursery for hundreds of baby amphibians. The day was completed by a hike around the trails where you can just smell the new plants budding and life starting afresh.

Visiting Yale Art Museum

Posted by Janice Shannon on May 1st, 2018

The PreK-3 and kindergarten classes spent time at the Yale Art Museum last week learning about three artists: Pablo Picasso, Vincent Van Gogh and Jackson Pollack. The three year olds were familiar with the artists from their lessons in the classroom and were thrilled to be able to see the paintings in person (and for most it was extra exciting as it was their first time visiting an art museum). Docents led us through the museum and discussed the color and texture within the paintings.

The kindergarteners have been reading and writing poetry and talking about how poets express their feelings. Before the trip we discussed how art can also be a means of self expression and went into the museum with the intention of looking at the art pieces and seeing which emotions or feelings they evoked. As we gazed upon the shapes and colors in a Picasso, our docent gave each child felt pieces to create their own abstract interpretation of an animal.

A Magical Visit

Posted by Faith Barbuto on April 27th, 2018

The other day, kindergarteners were amazed by a visit from Mia’s dad where he taught us magic! After demonstrating a few tricks with the help of his lovely assistant, the magician divulged his secrets and showed the class how to trick their friends and family. Everyone was given a magic wand, a deck of cards and the gift of illusion. If you have a special talent you would like to share with the class, it is not too late. Contact Mrs. Barbuto to set up your classroom visit today!

Starstruck!

Posted by Faith Barbuto on April 13th, 2018

The kindergarteners were beyond excited to go up to the “big kid” math class and see what they have been working on! That was even before they knew they had a built a huge planetarium in their classroom! Students quickly climbed inside and were awed and amazed by the show Mr. Werner projected onto the ceiling of the dome. The excitement did not wane as we exited the structure to learn more about how it was made. “Desks!” The eager children squealed in delight! We learned how the eighth graders had constructed the planetarium with cardboard and saw some of the early prototypes. My students can’t wait until they are old enough to be in Mr. Werner’s class and build something similar, but they do not have to wait to have this very planetarium. It will be up for auction at the Spring Gala on April 28th!

狗年大吉大利 Luck and prosperity in the Chinese New Year of the Dog!

Posted by Kate Haviland on March 2nd, 2018

Click here to watch the Chinese New Year Assembly.

With the drumbeat and chant from our kindergarteners, the excitement of performing to celebrate the Chinese New Year of the Dog began from the first moment. Students performed songs and chants using their own traditional crafts as props and introductions and background were given by our older students in… Mandarin and English!

Making these crafts gave students the opportunity to learn the Chinese traditions involving food, decorations and the history of this holiday. Very quickly each student knew the character – 福（fú, luck and happiness)and the traditional gesture for wishing a good Chinese New Year with the expression – 恭喜恭喜 ( gōng xǐ gōng xǐ). Students in third and fourth grade were very proud of themselves when they made their 福（fú）character crafts. As students learned in class, when福(fú）is upside down, it means “luck and happiness have arrived.” There are several upside down 福（fú）characters in the first grade students’ crafts, so luck and happiness have just arrived around us at Unquowa. Upper school students also made their own 春联 ( (chūn lián), adding happiness and best wishes to the celebration.

As you are watching this video full of our students’ enthusiasm and talent, we wish you and your family 狗年大吉大利 (gǒu nián dàjí dà lì)…luck and prosperity in the Chinese New Year of the Dog!

Snow Cones!

Posted by Faith Barbuto on February 28th, 2018

Having math class outside in winter requires a bit of ingenuity! In class we have been learning about three dimensional solid figures. One way we have been exploring them is with plastic models. When I noticed the models are hollow, I came up with idea of filling them with snow! In our outdoor classroom students got to fill the molds and create snow shapes! We practiced identifying spheres, cubes, pyramids, cylinders and of course…snow cones! Students learned how to count the sides and tell which shape they had created.

Will You Be My Valentine?

Posted by Ms. Fernandez on February 23rd, 2018

Kindergarten and First grade learned new vocabulary for Valentine’s Day. They then had fun using their new vocabulary to write Spanish letters to their Valentines. Holidays offer a great opportunity to talk about traditions and new phrases and vocabulary … and these young Spanish speakers really put their “hearts” into it!

Keep Me Warm!

Posted by Faith Barbuto on February 8th, 2018

Continuing our studies of mammals and how they adapt to survive winter, we began to explore the concept of insulation. With Mr. Ross-MacCormack we went outside and looked at several materials that are meant to keep us warm. We touched the items first, examining the different textures and thicknesses. Volunteers were chosen to be wrapped in different materials to see if they helped keep them warm. We compared the items and identified what characteristics they had in common.

One budding engineer remarked, “I was warm except for the part where the hole let the air in!” Air… We felt all the best types of insulation and realized they had air trapped inside! Once we returned to the makerspace we investigated trapping air and realized that the warmth wasn’t coming from the material it was coming from our bodies!

Rhythm Drumming

Posted by Megan Kirk on February 2nd, 2018

In kindergarten today we learned a new song called “Snow Day”! The students played many different rhythms in this song! We used quarter notes, eighth notes, and sixteenth notes! Students listened to the rhythm patters and were able to successfully play them back using the drums. After playing these rhythm patterns kindergarten discussed how they were the same and different from one another! Students are beginning their journey to be great rhythm players and readers!

Amazing Mammals

Posted by Faith Barbuto on January 30th, 2018

Down in Kindergarten we spend quite a bit of time on the most diverse animal group, mammals. Call us biased but we think the group deserves it. We studied mammal adaptations from living in trees, to living underground, to living in pouches! Talk about a wide range, mammals can be as small as a pygmy lemur that could fit in your hand to the largest animal that ever lived, a blue whale.

A blue whale is approximately 90 feet long, but exactly what does that look like? In a cross curricular activity, we honed our measuring skills by measuring a blue whale with a non-standard unit of measure, our arm spans. Next, we talked about mammal intelligence, learning how mammals use the environment around them to help them survive. During our next Makerspace activity we took to the parking lot and dug caves into the snow, feeling for ourselves how much warmer we felt when protected from the wind. With weather like this, sleeping in a cave for the next few weeks doesn’t seem like a bad idea. Finally we focused on the primate group, learning how lemurs, monkeys and apes have many human traits. To really appreciate our opposable thumbs we spent some time trying to do everyday tasks without them. After trying to write, cut and button without using these digits we all agree … thumbs up for opposable thumbs!

Kindness To Go

Posted by Faith Barbuto on December 7th, 2017

As part of our year long quest to be the kindest Kindergarten in town, the Unquowa youngsters set out on a cold blustery day to leave a note of kindness on every car in the parking lot. The kids loved the challenge of writing so many notes. Notes contained phrases like, You are beautiful. You are a superhero. You are loved. Who wouldn’t want to find such reassuring words on their car? My favorite part of this activity is hearing the teachers tell us about finding their note and how it brightened their day. Do not let the kindness stop here, put a smile on someone’s face today!

Not-So-Spooky Story Collaboration

Posted by Ariel Warshaw on October 31st, 2017

At the beginning of October, the fifth graders began collaborating with kindergarten “buddies” to craft not-so-spooky stories. In our first meeting together, we listened to the short story, “The Pink Jellybean,” to get a sense for what kind of mood we wanted to create in our tales. Then, the students rolled dice to select the setting, character, and problem for each of their stories using a specialized game board. The kindergarteners loved having a part in the process, and the fifth graders excitedly began work on crafting their stories.

In our next work session, the students shared their first drafts with their kindergarten partners and modeled a peer editing session. The kindergarteners gave them feedback – what they liked about their story, what they were confused by, what they’d like to see added, and more. The fifth graders got busy revising and editing their pieces, while the kindergartners worked hard at illustrating their collaborative stories.

All of this hard work culminated in a wonderful autumnal event! The fifth grade and kindergarten classes, along with their families, came together around a campfire on the evening of October 27th right here on campus. The students got to share their creative and kooky stories, complete with illustrations by their kindergarten buddy, while sipping on cider and enjoying the beautiful fall night.

The Purpose and Power of Play

Posted by Faith Barbuto on October 30th, 2017

This summer, I was fortunate enough to travel to Denmark through to the Virginia Birdsall Grant. I spent a week visiting 6 different “Forest Kindergartens.” Although the settings were vastly different, the concept was the same – children learn best through play. To us, it might seem like these children are dangerously playing in the woods all day – and to some degree that is true – but they are also developing gross and fine motor skills, learning to cooperate and problem solve and maybe most importantly developing confidence by not avoiding tasks they may not succeed at. Upon my return to America and my classroom at Unquowa, I set the goal to spend at least one hour a day outside with my students. Some of that time purely for enjoyment and another block for an academic subject taught in nature. So far this year we have spent time building, climbing and swinging – things that may look like just playing but are also helping build spatial skills, develop motor skills and learn how to navigate the complexities of social interactions. We have also been observing, writing and working together, laying the groundwork for future scientists. authors and engineers while deepening students’ respect for the natural world.

To Be Mindful

Posted by Faith Barbuto on October 17th, 2017

Ask anyone who practices mindfulness or even someone who has just dabbled and the response will surely be that mindfulness is very personal. Each person connects to it in their own unique ways and through practices that work for him or her. Here in Kindergarten, we have been exploring many ways to be mindful. We have tried yoga, tai-chi and meditation, checking in with our minds and bodies after each practice to see how we feel. We have gone on imaginary journeys, used music to calm ourselves down and eaten a raisin using ALL of our senses. All of these activities have helped us learn to be in the moment, to stop and reflect and to just feel our feelings. We also have a place in our classroom called the “peace corner,” a place to go to regulate your own emotions. We have started to delve into the uncomfortable feelings of anger and sadness. In my opinion, the ways that we are teaching our children to calm themselves from the noise of our world and to handle their complex emotions might be the most important teachings of all. One of my favorite ways to gauge the effectiveness of our mindfulness education is to ask the children what they think mindfulness is. I urge you to ask this question at home, you may be amazed at what you learn.

Kindergarten Circle

Posted by Cameron Ross-MacCormack on October 16th, 2017

Kindergarten students constructed a strong but flexible zig-zag ring of carefully crafted of hand-cut Pine and Poplar pieces. Each student snugly fitted nine pieces together on their own, and then saw that each assemblage, like each student in the class, came together and made a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.

Literature Collaboration Begins!

Posted by Faith Barbuto on September 22nd, 2017

The fifth grade and kindergarten classes are again teaming up for an exciting year of collaborations! We began with a visit from Mr. Kayumba’s literature class. The fifth grade scholars were eager to share what they had learned about the reading process, and implementation of effective reading practices; a preliminary lesson before they embark on their literary journey. In an effort to reinforce the lesson learned in the literature class, the fifth graders got to teach the kindergarteners! It was a pleasure for me to see some of my former kindergarteners in this new, mature role. The younger students were excited for the chance to work with these older mentors. After teaching their new buddies what they have learned about reading, each partnership selected a book to read together. These books went home with the kindergarteners, please return them for next week. Looking forward to exploring literature together all year!

Math in the Great Outdoors!

Posted by Faith Barbuto on September 18th, 2017

Instead of counting plastic counters inside at our desks, we decided to get outside in nature to practice our counting skills. The instructions were simple: find any 10 objects and bring them to the teacher. Inquiring minds asked if they needed to all be the same object. No! A chance to see that there are many ways to solve to a math problem. Our creative thinkers eagerly listed objects they might find to make a group of ten. Next we hit the playground with excited math learners counting loudly. One by one they came to me, showing off their treasure while I was able to uncover more about their counting skills and one to one correspondence. Fun, math and time in nature all accomplished on Day 2 of kindergarten!

Gone Fishing

Posted by Craig Knebel on June 2nd, 2017

It is often said that the best way to learn something is to teach it to someone else. Our seventh graders have been teaching the kindergarten and first grade classes about what fish need to survive, and where fish come from. This is all part of a national conservation and education experience called Trout in the Classroom.

Trout in the Classroom is an environmental educational program that teaches participants to raise trout from eggs. As part of the process, the students monitor water quality and study stream habitats. Through this they learn appreciation for water resources and begin to understand ecosystems. We proudly released our trout in the Mill River of the Lake Mohegan State Park, here in Fairfield in May.

The Day the Crayons Quit!

Posted by Megan Kirk on June 1st, 2017

Our kindergartners have been working a lot on expression and how the way we move our bodies and the tone of our voices can tell people how we are feeling. After we read the story The Day the Crayons Quit, I asked each student to chose one of the crayons and to say one of their lines with expression and body language. The students enjoyed this activity so much we decided to keep it going! Using the book as our guide, we created our own script for a short adaptation of this story. Students began reading and learning their lines right away! To help inspire these little actors I asked some of our cast members from the spring musical to come in and mentor the kindergarteners. It was an excellent class filled with great advice, lots of energy, and lots of laughter! Then we decided we would put this “show” on for the Unquowa community. I was so proud of each student for having the confidence and courage to stand up on stage and act out our play!

Going to the Zoo

Posted by Faith Barbuto on May 23rd, 2017

In one of our most anticipated yearly activities, kindergarten recently took an all day field trip to the Beardsley Zoo. This is the culminating activity to our year long study of animal groups. Our budding zoologists completed an animal scavenger hunt where they found specimens from each group and listed the characteristics that helped them classify them. We also got to go behind the scenes for an animal encounter where we learned about animal adaptions and got to touch some pretty cool animals to feel the differences in their bodies. Much to our students delight we brought our own lunches and dined al fresco! No zoo trip would be complete without a ride on the carousel! A great time was had by all!

Learning from the Pros

Posted by Megan Kirk on May 12th, 2017

It was a very special day in kindergarten performing arts! The students were visited by some of the members of this year’s spring musical, The Wizard of Oz! Since we are working on our own little play in kindergarten, the 8th graders helped coach the kindergarteners in their roles in The Day The Crayons Quit. The students worked so well with one another! The 8th graders gave great tips and helped the kindergarten class with their characterization skills. The kindergarten students were extremely excited to work with these actors and hung on every word they had to say! What a great class!

Don’t Bug Me!

Posted by Faith Barbuto on April 25th, 2017

The return of insects is a sure sign of spring! The kindergarteners headed out to the garden to find inspiration for bug themed poetry. We brought along magnifying glasses since our muses might be tiny. After scouring the garden for all sorts of creeping critters, we sat down to write some poems. Using the natural environment to stimulate our senses we wrote about things that buzzed, crawled and flew. Come check out our poems to see what all the buzz is about!

Heard it Through the Grapevine

Posted by Faith Barbuto on April 20th, 2017

Could dancing to Motown possibly be connected to a science lesson? Sure! After spending some time getting some movement and levity into our day courtesy of a California Raisins themed dance party, the kindergarten scientists were given the question: How can you make a raisin dance? The predictions ran the gamut from throwing them in the air, to using a heat source and creating puppets! We had just finished studying states of matter and in previous lessons, have been learning about using acids and bases to make chemical reactions. By combining baking soda and vinegar we created a gas that made the raisins pop up and down in the solution. The wrinkly nature of the skin of a raisin makes them hold onto the bubbles until they reach the top, where the bubbles pop and the gas is released. The raisins then drop down to the bottom of the container and start the process all over again. Even without the wrinkles our students are great dancers!

Follow Me!

Posted by Megan Kirk on April 5th, 2017

Kindergarteners have been learning about what it means to be a conductor and what better way than to lead our own classroom band?! Students learned that the conductor’s (very important!) job is to keep the music on the right beat and at the right dynamic. They learned how conductors use their hands to lead a group of singers or instrumentalists and how they also help their band or chorus interpret the music with their emotion. So, it is very important for the musicians to always watch the conductor! As student conductors, we learned how to “cut off” the instruments, how to have them play piano (soft) and forte (loud). By jumping in and being the conductor themselves the students really began to understand how important that job is!

All About That Seuss

Posted by Faith Barbuto on April 4th, 2017

For the whole month of March, kindergarten has been immersed in the wild, wacky world of Dr. Seuss. We have been reading his books to practice our fluency, for fun and also to learn very important life lessons. We did an in depth character study of Horton, everyone’s favorite faithful elephant. We wrote our own Suess like tales, tapping into our own imaginations. Students created their own fox in socks rhyming game to take home and play. On one very special Wednesday we expressed ourselves by wearing our wackiest clothes, much to the delight of the whole school! That morning students entered to find our schedule turned completely upside down and a big box that said “Do not open!’ Being that is was wacky Wednesday, we opened it right away of course. Inside we found new Dr. Seuss games to play, they were fun but the box was fun too! Our grand finale was a Dr. Seuss breakfast complete with green eggs! For our science exploration that day we investigated the properties of Oobleck. Our scientists could not come to a consensus on whether it was a liquid or a solid but everyone agreed it was fun!

Discovering the Moon

Posted by Faith Barbuto on March 17th, 2017

Kindergarten didn’t have to go too far to learn about the moon, just up the road to the Discovery Museum! Once there, students got to sort moon rocks and investigate some of their unusual properties such as magnetism! Using scale models, we determined the correct size of the moon in relation to Earth. We are also made our own moonscopes to explore the phases of the moon right from our classroom! After our demonstration, we took some time to explore the museum focusing on the moon area. The kids can not wait to go back!

Science Fair Fever!

Posted by Faith Barbuto on March 1st, 2017

Having the Science Fair and all the interesting experiments getting set up right outside our door is always an exciting time in kindergarten, but this year more than ever my class was thrilled to learn about all the hard work the the older students had done. In what I hope to become an annual tradition, kindergarteners got a sneak peek at the experiments done by their fifth grade buddies during the end of set up on Thursday. This provided a perfect and intimate opportunity for in depth viewing as well as a chance for the eager fifth graders to practice their presentations. My students could not wait to get back out there on Friday! I was very impressed with their level of engagement and focus and also the way the older students patiently and enthusiastically presented to younger audiences. A perfect example of inter grade collaborations here at Unquowa!

Celebrating Chinese New Year!

Posted by Yajuan Zhang on February 8th, 2017

Even though you don’t know anything about Chinese language, from the rhythm of this song, surely enough you feel the atmosphere of celebrating a holiday. Actually, kindergarteners did an excellent job. Their happy faces and the mimicking sound of the drum “dong qiang, dong qiang, dong dong qiang” definitely leave the image in your mind. So everybody, welcome to celebrating the tradition of Chinese culture!

A Whale of a Tail!

Posted by Faith Barbuto on January 20th, 2017

In our kindergarten science studies we have been learning about the mammal animal group and our math topic is measurement, so we wove the two concepts together with a big job, measuring the largest animal to ever live: the blue whale. I asked the class to bring a whale in but did not have any volunteers so we had to make do with a paper version! We learned that a blue whale can be up to 90 feet long, but just how long is that? Since it was longer than any of our class rulers, we decided to mark the measurement with an more unconventional tool, our arms! First we measured a student to determine that the standard arm span of a kindergartener was about 3 feet. Since we have 10 students we multiplied to find that the arm span of the whole class was about 30 feet. Using these calculations, we estimated that it would take 3 lines of our class to get up to 90 feet. Armed with this mathematical information we headed outside to a big space for our measuring. First marking our starting point with a whale tail, we carefully stretched ourselves out 3 times. Once we reached the end we added a whale head and all stood back to observe just how big the biggest animal is.

That’s What Friends are For

Posted by Faith Barbuto on December 16th, 2016

Our kindergarten thespians have been learning about friendship. We have been reading and writing stories about being good friends and learning how to navigate sometimes difficult interactions with friends. The kindergarteners were thrilled to visit the PreK-3 and PreK-4 classes and demonstrate what they have learned. We performed several skits modeling what good friends do. The scenarios involved sharing, taking turns, helping, working cooperatively and even standing up for a friend. It’s hard to tell who enjoyed the show more – the audience or the actors!

No Rest for a Farmer

Posted by Faith Barbuto on December 15th, 2016

On a crisp December afternoon, kindergarteners headed over to Sport Hill Farm to ask the question, What does a farmer do in the Winter? As with most of our science lessons, we began by making predictions before the experience. Students very astutely guessed that a farmer must care for the animals even in the winter, and Patti Popp sure does! Even in the snow, she must clear a path and feed her chickens and pigs as well as keep them safe from predators. On our trip, we got a chance to see both, as well as feed and pet the chickens. We visited the greenhouse where some hardy plants were growing and learned more about the winter crops. Patti explained that a big part of her winter is spent planning for next year as crops need to be rotated and ordering seeds to plant in spring. We headed up to the lovely loft above the store and took a turn at plucking corn kernels from a cob, no easy task! Next was a real treat, Patti’s homegrown popcorn, popped right before our eyes using just a bit of coconut oil! Heavenly, if you haven’t tried some run right over and grab a few ears.

Holiday Traditions in Mexico

Posted by Karen Engelke on December 15th, 2016

The students were delighted to hear about holiday traditions in Mexico from Mrs. Blanchfield, kindergarten and second grade mom. We learned that, for some pretty obvious reasons, Christmas trees are not common in Mexico. Instead Mexicans decorate their homes with colorful cut out banners. Mrs. Blanchfield taught us that besides celebrating with family, many Mexicans enjoy celebrations with their neighbors and that there are often communal gatherings in neighborhoods marking the holiday season with people coming together to make traditional crafts and food. We also learned all about the Pinata and it’s significance during Christmas time. The Pinata is made in the form of a star and is meant to represent the Christmas star. During the holiday gatherings children circle the Pinata Stars and take turns trying to break it open with a stick. Once cracked open, the Pinata Star showers yummy candy on the ground for all of the children to enjoy. Inspired by Mrs. Blanchfield’s visit, we went down to the makerspace to create Pinata Stars of our own!

The Culture Immersion in Mandarin Class

Posted by Yajuan Zhang on December 15th, 2016

As a Mandarin teacher I am always amazed with my students’ enthusiasm for immersing themselves into culture differences while also appreciating their own culture. This year in class students did an experiment using the style of Chinese culture used to celebrate a traditional American holiday — Thanksgiving.

As the above photos have demonstrated, kindergarteners used the traditional Chinese fan to draw pictures and color the characters for Happy Thanksgiving. For the same purpose, grade 1 made their own Chinese lanterns. To my surprise during the school Thanksgiving feast, grade 1 students volunteered to bring their own lanterns to the feast to show their work to the community. With the beautiful drawing and character handwriting, grade 2 students made their holiday cards look quite unique and impressive.

Even with the traditional concept of expressing the gratitude with the heart shape, the character handwriting, craft materials and the drawing about the holiday revealed seamlessly the combination of American culture and Chinese culture in third and fourth grade student work. Grade 5 and 6 student work led the culmination of the combination of two cultures with their impressive handwriting and drawing on the small gourds.

This experiment turned out to be a quite pleasant experience for students to celebrate their traditional holiday. It has also boosted student interest and curiosity to explore more. Two weeks later, I received the request from most of my classes, “ Zhang Laoshi, can we do something for Christmas like we did for Thanksgiving? Please. Please.” Happily enough we all realized next December in class we will be busy with another holiday 圣诞节 (sheng dan jie, Christmas). Merry Christmas, everybody!

“Hope is the Thing with Feathers”

Posted by Faith Barbuto on December 14th, 2016

Oola’s mom, Susan, came and shared her artistic talents with us recently. First she read a story about the beauty in making mistakes. We made beautiful water color paintings on paper that she had carefully stenciled a bird onto beforehand. Once the paintings were dry, the medium was scraped off to reveal the form of a bird. To close the activity, Susan read a favorite poem by Emily Dickinson. All the children were given a copy and a print of a lovely bird. An excerpt from the poem follows:

“Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all”

Diversión con verbos

Posted by Katie Brenna on December 13th, 2016

Kindergarteners and seventh graders collaborated together recently in Spanish class and had so much fun learning together! The class began with kindergarten students singing “Buenos días” to their big buddies. Then, within small groups, kindergarteners learned verb songs created by their big buddies. The themes of the songs were so fun and different! One song was about planets orbiting the sun, another about chewing gum and yet another about glazing donuts. Little did the kindergarteners know that they were actually learning a bit about how regular verbs work through song and movement! Seventh graders were proud to see the fruits of their labor bringing so much joy to their little buddies. Each group was excited to share a piece of their work in front of the entire group to wrap up class.

Gratitude Boxes

Posted by Faith Barbuto on December 13th, 2016

For the past few months, the kindergarten class has been creating their own gratitude boxes down in the makerspace. These boxes, which were completely their own designs, are meant to house objects or memorabilia that evoke a feeling of happiness. Possible items could be photographs, ticket stubs, or even a rock from a special place. As a class we discussed how sometimes we forget all the things we have to be thankful for. The boxes are to be used to help us remember those things and to cheer ourselves up when we are feeling down! For weeks students measured, hammered and glued to create their own idea of a gratitude box. As a finishing touch, each student chose a word or phrase that embodied personal gratitude and Mr. Ross-MacCormack etched it onto each box.

We’ve got Rhythm!

Posted by Faith Barbuto on December 2nd, 2016

Ethan’s grandmother, or “Lela” as he calls her, came to visit and brought some fun musical instruments. Students used rhythm sticks to copy the rhythm in different songs. They even got a chance to each make their own rhythms and have their classmates follow along. To add to the festivity, she also brought a fine motor activity: each student created a holiday wreath to adorn our classroom windows! Thank you for visiting the kindergarten classroom!

For the Birds

Posted by Faith Barbuto on November 29th, 2016

The kindergarten class has begun its year-long study of animal groups by learning more about birds. The other day our fifth grade science buddies helped us integrate art and technology into this unit by researching a type of bird and creating a diagram. Students were told they could choose any bird and use any way they wanted to represent it. A model diagram was created and students helped name the important parts of a bird. We were amazed at how beautiful and accurate the descriptions were. Students enthusiastically presented their diagrams along with some information about their bird of choice. Some groups even played audio of the bird’s song while presenting!

Storybook Readers

Posted by Faith Barbuto on November 22nd, 2016

Dahlia’s mom, Heather, who is a literacy coach, came for a visit and taught us more about being Storybook Readers! First the class was read a familiar tale, The Three Billy Goats Gruff. Next we helped vocalize the words by really getting into character as the mean troll and big billy goat! Children really loved that part and there were even puppets to make the reading more fun and dramatic. Next, students broke up into small groups and reread the story themselves focusing on using the pictures and memory to retell the story.

Bang the Drum!

Posted by Faith Barbuto on November 17th, 2016

It’s not every day a famous drummer comes to visit and you get to bang on drums as loudly as you want! Lucky us, one of our class dads is the former drummer from Fuzzy and The Lemonheads. He brought in several types of drums and told us a little about where they come from and how they are made. After a brief instruction we each got a turn to try each kind of drum. Next, we had a jam session with children playing their drum of choice!

Testing the Water

Posted by Faith Barbuto on November 8th, 2016

What if you were trapped on an island, surrounded by water filled with sharks? What if you had to work with your team to create a structure to escape? These were the problems we posed to kindergarten in our engineering activity in the makerspace this week. Students were given materials and first were asked as a group to decide which ones would be useful in solving this problem. Using the decided upon tools and a bit of imagination to turn a hard floor into a pool of water students created a rolling raft which could carry them to safety. Testing the “boat” was just part of the fun! No students were eaten by sharks during this activity.

Be Not Afraid

Posted by Faith Barbuto on November 5th, 2016

Halloween is the perfect backdrop to delve into fears! Together, our kindergarten community talked about the things that frighten us, discussing how what is scary to one person may not be to another. We pondered why people sometimes like being scared, how it feels to be scared and most importantly, how to deal with it. We wrote about and drew pictures of our nightmares and shared them as a group. During one activity, we took the drawings and stamped on them and crumpled them up, saying ” You aren’t real! You don’t scare me!” The crumpled up nightmares were hidden away in a closet for safekeeping. Another day we wrote about the scariest things we could think of – spiders, monsters, dying and I explained that being scared of things doesn’t make them go away, in fact worrying about them just makes them seem more real! Instead, we decided we would not let these things scare us! We gleefully ripped our papers into pieces and threw them into the air shouting, ” I am not afraid anymore!”

The Quest for Kindness

Posted by Faith Barbuto on October 28th, 2016

The Unquowa kindergarten class has embarked on a quest for kindness! It started with us writing kind notes to each other. Next, we sneakily left notes of kindness on all the cars in the parking lot. So many people’s days were made by our simple sentiments! Inspired by the idea of one kindergartner, we undertook a daunting task to write a note for every student in our school. We really enjoyed writing the notes and then sneaking around the school to leave them in cubbies or slipped into lockers! Once they found a note from us, students were asked to post them on the bulletin board in the main hall and then to take a blank heart to pay the kindness forward! We were thrilled to then find notes in our cubbies, showing how an act of kindness can come full circle! Special eighth grade helpers collaborated with us to write personal notes to each of their own classmates. After discussing ways to share kindness at home, students wrote about how they showed kindness to their family members. One student remarked, “It makes me feel good inside when I do something nice for my brother!” We explored showing kindness to all living things. We even turned it into a science activity, using a tank of water to show how even tiny acts of kindness can cause ripples! Last but certainly not least, we used yoga and positive thinking to practice being kind to ourselves. Our next goal is perform acts of kindness in the community. You can see the fruits of our labor as you walk through the main hall, please be inspired to share some kindness in your day.

Observations In the Garden

Posted by Mary Curran on October 27th, 2016

Kindergartners used their senses of sight, smell and touch to make keen observations in the Unquowa Garden. Each student was given a sprig of lemon thyme, sage, apple mint or rosemary to carefully examine and then challenged to locate in raised beds of herbs. Many kindergartners identified the scents of lemon and mint as they rubbed the leaves gently between their fingers. After students located their herbs, they recorded observations by drawing detailed pictures of the stems and leaves. Kindergartners did a great job honing their observation skills in the garden!

Tumbling Down

Posted by Megan Kirk on October 20th, 2016

The PreK-4 and kindergarten class did an excellent job performing on stage for the first time this year! The students have been itching to get up on stage for assembly, and we chose this song about fall to make their debut! When students first listened to this song we talked about the form, or the pattern the song had. As a class students used their “musical ears” to figure out which parts of the song were the same and which were different. We then labeled those parts with letters. In addition to learning about musical form students also learned about how to project your voice in a healthy way. We have a little friend “Bob” who is only an inch tall. When Bob is on our finger right next to us we can speak in a soft voice, but when he is sitting on the basketball hoop, like he was today during assembly, our voices have to reach to him without shouting! We use deep “belly breathing” to help project our voices. It is not as easy at it may seem! Getting up on stage at a young age builds such a sense of confidence and pride, and ou students are so lucky the will have many opportunities to perform throughout the year!

What, Me Worry?

Posted by Faith Barbuto on October 19th, 2016

What do you do when you are worried about something? They say worrying is useless and while that is probably true it doesn’t stop our minds from doing it. Worries can preoccupy our thoughts, keep us awake at night and keep us from enjoying life. How can we stop that? During a mindfulness activity, kindergarteners practiced letting go of their worries by putting them into bubbles and watching them drift away. Students were asked to voice something that worried them and then blow it into a bubble. The worries varied from personal things like nightmares or cuts to bigger concerns like forest fires and parents working late hours. It was wonderful to see the empathy in the children’s faces as they saw that many of us share the same fears. What a cathartic experience to watch our worries sail away with the breeze!

“Good Morning Your Majesty!”

Posted by Megan Kirk on October 11th, 2016

Actors often use their voices in many different ways! Kindergarteners practiced this with a fun game called “Good Morning Your Majesty.” In this game, one student sits with their eyes closed on the “throne.” Then a student is silently chosen to tip toe up behind the royalty and say “good morning your majesty” in a disguised voice. This could be a whisper, a squeaky voice, a deep voice, or any other voice the student chose to try. This game also helps students to realize they are safe to be silly in performing arts class and try new things, building a trust between their classmates and teacher.

You Know The Drill

Posted by Faith Barbuto on October 6th, 2016

Who says power tools and five year olds don’t mix? After a brief introduction to why we use drills and a quick demonstration, each student got the chance to wield their own drill. Students practiced drilling into a piece of wood, a skill that will be used often this year in the Gator Garage!

Did You See What I Sawed?

Posted by Faith Barbuto on September 28th, 2016

On just our second trip to the Gator Garage, kindergarten has learned how to tackle sawing! After learning how to safely carry and use the saws, each student took a turn at sawing into some wood. We learned how to clamp our wood to the table to keep it secure while cutting. We also learned that sawing can be tough work that requires determination. The whole class was elated when a piece of wood fell to the ground!

Apple Picking!

Posted by Faith Barbuto on September 28th, 2016

We could not have had a better day for our very first field experience. The air was crisp and the skies were blue as we boarded the apple train and took a scenic ride through the orchard. Students searched high and low to fill their bags with the perfect apples. Some couldn’t resist a bite on the way back! We topped off the day with a trip to the “cereal bowl,” a giant pit of corn kernels. Trust me, it is as fun as it looks!

Kindergarten is a Jar Full of Happiness!

Posted by Faith Barbuto on September 19th, 2016

Over in kindergarten we are busy exploring feelings, learning how to express ourselves and get along together. For one of our first mindfulness activities of the year the kindergarteners created a class “happy jar.” We each took turns thinking of things, people and places that made us really happy and then we shook some very pink glitter into a big glass jar. By putting all our happy thoughts in the jar we created a visual reminder of all the things that bring us joy and something to turn to when we need to be reminded of them. The jar now sits in our peace corner to be used whenever someone needs a little cheering up!

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Fairfield, Connecticut 06825
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