Unquowa is a Family

Every Monday PreK students enjoy a visit from some seventh graders during their flex time. This week the seventh graders helped the PreK students choose a book from our Early Childhood Library.  Then our special visitors read the books to the younger students. To hear the music of the words was a delight for our young pre-readers. Unquowa is like a huge family where young and old care for each other!

Bringing Life to Reading

The 5^th grade literature class has been reading Baba Wagué Diakité’s A Gift from Childhood memoir. Scholars applied the reading strategy, reacting and connecting, while reading the book. We also decided to bring the book to life! After reading the chapter Catching Catfish, scholars taught each other a life skill, similarly to the character Grandma Sabou, who taught her grandson Baba Wagué the essential life skill of catching catfish, which is used both for medicinal purposes and flavorful soup.

5^th grade scholar Robert commented, “It was fun to learn about the different skills my classmates have. I was glad to learn from my classmate, Marianela how to make Arepas, which is a Colombian food.”  Marianela also stated that, “it felt good to teach my friends about something so close to my heart.” This assignment was a great opportunity for these young scholars to learn from their grandparents and parents a wide range of handy life skills such as sewing a button, wrapping a present, and how to mail a letter.

A Visit To The Local Firehouse

The second grade and PreK-3 classes went on a walking field experience to the local firehouse. Second graders are learning about citizenship and this walk gave them the perfect opportunity to show their understanding of what it means to be a good citizen! They were responsible for making sure the younger students got to the firehouse safely – and they took their responsibility very seriously! The firemen also proved to be a great example of what it means to be part of a community and a strong citizen.

Literature Collaboration Begins!

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!

Learning from the Pros

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!

What Color is Music?

Today the PreK-3 students and 8th graders came together for a special music class. We started the class with eighth grade students reading the book, My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss, to the younger students. The three-year-olds loved how the 8th graders made the book interesting with their dramatic reading! After reading the book, the 8th graders prompted the PreK-3 students with questions about colors and feelings. “How do you think the author of the book was feeling when he had a brown day?” “How was he feeling when his day was orange?” The 8th graders shared their color feelings with the class as well. Then we listened to four different pieces of music. Some were upbeat and energetic, and some were quiet and slow. The 8th graders worked alongside the PreK-3 students to choose colors and shapes to show how they felt while listening to the music. It was a wonderful way for the students to reflect on how music can make you feel so many different ways!