Pre-Primary

Our early activities have focused on helping the children become more independent in the classroom.  They have practiced rolling mats and walking around the mats.  Carrying trays is a lot harder than it sounds.  If you aren't careful, things fall to the floor and make a big mess!  Our newest skills are squeezing a sponge and sweeping.  We get a lot of sweeping practice every time we have snack.  This independence gives the children such a sense of pride in a job well done.

Music with Derrick and rhythm with Susan are very popular.  Our class likes to sing and play the percussion instruments.  The children are already asking, "Is it a Derrick day?"  

 Busy at WorkBuilding Concentration

Primary 1

Primary I has been a bevy of activity these first few weeks. New and returning students alike have been exploring all the new work in our room.  All about me would sum up our first few days. We shared pictures of ourselves and families. We talked about our pets, favorite foods and favorite things to do.  We also talked about friendship discussing what makes a good friend, and had grace and courtesy lessons on respecting others words and work space.

The art and practical life areas are the most popular in our room, followed closely by the sensorial and language areas. Don't worry though, this class can be seen working in all areas throughout the morning.  We are very pleased with how hard working this group is as a whole. There are many times they express disappointment when they are called to the line to prepare to go to the playground. They'd rather finish their work than go outside!

This month we’ve begun our exploration of the senses, first by naming and identifying the five senses. We have had many lessons on nutrition to complement our first sensorial exploration - the sense of taste. The kids have already the had the chance to identify the different types of taste, as well as connect them to the foods we eat.  This began last week with apple tasting and applesauce making. Look out for your children's sensorial observations in the upcoming month.

Primary 2

We have been able to begin more group lessons as our classroom has started to normalize.  We are starting this week with an overview of trees.  As the seasons start to change, so do the leaves on the trees.  Our collaborative art project consists of painting leaves that represent the end of summer which we will attach to our classroom tree.           

In the last couple of weeks, we have begun to slowly add more lessons to the shelves as the children have become more accustomed to life in the classroom.  Some things we have added since the beginning of school include coffee grinding, season sorting, color wheel, and parts of the tree.                 

We've enjoyed having Derrick and Susan come twice a week to lead us in music and rhythm.  The children love taking a break from the busy morning to let loose and burn up some energy!

Music with DerrickColor GradingContinent Work

Peanuts

We have had a great start to our 2014-2015 school year. Our Peanuts are so excited to learn and try new lessons that it makes my job fun. Each week is packed full of activites.

On Tuesdays we have PE. So far we have dribbled balls across the basketball court and practiced throwing a Frisbee into the soccer net. The best part of PE is that the Peanuts get to play on the elementary playground.

Wednesdays are very busy for us. Right after lunch we head across the street for our library time. Everyone gets the opportunity to check out a book and take it home for a week. We discuss library etiquette and the importance of a calm, quiet voice in the library. Then we head to the drum room for drumming. I have to admit this is my favorite time. For the next 30 minutes we learn and practice West African drumming. Susan has already started teaching us a traditional West African rhythm that we will perform at Soup and Song in November.

Fridays are also busy and a lot of fun. We have special lunch on Fridays. This is where we practice our grace and courtesy lessons. It is so much fun to set up the tables with our placemats and special dishes; they really love the “real” candles that we light. Each Peanut is making a place met to use for special lunch that he/she will take home at the end of the year. We will also take a field trip at the end of the year to a nice restaurant where we will get the opportunity to practice all the grace and courtesy lessons that we have learned throughout the year.

After Special Lunch we have art, which has been very exciting. Wassily Kandinsky is the first artist we’ve studied. We have recreated his Farbstudie Quadrate by painting circles with different types of containers.  The pieces turned out very nicely. Peanuts have decided to host an art show in the spring. Peanuts will each choose an artist of interest to research. The date will be announced in the spring.

We’ve had so much fun in such a short time.  I can’t wait for what’s coming up next.

Elementary

Our year is off to an exciting start with an eager group of students and the new students adjusting beautifully.  The teachers have been busy assessing what students know and planning for their academic progress.  We look forward to sharing this information with you during the upcoming parent conferences.  In the classroom, we have sprouted many seeds to examine roots, identified numerous caterpillars, watched a spider eat a tasty grasshopper, and had a two-day team building field trip including an overnight stay in the Elementary Building and a visit to the Geology Museum and CU Planetarium.  There’s nothing like building a paper fire inside because of rain and "roasting" marshmallows for s'mores in the microwave! Our community goals this year are cohesion and cooperation, and respect for the environment, fellow students, and teachers.

 Planetarium
Climbing Wall