Starting in February, our third, fourth, and fifth graders began a unit of study on Matter in Science class. Students began by learning the definition of matter before diving deeper into the different states of matter, molecules, and changes in matter. Students have…
When students were first asked what they knew about the life cycles of living organisms, they shared a variety of thoughtful ideas and prior knowledge. Although each child could initially identify at least one stage or concept related to life cycles, students became…
The students in 2nd and 3rd grade participated in these classes. At the beginning of class, students were asked what they knew about coding, and they shared a wide variety of thoughtful and creative responses. It was interesting to see that, even though students knew…
After exploring microscopes, students moved on to genetics. Students learned about Gregor Mendal and the genetics he discovered in his garden with yellow and green peas. By doing surveys and questionnaires, students explored traits of themselves and their classmates….
Our K-2 group has moved from studying explorers to studying maps and mapping. We read several books about maps. We thought about what maps are for and why they are important. We looked at maps that showed many different types of information. We studied the…
This spring the K-2 group studied fossils. We looked at the layers of the earth and learned about the Law of Superposition that states that, unless disturbed, oldest rocks,and fossils are further down in the layers. We learned about the main types of fossils including…
While we were preparing for a mock trial on the 1969 Tinkercase, the oldest students explored music and poetry that changed the world! As we listened and read songs by John Lennon, Bob Dylan, Marvin Gaye and Sam Cooke we asked ourselves ‘What is a lyric?” “How are…
This spring after learning about the Constitution and the three branches of government, we turned our attention to the Bill of Rights. Next we focused on the 1969 Supreme Court ruling on the Tinker versus Des Moines School District case. At issue was whether freedom…
Starting in late January, four of our second and third graders began a small-group “book club” focusing on the story “Snake and Lizard” by Joy Cowley and Gavin Bishop. We began our group by examining the front and back covers, book jacket, and illustrations to…
This winter and spring of 2026, students in grades 6th, 7th and 8th have been learning about plant and animal cells. We started our cellular exploration by looking at many parts of the cell and learning about the most important parts that help the cell function. …
In the winter and spring of 2026, the third and fourth graders continued their study of early American history. We delved into information about Plymouth, Massachusetts, Manhattan Island, Jamestown and more. Students have read and responded to questions based on the…
In Science class, students learned about the water cycle. In the first experiment, they observed how collected water evaporates and condenses inside a glass jar representing our earth and its atmosphere. We observed how the water droplets pull together and become…
First- and second-grade students have been participating in Listening Center. During this class, children listen to a story without looking at the pictures. While listening, they draw a picture related to what they hear in the story. They may begin drawing at any time…
The third and fourth graders this fall have begun to learn about the history of the 13 Colonies. We started this unit by reading a book titled Small Wolf by Nathaniel Benchley. In this book, a young native boy discovers people on Manhattan Island that he has never…
Inspired by the teaching of Kenneth Koch, and his brilliant books Rose, Where did you get that Red and Wishes, Lies and Dreams, students in grades 4, and 5 explored their poetic talents, some for the very first time. Each class began with a mini lesson, which included…
Adrian, Caelum, Arcadya and Cora were part of a book club reading Alexander McCall Smith’s Akimbo and the Elephants. Children were assigned to read a chapter of the book each week. Some children read independently, and others read out loud to a teacher. In class we…