Native Americans and their Biomes

 We started our unit by studying physical maps of the United States. We also looked at and discussed maps that show climate, and precipitation. Then we studied the biomes of North America and compared their boundaries to the physical map.

            After reading about each biome and sharing what each had to offer in terms of plants, wildlife and “abiotic features,” we colored our own biome map of North America. Given all this information, the children were then asked to consider what the life of an indigenous tribe living in each biome would be like. They had to identify sources of food and water and other resources. Would the tribe be nomadic or settled? Our goal was for children to grasp how the culture of each tribe is affected by the geography of the land.

            In class the teacher modeled how to read for information about a tribe – we chose the Sioux. As we read from a picture book the children identified important information we will be using later. Children were then assigned their own individual tribe, and given picture books describing their homes, clothing, foods, and way of life. They soon learned whether their predictions of whether the tribes would be nomadic or settled were correct. Children looked for, and made notes about their tribe’s beliefs, tools and weapons, language (was it oral or written?) and its many art forms. To support their research each child was assigned an historical fiction novel set within their biome. In small groups children will share what important cultural information each author included in the book about the tribes living there.

Then each child started a long-term art project depicting the tribe they researched and illustrated as much of their culture as possible. 

Highland Forest, October 2014

In many schools children are taken on camping field trips to celebrate the end of the year, as a reward you might say. At the New School we visit Highland Forest twice a year. The first time is scheduled near the start of school, and the second trip is within weeks of the end of the school. Without question, the most important field trip is the first one because we continue to reap its rewards all year.

Giving children two days of outdoor activities where they can explore nature in a picturesque setting helps them get to know each other. It is amazing to watch children spontaneously gather and work together to build fairy houses, shelters, or to simply play games filled with imagination in the woods. These shared experiences help children build relationships that carry over and benefit their school experiences for the rest of the year. We expect each child at The New School to be able to work with every other child in the school. This is a huge expectation, which the children meet time and time again.

This year’s Highland Forest adventure provided hands-on opportunities to examine tree leaves. We looked at pinnate, palmate, parallel veined, and lobed leaves. We classified leaves and painted them. Children in groups of four or five built shelters from available resources in the forest after being told they only had 30 minutes to accomplish the task. They enjoyed this so much they want to return in the spring to spend two hours perfecting their architectural designs. The younger children looked for birds nests and other signs of birds in the forest. We all sang and danced around the campfire and listened to great books during the day and at night after snuggling in our beds after the lights were turned off. The greatest reward was that the children loved their time in the woods and getting to know each other. 

Westcott Cultural Fair

The Westcott Cultural Fair is always a festive way to begin our school year. This year, during Investigations, the children, expressing their love for books, created signs to carry . The titles of books they chose was wonderfully varied: Kensuke's Kingdom, Private Peaceful, Cat Warriors, Blues Clues, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, Diary of a Wimpy Kid and more. Then a few children said they wanted to create a float - so our wagon was transformed into a reading nook. At the last minute one of our older students came up with a slogan and helped make a big sign: WE VOTE FOR BOOKS!

James Pass Arboretum and our tree unit

The older students (ages 9 to 12) have embarked on a tree exploration. They started out looking at how trees grow – by observing their rings. We soon learned that not only can you tell how old a tree is by its rings, but you can also determine whether it was a “good” growing year or “bad.” Then each student was assigned a specific tree to study over the course of the year. They will observe the changes that take place in the fall, winter and spring. Our first field trip took place this week as we set off to visit the James Pass Arboretum - a resource in Syracuse that not many people know anything about.

“The James Pass Arboretum was donated to the City of Syracuse on Arbor Day, 1925, by Adelaide Pass in memory of her late husband James Pass. The 13.8 acre plot is at the City's west edge. Adelaide intended that her gift be used as a "scientifically managed collection of trees and shrubs able to survive the climate in Central New York."

Armed with a description of their tree, its habit, leaf, bark and fruit the children were sent on a scavenger hunt to find their tree in James Pass Arboretum! And they did. They found Amur Cork, Dawn Redwood, Red Oak, American Beech, Japanese Larch, Sycamore and the list goes on. There are 19 different species of trees in our study. The children then had to measure the circumference of their tree, sketch it, and make observational notes about its bark, leaf and more.

And as if that wasn’t enough fun, we were joined by two experts who volunteered their immeasurable expertise about trees and the arboretum. Tim Reglin is able to identify each and every tree in the arboretum and share information about the tree’s history. Tim volunteers daily in the arboretum to care for the trees. James Johnson, a master’s student of Plant Ecology at SUNY ESF, also joined us and helped children and teachers learn so many interesting facts about each tree.

Multiplication and Division

Students in the middle grades have been working on division and multiplication using our TERC series of Investigations books.  We've explored the number chart with skip counting, played games like Tricky Triangles, written riddles for our classmates to solve and completed worksheets on arrays.  We even read and solved riddles from the book Each Orange Has Eight Slices to inspire our own riddles.

Glimpses of After School at The New School

APRIL

We studied branches cut from a great variety of shrubs and trees, making drawings and labeling them as we thought about how they were different and how they were the same.

In the following days we created nests, weaving the beautiful curly willow, red osier dogwood and other slim strands, wondering how the birds manage the challenge without hands!

Of course, we next were inspired to put eggs in our nests, and spent many days using hard boiled eggs and empty shells, decorating them with dyes (which sometimes colored our hands more brightly than our eggs), acrylics and tissue paper collage.  Using push pins and a turkey baster bulb we blew raw egg from its shell, with riotous horking sounds.  Caroline took the slimy mess home to cook for her dogs.  They loved their omelet.

We made many fairy houses, inside and outside, and played fantasy games and ran around.  More kids joined After School the day of the Science Celebration, so we had an extra exciting afternoon.

MAY

We spent time finishing up work and projects from the day program, and continued to create our end-of-year secret gifts for classmates.  We liked making props for the Variety Show, and talking about what we’d be doing in the show.

Mary came to do yoga with us outdoors one beautiful afternoon, which was fun and challenging and relaxing.

We took a garden walk, talking about ideas for putting in our own garden, making a list of plants we’d like.  We played with hula hoops, batted whiffle balls, kicked up a soccer game, played basketball and catch.  The good weather is truly here.

We continue to play fantasy and wizarding games outdoors, and come inside ready for read aloud.  We have been exploring stories about respecting difference, and about cooperation, taking our time with the books, thinking and talking about what we hear.