Wonderful World

Inspired by the work of Eric Carle and Leo Lionni all the students at The New School first made paper for their collages. Using acrylic and tempera paint on matte and glossy papers, textures and designs were created with various objects. Then students were asked to identify a repetitive shape from a landscape and to create a pattern. The landscapes displayed reflect the wonders of our world – the sun, volcanoes, ponds, flowers, trees, lightening and underwater coral reefs.

Giant Steps by John Coltrane

The children listened to John Coltrane’s Giant Steps and were asked to paint what the music made them think of. We then read Chris Raschka’s book of the same title. As they painted children shared their visions:
Giant Steps made me think of:
Marina: the ocean and how it is so active.

Maia: the wind is blowing the leaves around, crazy like.
Mae: a cheetah, sneaking up on its prey and it is raining, so they are under some trees. The cheetah is hiding in the grass.
Lola: first a pencil forming. Then I thought of a snake going really fast. Then I had this feeling it was roaring. Now I noticed that it is like Snoopy’s song. Dancing on the instrument.
Savannah: calm water and a crazy sunset.
Gulliver: a rain forest
Ace: the past and present and the future. That is why I decided to draw a castle and a building.
Alaira: a park with lots of trees during a rainy day.

Sarea: rain, squiggles and hearts.
Muta: jail in the rain.
Dash: two people playing music making people fall asleep.
Greer. people and cats and lots of animals being loud and making noise.
Jonas: Max, Ben, Eyeruse and me sitting around a table listening to music.
Ben: a platform with a whole bunch of different colors flying around it.
Max: something completely random, weird telephone booths, sprouting out of the ground and a rain forest growing around in circles. People walking crazy.
Eyeruse: colors and all random shapes popping up in different places and disappearing.
Ciara: people dancing and a stage with music notes coming out.
Autumn: total chaos.
Zerbie: movement, chaos, within order and dancing.
Monae: a stage with people dancing and swirls around them and disco balls.
Neona: people dancing in a dark room with sudden light.
Nick: a chase scene.
Martin: swirly swirls of different colors, abstract dots of different colors
Nora: colors.

Anthony Salatino is Mystery Guest

Anthony Salatino became this year's first Mystery Guest at The New School. Tony is the choreographer of Syracuse Stage's production of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Our smart children were able to figure out in 3 minutes why he was at the school and then Tony answered their questions. 

Here are a few examples: 

Lola:  (re dancers, especially the creatures capturing Aslan)  They must have a lot of practice.  Tony: Yes!  They had 5 weeks of practice.  We call it rehearsal.

Dash: Did you decide when they were dancing around in a circle?  Tony:  That’s a good point.  They didn’t want Aslan to escape, and the way they showed they needed to keep him was with a circle.  A circle can mean different things.

Nick:  Were the noises the animals made real animals recorded?  Tony: Yes, for the Lion’s roar, and the Wolf.  The rest of the sounds were from the actors.  Nick: The Lion and Wolf could also be made by the voice.  (Gives examples.)

Mae:  I was looking at the table when Aslan was gone.  He comes from back of the theater.  Why does he do that?  Tony: He comes from the back of the house—of the theater to make it dramatic.  He’s coming from the other world.

Bubbles

Everyone has played with bubbles at some point in their life. However, many people may not think about what a bubble really is. What makes a bubble a bubble? Six of the students in grades 4-7 investigated the science behind soap bubbles through hands on experimenting. While we were doing our experimenting on bubbles and their properties, we recorded our findings to each experiment on charts. Then we discussed our data together as a group. Areas of bubbles that we focused on were surface tension, cohesion of molecules, clustering, the variables that lead to so many different brands of soap and the properties that lead to a bubble popping or not popping on particular surfaces.

Shakespeare Lives

During snack each week we have been listening to the plays of William Shakespeare as retold by Bruce Coville. We started with Romeo and Juliet and then moved on to the dark tragedy, MacBeth. In our discussions we have talked about the characteristics of a tragedy and spent much time getting to know Shakespeare's characters. Which ones did we most admire, revile, or enjoy? Soon we will move on to learning more about William Shakespeare, the playwright and how theaters were developed in the Elizabethan era. Once a month Shakespeare Movie Night will allow us to watch Shakespeare in action. The first film we watched was West Side Story. A lively discussion followed about why Leonard Bernstein changed the ending of this version of Romeo & Juliet. After learning about William Shakespeare and hopefully building a model of the Globe Theater we will listen to Midsummer Night's Dream and enjoy memorizing some of Shakespeare's famous words.

Place Value

In our place value class, five students learn how to use the number grid to quickly add and subtract numbers. Along the way, students explore how there are many ways to get a single answer. Students learn the value of the ones and tens place, as well as how to move up and down the hundreds chart by other methods than simply counting by ones. We are exploring the different patterns that can help students navigate the chart.

The Dragonling Book Club

Sometimes doing what is right is not what is easy. Four of our younger students are learning about this through the book The Dragonling by Jackie French Koller. Here students try to put themselves in the shoes of the young boy in the book, Darek, who is going against the wishes of his village in order to save the life of a young dragon. Throughout the book, students are asked to reflect on key themes that run through the book such as loyalty and values. Would you be able to go against the norms of society in order to do the right thing? The students try to put themselves into Darek’s shoes by writing diary entries, having group discussions and using this book to make connections to other books, the world and their own lives.

Worms are Fun

What fun our youngest students had learning about worms! We were lucky to have live worms to study and draw this fall. We observed how worms moved and dug their tunnels. We also conducted an experiment to see whether worms like to be in the light or dark and wet or dry. Although some of us still think worms are “yucky” we all agree that worms are wonderful workers, helping to loosen soil and digesting rotting matter to make food for plants. Here we are with our finished display of our drawn and bas relief worms, labeled inside and out.

Wonderful Water

Molly Molecule is a song that you may hear around the New School in the coming weeks. She is made of H2O (which is water you know). Stay tuned for more about Molly and her adventures in the water cycle as we learn in science class about where we find water in the world, and how we use all that wonderful water!

Decimals

We began our decimal class by making connections between decimals and our last unit on fractions. We discovered that decimals are fractions with denominators that are a multiple of ten. Comparing decimals came next as we placed ourselves in order on a giant number line according to the decimal or fraction card chosen. We had fun creating our own decimal word problems on graph paper with problems involving sharing chocolate bars and cake. Then we moved on to learning how to properly line up decimals in order to add or subtract them. Subtracting across zero was tricky but what joy when we were able to complete a problem on our own! Playing Decimopoly has been a favorite game request on contracts. We are moving on to percent and have been making matches of an equivalent fraction, decimal and percent. We will once again use our giant number line to add our percent cards. This has helped us to have a better understanding of whole numbers and parts of a whole.

Worms

Students in grade 2 spent 6 weeks observing worms and their behavior. First we predicted whether worms prefer light or dark, prefer moist or dry areas, and how they react to touch and then we set up experiments each week and watched them. We witnessed within minutes that worms like dark and moist surroundings.

Together with the youngest students we created a mural showing their preferred habitat and their predators.


Finally we each created a graphic poster showing what we learned about worms in words and pictures. We learned how worms help the earth,we learned about their predators, what they eat and much more.

Light

A good question can lead us to a lot of learning. How do you see with your eye?
We started our 6 week unit studying the human eye. Each week we learned about a new feature of the eye. So far we have learned about the iris, the pupil, the lens, muscle, retina and optic nerve.

Then we asked, Which light sources would you not want to be without?
We considered many objects that give off light but life without the sun we could not quite imagine! While all objects reflect light we were interested in identifying in the school objects that are light sources.

How does light travel?
Mirrors helped us answer this question. We learned that light travels in straight lines. We learned that a mirror reverses what we see. We learned that depending on how we set up mirrors we can change how many bears were in the reflection! We could even make the bear disappear!

What is the difference between translucent, opaque and transparent materials?
We will enjoy experimenting with these materials and using what we learn to create shadow puppets.

Finally we will observe how white light is made up of different colors. Now, how will we do that?

Water Cycle

Over the last five weeks second graders were part of a science unit learning about the water cycle. Students have been learning about three parts of the water cycle: evaporation, condensation, and precipitation. Students learned a song to help them remember which way the water moves in each phase of the water cycle. During this unit we created a mini water cycle in the classroom; this helped the students understand and see the three parts of the water cycle first hand. At Highland Forest these students were the "experts" as we introduced a "Water Cycle Game." 

Probability

For six weeks in September and October students in grades 4 to 7 were part of a class learning about probability. We started the unit by having a mystery bag in which there were ten cubes. Students had to pull out one cube at a time and then put the cube back; they did this ten times. Then students made a prediction about what color cubes they thought were in the bag. They repeated this process two more times. We also did an activity to see what color M&Ms you are most likely to get in a bag; then we combined all our data together to create bar graphs to compare how different bags of M&Ms did not have the same amount of M&Ms in them. 

Book Club: Tuck Everlasting

Many of the older students have been reading the book Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt. Each time the book club met the students were given a set of questions on a bookmark that went with the next section of reading. Students were challenged to look beyond the text and search for answers to questions. Lively discussions took place as students talked about important concepts and ideas of the story. 

Writing Workshop: Living Forever

The fourth through eighth graders have been working on a writing piece based off the novel Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt. In the story the main character is faced with a challenge to drink from a spring that could make her live forever. Students were asked to choose whether or not they would want to live forever. For some students this was an easy question to answer. For other students this was a hard question. Either way it got the students thinking.

How Many Seeds are in a Pumpkin?

K +1st grade students explored how many seeds are inside a pumpkin.  We started out by reading part of the book How Many Seeds are in a Pumpkin by Margaret McNamara.  After we read about how the class in the book got messy and goopy emptying out pumpkins, we estimated how many seeds we thought were in each pumpkin and got messy ourselves!  Then overnight we let the seeds dry and started counting them the next morning.  Each pair decided to group their seeds in 10's and then count by tens to see what the totals were.  It took us two class periods to count up all the seeds we had!  We finished reading our book and learned that the size of the pumpkin isn't the deciding factor in how many seeds are inside.  It depends more on how long the pumpkin was left to grow on it's vine.  Our cleaned out pumpkins are now being used for fairy houses out in the woods.

Graphing

Students in the intermediate grades explored the many ways you can display data. The first information or data we considered was a list of our birthdays. How could we display this information so it would be easier to read and compare? Bar Graphs were the answer. Our graphs displayed the months of the year and the number of birthdays that fell in each month. We learned how easy it was to then compare and contrast.

Next we looked at the information/data we could record from a handful of pennies. First we created a table, recording the year the penny was minted and the number of pennies in that set. We used tallies to help us keep track. Then we created another bar graph to show this information.

Now it was time to learn about line graphs. Here we looked at a table showing the change in temperatures in a single month. The zig zag of our line graph showed how the temperature increased and decreased, day by day.

Most recently we turned our attention to pictographs. Here we discovered how a picture or symbol on a graph could communicate how many students were in each grade. We read and discussed pictographs where the symbol represented 2 items or 10.

Music with Ken

For many years Ken Hynson, Zerbie’s Step-Dad, has volunteered once a week to come and sing with the children. Each week he alternates singing with the younger and older students. Children learn the lyrics of songs appropriate to each age group. We have loved singing Puff the Magic Dragon, My Mother Gave Me a Nickel, Blue Suede Shoes and The Engineer and the Monkey. Thank you Ken for bringing music to the New School. 

Highland Forest Camping Trip October 2011

On October 6 the children at The New School set out to enjoy an overnight camping trip at Highland Forest. The weather was spectacular - blue skies, temperatures in the 70’s and yet there was a chill in the air during the night. The wood stoves in the cabins fixed that!

On Thursday we hiked in mixed age groups and went in search of a field! Not an easy task at Highland Forest. In the field we played Who Am I. Children had to guess which animal they had secretly been assigned and in the process discussed the interdependence of plants and animals in a field. Hiking back to the cabins we were divided into groups and played Habitat Hunt. We challenged children to appreciate the diversity of plant life as they looked in groups for shape, color, texture, size and signs of animals.  

At Skyline we sat in groups and admired the stunning landscape. Children were challenged to record what they saw in their sketchbooks. After some free time we played Treasure. Parents began to arrive around 4 pm and at 6 pm we were treated to a delicious potluck, followed by campfire introductions and a sing along. After games of flashlight tag, bedtime stories it was lights out at 9:30 pm, and if you were lucky no trips to the outhouse during the night.

On Friday before we headed out on our hikes children revisited the Water Cycle Game. Our second graders were the experts! Friday’s hiking groups were divided into two groups of older and younger students. The older students were challenged to build a shelter that could keep out water! One group was successful when a glass of water was poured onto their “roof.” The younger students went on a scavenger hunt with a partner.  The hardest thing to find in the woods was litter! As we were searching for animal tracks, three beautiful horses walked by and provided the evidence we needed. A good discussion took place as to whether horse poop could be counted as an “animal track.”  Each day we played Flash Flood, Camouflage and Dead Bug while hiking through the woods.

Children returned to school tired, dirty and full of good experiences.

From Europe to the New World

For the older student, our early American History unit began in September with a study of the early explorers to the New World. The students were divided into four groups (countries): Spain, France, England and Holland. Each group is responsible for researching and presenting information on an explorer from their country. At school we have traced a map of the world, which will soon show the travels of Robert de La Salle, Henry Hudson, Sir Francis Drake, Ponce de Leon, Cabaza de Vaca, Giovanni Da Verrazano, Samuel de Champlain, Francisco Vasquez de Coronado and John Cabot. Students will also be writing a short text about their explorer, which will be added to the map. As we read, discuss, watch videos we are learning that these men explored for many different reasons. They sailed across the Atlantic to conquer, to colonize, to chart, to convert, to find riches, and to find a shorter route to the riches of Far East.

Pilgrims

Students in grades K-2 have been "time traveling" back to 1620 to explore what it would be like to be a Pilgrim setting sail on the Mayflower.  Counting by 10's, up to 390 years, students crawl through our time travel tunnel to go back in time and talk about what life is like in the 1620s and how the world was different in those days.  During classes, we have discussed how people in the 1600's knew what the world and globe looked like, why they would want to leave Europe for the New World, what they could and couldn't take with them, how long it would take to cross the ocean and the size and shape of the Mayflower.  We even went outside to measure with our bodies how long 90 yards (the length of the Mayflower) would be!  We measured from the tall grass by the gully all the way out into the parking lot, but decided that 102 passengers in that distance was a small space.  And we decided that it would be much better to be a child on the Mayflower because the ceilings were so low!  Students are currently taking on the role of one of the children that were on the Mayflower and exploring what it would be like to go on such a long sea voyage so many years ago.

Silent Sustained Reading (SSR)

 SSR is a great time for students to sit down and enjoy the pleasures of a good book.  But during this time of day, there could be more than just silent reading going on!  Many days you could see students reading to older or younger students, students reading to adults, adults reading to students, students listening to a book on CD or students participating in an online reading program.  Although the type of reading varies, the intent is still the same.  Students are reading for 40 minutes each day.

Wiggly Worms!

All of the students at school this fall have participated in science classes where they are learning about earthworms.  We have read worm books, discussed and observed worm body parts, tested whether worms are sensitive to light and dark, and whether they prefer moist or dry environments.  The younger children are creating a diorama of the worm's habitat and designing graphic posters which share what what they have learned about worms. Although all students are not comfortable touching the worms, we’ve seen quite a few students make great observations about this subterranean creature.

Gym

Gym time is an active time.  We play lots of different games and split into all different types of groups.  On this day, we had multi-age groups.  One group played a tag game while the second group enjoyed playing with the parachute.  We encourage kids to play safe, fair and hard in every type of gym game we play.  We always start gym games with a talk about what we're playing and end each game with a circle where we can discuss the positive parts of the game and the parts that we could improve upon the next time we play.

Contract Time

Contract time can consist of many different things happening all at the same time. Here are some photos of children playing a game, working with a teacher, working on their own and playing in gross-motor centers. We're off to a great start this year!