Block Centers

 Every day kindergartners and first graders enjoy opportunities for creative play. In small groups of three or four, as they play with blocks, cars, geotracks and marble runs, they learn how to collaborate, share ideas, and negotiate with each other. The children have also collaboratively designed a landscape of popcorn kernels, rocks, and twigs, explored  seashells and a variety of sea creatures in the ‘water table' and most recently playing with our "Tree House" has encouraged rich conversation about the rain forest as tree frogs and insects jump from layer to layer !

Cats and Dogs

The youngest students have been exploring different ways to make 12.  In class we've had discussions and demonstrations of how if we had 12 cats and dogs, that could be represented with pictures and numbers.  Each student was challenged to find all the ways to make 12 with cats and dogs and then explain how they knew they had found all the different ways.  Some students used chips to help them count, some used their fingers, some did the counting in their head and others used the pictures of the cats and dogs.  Students are next practicing their skills with finding different ways to add to 11, 16 or 21 - using turtles and frogs!

Martin Welych-Flanagan

Humane Society of United States published this article about Martin in their September 13, 2010 issue. 

Orders for his bracelets continue to pour in!

Paper making with Holly Greenberg

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Originally uploaded by New School-Syracuse

Video of Holly Greenberg showing children how to beat the bark!

Poem in a Pocket Day

Twas brillig, and the slithy toves. Did gyre and gimble in ..... Hugh Humphreys came to share his love for reciting poetry, to jumpstart our enthusiasm for Poem in a Pocket Day.  Hugh, a retired judge, writes for the Madison County Historical Society, and is an artist, whose work is at the Gerrit Smith Estate National Historic Landmark (GSENHL) and National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum in Peterboro. 

Zerbie reading Lewis Carroll's Jabberwocky 

Hugh Humphreys

Papermaking Field Trip

Holly Greenberg with students

Holly Greenberg with Lola

Max, Syris and Alaira enjoying the slime

On November 2, 2010 the whole school visited Holly Greenberg, (Gulliver's Mom) at Syracuse University's Comart building to learn about the ancient Chinese art of making paper. The children learned the Kozo bark first had to be cooked, then pounded. Each child was given the opportunity to pound away! The pounded Kozo was mixed with water and some okra slime. Many of the curious children asked to dip their hands in the slime!  Finally each student had a chance to sift and and swish the bark, first in one direction, then the other. Afterwards the paper was transfered from the bamboo frame to a wet felt.  This part of the process is called "couching" which literally means "putting the paper to bed.

Quin making paper

Greer transferring the paper to the couch

Weekly trips to Soule Library