April 16- 20

This week we continued our studies on the biomes of Australia.  We studied the plant and animal life of the wetlands, the grasslands, the deserts, and the tropical forests.  We learned about so many fascinating plants and creatures: the archer fish, the kangaroo paw, the barramundi, the crucifix frog, the compass termite, the red kangaroo, and the platypus were a few.

We began our studies on simple machines with a fun discussion about how in the world we would go about  moving an elephant from the Norfolk Zoo all the way to our school.  The children came up with a number of creative solutions that set the stage for our discussion about what simple machines are.  We began by learning about the inclined plane.

Poetry studies are well under way and the children are learning about different kinds of poetry and poetic devices.

Our new reading groups are encouraging the children to dig deep into literature.  Everyone is enjoying their group and participating with enthusiasm!

In spanish we are learning the parts of the body.

We ended our week with a fabulous trip to the Norfolk Zoo.  Our class had a tour of the zoo by one of the zookeepers that lasted about an hour.  All the animals were particularly active and it felt as if they were giving our class a show!  The tigers were the highlight of the day!  They went for a swim along the glass as we got to watch =)  After our tour, we split into small groups and the children did some first hand research on an animal of their choice.  We enjoyed a picnic lunch and some playground time in Lafayette Park following our time at the zoo.  It was a great way to end a wonderful week back at school!

playful tigers

Trail of the Tiger

busy researching

great trip!

HUGE Aldabra tortoise 

End of March Summary

I am happy to deliver a summary of lessons and events that went on in the classroom over the past few weeks!  March was a very exciting time in the elementary classroom!

In history, we discussed the concept of B.C. and A.D. as well as B.C.E and C.E.  The children had a very impressionistic lesson that included lining up two thousand chains along with 12 golden beads to get a visual impression of how long 2012 years really is.  It was fun to find the beads that represented our birth years on the long chain.

 The children were enthusiastic to help raise money for Preston's March, an organization working to pay it forward to provide adaptive bikes to disabled children.

In art, we studied Jackson Pollock and had a chance to do a little "action painting" ourselves!

Spring is officially in the air!  We enjoyed a walk with extended day students to look for signs of spring all around.

Our first Elementary World's Fair was a HUGE hit!  Thank you all for making it a special day for the children.  

We began studying the biomes of Australia.  We started by learning about the plants and animals of the temperate forests of Australia.  We learned about the river redgum (eucalyptus) tree, the tailed emperor butterfly, the kookaburra, the frilled lizard, the White's tree frog, the river eel, and the koala.  The children broke out in song when we discussed the kookaburra remembering a song they learned in their primary years when studying the continent of Australia!