PreK Beach Day!
Posted by Faith Barbuto
We spent our last full week of school studying vowels and symbiotic relationships, pretty high level stuff! Of course the highlight of our week was Beach Day – it was non-stop educational fun from beginning to end. We started the day with our auction winner helper, London, painting our feet! These footprints later became mermaids and the students answered the question of whether the mermaid should choose love or family. Students created ocean themed movement and breathing cards to bring home for some mindfulness on the go! Next we went on mindful imaginary journey to the beach and our first round of 5th grade reading buddies recorded what we would see, smell, touch, taste and hear at the seashore. They also brought us heartfelt cards and homemade gifts, bookmarks! For our first snack we made savory versions of edible oceans. Our math project was based on a mermaid story about finding the courage within. We made bracelets of courage to remind us to be confident and made extras to present to our 5th grade reading buddies. Next out to the playground for sand box and water toy fun! After a pizza lunch and ice cream truck treat we put on our swimsuits and got ready for the main event- the octopus sprinkler!! In a moment that made the day truly special, the class was joined by some of our favorite 8th graders for some old fashioned childhood fun. Next up our second hands on snack- this time a sweet version of edible oceans. Judging by the pics this was the winner!
Teacher Olivia!
Posted by Thomas Iezin6th 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 EngelkeUnquowazine 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 kellyyehFrom 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 BarbutoWhile 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!”
Eclipse
Posted by Faith BarbutoThis week we have been learning about things in the night sky. We started with a moon craft made by painting on black paper with a salt water solution that turned white when dry. We also learned about what makes day and night in preparation for the big event on Monday, the solar eclipse! Students all took turns being the orbiting Earth while another student playing the light giving sun shone a flashlight on them. Through this activity we experienced why some parts of the earth see light while others are in darkness. To create a visual representation of the solar eclipse we started by cutting out a white circle and taping it to a blue paper. Then each child traced around the circle with a yellow or white piece of chalk. Smudging the chalk was the fun part! We removed the paper and were left with what the sun will look like when the moon is in front of it during the solar eclipse on Monday.