Earth Day, Africa......

Here are some highlights:

The week began with an Earth Day celebration.  Buddies wrote letters to congressmen urging them to protect Monarch's habitats. The K/1's contributed planting seeds in the newly created Monarch Butterfly Waystation. In Language Arts we read books about the earth and discussed best ways to be "good" to our planet. 

A big thank you to Jordan and Gareth for their fun presentation on African animals, South Africa, and the Masai people. Gareth's sense of humor was quite a hit with the K/1's. Gareth is from South Africa, and Jordan (Katarina's aunt) lived with the Masai Tribe for a week.

In First Grade Math the children studied the patterns and colors of Kente African cloth.  They created detailed patterns on strips of paper.  

On a couple of beautiful sunny days we enjoyed a few hikes.  We stopped at "Tire Island" a couple of times.

 Gareth and Jordan prepared a game for the children.  They played animal sounds and the children had to guess the African animals.  It was truly a lot fun!

 A very loud trumpet played at ceremonies in South Africa.

 A picture and jewelry from Africa.

Gareth gave the children coins from South Africa.

First Grade mathematicians studying Patterns and colors of Kente cloth during math class.

Creating our own African designs.

Swinging from a tire or a tree branch in the beauty of the outdoors gives us so much joy!

Until next time,

Liliana

Africa and.......

We are continuing to have fun with our study of Africa.  Guests continue to enrich our study.  In Language Arts/Social Studies the K/1's are studying the continents.  They located the continents on the globe and maps.  Also they can find Africa on the globe and can tell how to locate Kenya.  They are learning directions and places near the equator.  See below to find out what the children are doing in Science.

A very big thank you to Robert Gibbs for volunteering to teach the children about West African weaving - see below. Also, this week, the K/1's began weaving during math class.  They are using hand held looms, yarn, and needle to create strips of simple patterns.

Max with his mom, our guest reader, reading Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain - a Nandi tale from Kenya, Africa.  Max's mom also read one of Max's favorite books. Thank you for visiting!

 The K/1's are studying climate.  Kate used lamps, a globe, and thermometers to demonstrate how the sunlight hits the earth. The K/1's learned why it's so hot at the equator.

 The children compared the temperature in Kenya with the temperature in New York State.  The lamps demonstrate different angles of the sun.

 Robert shows the children Mali and Cote d'Ivoire on the map.

 Robert taught the children an African word which describes the importance of community: UBUNTU The word means:  "I am because we are."

 Robert produced and directed the video "Patterns of Life" The Art of West African Strip-Weaving for the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art.

Along with the video Robert showed the children photos of patterns used in weaving.  The children were quite interested in the colorful patterns.  Robert also taught the children weaving words.

 In Science class the K/1's are exploring seeds.  Beans were placed in moist paper towels and plastic bags to observe sprouting.

 The children made observational drawings of the seeds.

Anastazia's grandma spent the day with us Friday as substitute for Zoe.

Until next time,

Liliana