Mrs. Wilson: Let’s Carve Out Some Fun!

Posted on November 2, 2019November 2, 2019 by Cynthia Wilson

This week the excitement of Halloween was in the air!

The children were taught a new song called 5 Little Pumpkins.
5 Little Pumpkins
Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate. (hold up one hand)
1st one said, “Oh my it’s getting late.” (point to wrist)
2nd one said, “There are witches in the air.” (point up and cackle like a witch)
3rd one said, “But we don’t care.” (shake head no)
4th one said, “Let’s run and run and run.” (motion running with arms)
5th one said, “I am ready for some fun!” (hooray motion)
And OooOoooOoooOoo went the wind and out (loud clap) went the light
and the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight. (roll hands around and around)

Food Tasting: Roasted Sugar Pumpkin

Each week the children excitedly gather on our circle and try to guess what food we will taste. The item is hidden underneath a towel and every time they always say apple. The excitement on their faces when I revealed the item this week was priceless. This was something that they are so familiar with, and most of the children find joy seeing its presence. “PUMPKIN!! A PUMPKIN!!!” I cut open our pumpkin for them to explore and see all the parts. Then we tasted the roasted pumpkin. We were very surprised that almost all tasted it and actually enjoyed the taste.

We ended our week on Halloween with some more fun! These children really love having dance parties. We played some fun Halloween themed music like Monster Mash. Now we are starting to see them mimic each other’s dance movements.

We also carved out a Jack-O-Lantern and the children had an opportunity to explore the squishy and slimy mass of pumpkin goop and seeds.

Mrs. Wilson, Miss Sara, and Miss Heather

Middle School: Happy Halloween!

Posted on November 2, 2019 by Michelle Lamb

We hope all our friends in the middle school community had a happy Halloween!

On Thursday, October 31st, we celebrated the Halloween spirit by dressing up in costumes, eating sweet treats, and marching in the school parade. We dressed up as inflatable dinosaurs, scary witches, super heroes, football players, Dunkin’ Donuts and many more fun characters. We enjoyed holiday treats such as festive cupcakes, apple cider, homemade cookies, and spider donuts. Thank you for your contributions to our class party.

It was wonderful to see our 6th, 7th, and 8th graders be leaders and role models in our school parade. They greeted all younger students with warm smiles and happy waves as they passed each other in the halls. Thank you to everyone who helped make this morning special and fun for our middle school students.

Upper Elementary: Nature Center

Posted on November 2, 2019 by Brian Comstock

On Monday, we kicked off the week with a fun field trip experience to The New Canaan Nature Center. First, the students learned about the watershed and how pollution, or introducing invasive species can impact a watershed. They completed a drawing activity to make connections in this lesson. We went outdoors to test the nearby pond water to determine the health of a local watershed. Back inside, we met two owls. One was a barn owl and the other was a great horned owl. We learned about owls and their diet. Afterwards, each student dissected an owl pellet, which is the regurgitated material that an owl cannot digest. They identified bones from different rodents that were contained inside the pellets. We concluded the week with some fun holiday activities connected to Halloween. I hope everyone had a safe and happy Halloween!

Halloween Fun!

Posted on November 2, 2019 by Karen Sankey

This week we enjoyed cooperative activities while celebrating Halloween. The children worked in groups of four and each group was led by a third grade student. They discussed and planned the designs for carving their pumpkins. First they discussed and came to an agreement as a group, then they sketched their plan out on paper. The following day, they made their sketches on pumpkins. After sketching their plans, they cut, scooped, and carved their pumpkins. This annual Lower Elementary activity is a wonderful way for the children to practice cooperation and compromise.

We had a great time wearing our costumes to school and participating in the Halloween parade through the hallways of school. The primary and toddler children lined the hallways to watch the parade as elementary and middle school students proudly displayed their costumes.

In continuing with our biology lessons, the third year students had the opportunity to visit the middle school science lab. Mr. Brown expanded on their initial lesson on seaweed and the children learned to use the microscopes to look at the cells of seaweed plants. They enjoyed their lesson with Mr. Brown and we look forward to more visits to the science lab throughout the year as the third year students continue their study of plants.

Mrs. Doyle’s Class: Stop And Smell The Pumpkins!

Posted on November 1, 2019November 1, 2019 by Michelle Handibode

Pumpkins can be found everywhere in October. Who knew this squat symbol of fall was ripe with opportunities for learning?

This week your children explored the life-cycle of a pumpkin. They read books and authored stories of their own. We used math to estimate the number of seeds and measure the circumference of our class pumpkin. We carved, then smelled, touched and baked the treasures found inside our pumpkin. Your children had fun exploring and learning from nature.

Pumpkins can be found everywhere in October. We have enjoyed sharing pumpkins in a new light. A seasonal hands-on learning experience that supports math, science, sensory, and language development, as well as curiosity.

Take time to stop and smell the pumpkins!

Enjoy your week!

Michelle & Jeannine

Music Time!

Posted on November 1, 2019 by Yun-Kyung Kim

: We love to play 4 Beat in one measure song.

: Sol in ‘Sorida’ song

: Down low, “Do”

: Partner dancing is fun!

: Dancing in ‘Dosido’ format

: “Shine like the sun”

: Everybody now!

All of the Lower Elementary students were experiencing and exploring musical concepts, which are meter, rhythm, beat, pitch, and melody. Third year students learned the meter of the song, exploring where the bar line lies, experiencing the phrase of the song. Second year students learned pitch of the musical note by singing ‘Sorida’ and moving with Kodaly Hand signs (Do Re Mi…). First year students experienced beat and rhythm through chanting, singing, and dancing with the song ‘Welcome to Music’.