Mrs. Adhikary

Take Five Yoga: The Fs of Life

2011-02-18T17:29:00.000-05:00

Take Five Yoga: The Fs of Life: "The facts of life are pretty simple. You're born and like the brilliant contemporary philosopher and comedian Chris Rock says, no matter wha..."

Pennies for Peace! Stone Soup.

2010-06-08T22:07:00.001-04:00

YAY! We did it! We managed to raise $169.00 all in the name of Pennies for Peace. What an enlightening journey we have gone through! Much like Ollie was sharing with his parents when we initially began the project, maybe, one day our students might make a trip to see the schools that we have helped build. Wouldn't that be awesome?

Parents, friends and above all students of SK, thank you for taking this project so seriously and opening your hearts, and your piggy banks! THANK YOU:)

On Friday, our class went to TCF Bank to exchange the pennies that we had collected since April. Oh, what joy the students had seeing the pennies go down the express exchange teller. The numbers went

up and eventually the machine was overloaded and help was called for. We got to see the inside of the machine; what a treat it was for the children. The biggest highlight for me was to see the children all screaming when they got to see the 100 dollar bill, "Hey, it is Ben Franklin," they screamed. Then they hugged each other and said "Yay, a group hug!" Well, Baskins Robbins was next door, and I wanted to give them a special treat. You can only imagine what followed after...enjoy some of these pictures.

Whoops! Nearly forgot, we happened to have a pretty exciting day even before the trip to the bank... we had a feast of Stone Soup ( prepared by our class)and bread baked by Susans' class.The whole school joined us! Please, excuse how randomly placed the pics are, I was just so overwhelmed with joy I had to share these a.s.a.p!!

The Secret Garden!

2010-06-04T08:47:00.003-04:00

"I really enjoyd bing at the Garden. it was beuetafull. i think Joeina wort really hard on the garden. the roses were just like in my dream, and all the other flowres wher like my dreams too." writes Amelia, who is sitting peacefully and reflecting the serenity of the Secret Garden. The others are admiring the roses and sketching on their clip boards. They come back to school and make more drawings.

This morning we were able to visit and explore an English Secret Garden. Yes, Joanna's peaceful and exotic garden! My students and I were delighted to get a tour and learn about numerous plants names and examine their seeds. It was beautiful to see the students exploring the paths, looking at the lily pads and fishes and petting Eclipse (cat), listening to the tranquil flow of the water. The highlight was listening to Joanna narrate a story; How the Whale Became, by Ted Hughes. (Did you know the whale was originally a plant in a garden?!)

What an incredible journey we have covered, this past month, with plants and growing things.

Joanna, we would like to thank you from the bottom of our hearts, for taking us to visit your Secret Garden.

This is a tour that will stay with us for a long long time I'm sure......

Eyes in the dark / Secret Garden/ County Farm Park / Live Redwood Burl/ Nature walk ....and much more

2010-05-29T16:23:00.001-04:00

What has eyes, but cannot see?
The potato! The little bumps that grow on a potato's skin are called "eyes". An eye can grow into a new potato plant. A potato is a tuber. A tuber is a fat underground stem with little buds, that can grow into new plants. Students are in a hurry to see them grow, dig out potatoes and make them into fries......hmmmmm, let us see what happens...

Do plants only grow from seeds? We are experimenting to see whether they can grow from roots, seeds, leaves and stems.....

Thank you, Nick Giardino ( David's dad) for helping us make a raised bed. I asked my class what they would like to plant in our own little garden, they said, unanimously, a secret garden with pretty things in it, just like the Secret Garden! (We had read this book in the fall and they took me by surprise when they mentioned it. It is one of those books that stays with you, I guess.) So I asked, "What kind of pretty plants?" They said, something really beautiful to come back to, since school is almost over. I couldn't disagree. Each of my students asked to plant something entirely different.
We loaded our little wagon and went to beautify our new found raised garden-bed and planted a rose bush, strawberry, pumpkin, tomato, sun-flower and coconut palm.

Students all came up with brilliant ideas as to what we could do with our plants in the fall.
1. Out of the pumpkin, make a jack o' lantern in the fall.
2. The children who come for summer camp could eat the strawberries.
3. The rose bush will keep on growing and they could enjoy looking at the roses.
4. Since the coconut palm is a tropical plant, it will not survive the winter so Amelia is going to re-pot it in the fall, take it home and care for it.
5. The sunflower seeds could be used to plant it next year or eat the seeds for snacks.

This morning we had a lovely surprise from a mom who had just come back from visiting The Muir Woods. The students were in awe to see the pictures of these gigantic trees. We are experimenting by growing ferns from a redwood burl. Thank you, Mrs. Godwin, for bringing us such a precious gift.

We went on a neighborhood nature walk looking for something exciting. The children were busy with their clip boards, trying to sketch an exotic plant that they spotted.

What an amazing month it has been exploring and learning so much about the greens in our lives; in and around our school and the Matthai Botanical Gardens!

Plants and growing things

2010-05-05T16:48:00.000-04:00

This morning I read "Planting Wangari's Trees of Peace", by Jeanette Winter. It is the story of Wangari Maathai, winner of the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize and founder of the Green belt Movement.

After I was done reading, this is what my children said: "If we do not have trees, Earth will become one big desert." "We cannot go on cutting trees because we need nature to live." "Trees help us breathe better, trees provide food and animals live in trees." "We breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon-dioxide, so we are helping each other."

"The Earth was naked. For me the mission was to try to cover it with green."- Wangari Maathai.

It was a glorious day in Spring, so we too were in a mission to explore the woods right on our back yard. I handed my students a clip board, paper, pencil and inch tape measure and off we went and transformed ourselves into Dendrologists.

Since the Farming theme in October, we have discussed living and growing things numerous times, and have done different experiments on seeds / plants, including math (multiplication with seeds, measuring the growth of a plant). Children nonetheless were excited to discover the woods in a totally new light. Maybe it was because of the clip boards and the new name that they had just learned - dendrologist. It was absolutely phenomenal to see our kids becoming silviculturists! They were jotting down, asking questions about the different species of plants that they saw and discovering the age of a tree by measuring and counting the rings. We looked at healthy plants and dead ones and observed that they were dead because of fungus growth in them. The children were exceptionally quiet and listening for sounds; they heard some birds singing and suddenly they spotted a toad and went wild!

I too am going wild, trying to cover so much about this beautiful theme of plants and growing things. What would we do without "the greens, the colors" in our lives I wonder...

Introducing Pennies for Peace at Summers- Knoll School

2010-04-24T16:10:00.002-04:00

Among several things that I really admire about SK, community involvement is one of the best. Well, this time we are venturing out, going a little bit further or rather way out there- helping build schools in the Eastern Hemisphere. We are collecting pennies for "Pennies for Peace" and joining in with philanthropist Mr. Greg Mortenson, founder of Central Asia Institute, in helping build schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan (schools mostly to educate young girls).

His Holiness the Dalai Lama has said numerous times, if children from very early on are introduced to compassion, it helps them develop their brain and they function much better as they mature. This is why I was exhilarated to begin this project.

This afternoon, we first read "Listen to the Wind", followed by watching a documentary on Pennies for Peace. Children were really engaged in the documentary and watched it in great silence. From time to time they asked numerous questions. They were flabbergasted to know that with ONE PENNY students can buy a pencil in those countries: and were equally astonished to hear that $1.00 is all they need for their monthly fees. (Our students all together echoed... "Oh my goodness.") I can only imagine what was going on in their minds! As soon as it was over (I had prepared a jar for every classroom and some pennies to start with) children started putting pennies in the jars. I heard some students say that they had some coins in their wallets and that they would like to give right away. It was so gratifying to see how giving our children are.

Let us all try to help ...by building peace.... one school at a time. Please, give generously.....every penny makes a mighty school. Thank you.

Water H2O - water is life -

2010-04-16T08:19:00.000-04:00

April showers bring May flowers.

I am excited about this month's theme WATER. Nearly three-quarters of the Earth's surface is covered by water. The water that the dinosaurs drank millions of years ago is the same water that we drink today. Will there be enough for a more crowded world? WATER IS LIFE.

Here are some topics that we will be learning about:-
1. What is the world made of? (All about solids, liquids and gases.)
2. Land and water forms- Ocean and seas - rivers and lakes. Children will experiment making lakes, islands, peninsulas, straits, gulfs and much more...
3. Experiments with water- Did you ever drink blocks?
4.Where do we get our drinking water?
Experiments:
a. Recycling water b. Polluting water c. Making drinking water.
5. What does water do?
a. Floating on water b. Moving up and down.
6. What is so unusual about water?
a. sticking together b. getting bigger g. melting away.
7. Fun with water.
8. How hot can it get?
9. Why do we have to store water?
10. Only 2.5 % of the Earth's water is fresh, what about the rest- 97.5 % ? What do we do with salty water? Can we drink it?

We have done few experiments already! Children are asking for more to quench their thirst.

I will keep you posted.

Gooooooooooooood Friday!

2010-04-02T19:38:00.000-04:00

What more can any student ask for on a Friday?

1. Dssecting owl pellets with our buddies. ( Thank you Mrs. Carpenter for everything).

2.Watching a Bill Nye dvd on the water- cycle.

3.Soaking in the Sun / sand/ snacks at the County Farm Park.

The Dino and the Frog - written and illustrated by Amelia , Quinn, Oliver G. Oliver S. Sophie, Grace

2010-03-26T20:32:00.000-04:00

Once upon a time there was a Dino, he saw a Frog. The Frog was hopping over. Seeing the Frog hopping and enjoying himself, the Dino felt a little jealous, because he couldn't make all those jumps.
Suddenly, the Dino started bragging and said, "Ha, I can run faster than you." The Frog was listening quietly, while the Dino wouldn't stop boasting. At this time the Frog got quite annoyed and angry. He then said, "Well , in that case, shall we have a race?"
Meanwhile, a Rabbit was watching the whole scene from afar. He says, " I will be the judge, you can race to the river and come back." The Dino says, "It's a deal."
The judge Rabbit shouts and says, "On your mark, get set and go!"
So the Dino starts running fast, and the Frog is hopping steadily about 6 miles behind. When the Dino turns back, he can't see the Frog. So he says to himself, "That Frog will never catch up and I am feeling hungry." So then he goes over to a farm nearby and starts eating plants. He eats and eats, until he can move no more. He then turns back and still does not see the Frog. So he says, "Oh! I feel lazy and sleepy, after that big feast. I am going to take a nap." Then he sleeps and sleeps. He is dreaming about him holding a trophy and everyone cheering and throwing confetti and saying "Go Dino go..."
Meanwhile, the Frog is is hopping at a steady pace. He goes by the river, comes back. As he was about to step on the finish line, he hears the judge Rabbit say, "Bravo you made it!"
The Dino was looking in disbelief, far behind him.
THE END

Morals from the children-

Do not brag / Be happy with what you have / When you are doing something, do not race and try to finish , but do your best!

Oh, what a joyous moment!

2010-03-23T08:20:00.000-04:00

I couldn't have asked for a better moment!
My children have been working hard on units/ tens/ hundreds/ thousands ( the decimal system). I am delighted that they have understood their place values very well. Some also have great number writing skills, while others are improving and working diligently. This morning I introduced number scroll writing. They first started writing units ( ones), then tens. After they completed one decade, they had to glue another strip and so on. Seeing how their number scroll was growing longer... and longer..and eventually wider as well, especially, when they came to the hundreds, they were getting such a kick out of it. It was delightful to see how much the students were enjoying themselves. They were completely absorbed in what they were doing! They would not stop! Periodically I would quiz them about the numbers they were writing. For example, I would say, "You are writing 13, how many tens are there, or how many units?" It was delightful to watch them being so involved; pausing to think, and then moving on to write and glue their strips.
I just stopped for five minutes and was observing the joy, in them. This is what they all had to say: "Oh, math is so much fun." "I do not want to stop, can we PLEASE do this every day?" "Oh, my goodness, I can't believe how long my number scroll is." " When my mom comes to pick me up, I am going to show her my math work." "Can I just go on writing my number, and not go for recess?"

What more could a teacher ask for? :)

It tied in so well because the older students were doing similar activities in math as well, at their level, outdoors. (They were doing scientific notation, measuring on the side walk.) So, when they came to invite our class to come observe them, our children were simply thrilled!

Math: Overview of the Base Ten System ( variations) / enjoy

2010-03-09T16:28:00.001-05:00

March: book study / author / illustrator / Aesop's Fables

2010-03-03T08:28:00.000-05:00

Aesop's Fables (borrowed from Wikepedia)

Aesop's Fables or Aesopica refers to a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a slave and storyteller who lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 560 BC. His fables are some of the most well known in the world. The fables remain a popular choice for moral education of children today.

There are so many wonderful authors to choose from. I decided to choose Aesop's Fables because

children can discover Aesop's wit and wisdom. They can make connections to the animal characters, whose adventures teach them wonderful life lessons. Each story concludes with a moral that captures the stories theme, still as relevant to children today as it was to the ancient Greeks. I will be reading different versions of Aesop's Fables retold by different authors from around the world. My favorite is from four time Caldecott Honor-winner Jerry Pinkney. His spectacular pictures reflect the singular skill and insight of the fables' original author; through them, one can touch the wisdom of Aesop reaching across time, from almost 2,600 years ago.

The children will explore the stories in different ways, including developing their own stories. Our children will make fables on their own or as a team project.

The older children will read fables to the class and then lead a discussion on what values each one of them learned. Parents are encouraged to ask about the moral value and lessons about human virtue.

This is a theme that allows us to develop our skill in language arts, history and culture, and social understanding. Who knows what else the children will discover and bring to our studies?

As a little girl, I loved reading Aesop's Fables, and for the longest time I would remember how very clever the crow was to quench his thirst by adding stones into the pitcher! Another favorite was "The North Wind". I am confident that by the end of this month, our children, too, will have many favorites and will remember them for the rest of their lives

What can you do with fingers/ toes and shaving cream?

2010-03-02T21:14:00.000-05:00

Multiplication by fives and tens!

Learning to write and read!

Food Gatherers: a lesson in compassion

2010-02-24T18:25:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, our class went to Food Gatherers to donate food. This was a life enriching experience for all of us. It was absolutely thrilling to see our children giving something meaningful to the community. This is where a seed of compassion has been planted, in them. We had prepared for the expedition with stories and discussions. Then we carried our food to the bus. The children were all huffing and puffing, saying, "My goodness this is heavy." At the same time , they would help each other out by saying, "I can help you carry." It really brought tears to my eyes.

When we arrived at the facility, we were greeted by our coordinator, Missy. She loaded the trolley, and then she took us to a conference hall with an enormous table. The children were all so excited to be sitting down next to this gigantic table. They kept on saying, " I bet the President of America sits at this kind of a table," and

"Oh, my daddy has just like this one at work." Missy read a story about Carl the Carrot, which explained and how they rescue food, and where it goes to. Then she gave us a tour of the ware-house. The children walked out through the freezer and were amazed to see how big it was!

One of the great things about Missy was that she really understood how children need to be involved in order to learn properly. When she weighed the trolley with the food, the children participated by guessing how much it weighed. Well, the whole thing weighed 111 pounds. Then she asked the children to stand on the weighing machine. Again, she asked them to estimate how much they all weighed. They took all kinds of guesses; the answer was 358 pounds. Then another volunteer came and helped unload our food unto the weighing machine. Our donated food weighed 58 pounds. So then the challenge was for the children to figure out how much the trolley weighed!Now, a fascinating lesson on sorting took place, as our children shelved the items according to where they belonged. Finally Missy told them about volunteering, that they had all volunteered. Ollie said, "Oh good! I am going to tell my mom, then we can come to volunteer together." Yep, parents, they need all of us - and what a great opportunity to share a really meaningful experience with your children.They were equally happy to see the donors list and to learn that next year our school's name will be posted there as well. Parents, thank you for all of your donations and and for supporting a wonderful Valentine's experience: life is beautiful!The children also enjoyed connecting with the Architecture them, as Missy explained to them who designed the building and why it was so big. One of the walls was painted orange, as the logo for Food Gatherers is a carrot. (They chose a carrot because everything in a carrot is edible, nothing goes to waste - a good thought for young minds to ponder)

Celebrating Winter : Thank you parents, teachers, students for making it a smooth ride

2010-02-19T21:33:00.000-05:00

Uof M Museum of Art / Russian architecture

2010-02-12T11:02:00.000-05:00

We took a field trip to experience the phenomenal architectural beauty of the UMMA, so that the children could see first hand how both the old and the new buildings have been exquisitely connected into one. The minds and skill of the architects has blended masterfully in two elaborate buildings, built almost a century apart. Imogen made our tour very rewarding by giving us a presentation about the design of the columns, helping the children to notice the details of how they were put together and why. We also thought about questions like why the old wing has dim light versus brightness of the new one, why are the windows in the new wing frosted? The new Frankel Family Wing has more than doubled the museum's size. The new wing does not have any round columns (like the ones in the old wing), but rather square ones, which blend in with the walls. We went up the new stairways which are made from tan wood and came out from the old spiral staircase which is quite spectacular. The children were delighted with the Dialogue Table- a fascinating interactive learning tool. Our children asked many questions. I'm positive that this visit will stay on their curious minds for a long time.We have also been spending time learning about Russian Architecture. Dr. Dubovoy ( Sophie's mom) comes from Russia. She gave us a spectacular (powerpoint presentation) tour of many different eras of Russian architecture- from the Medieval Russia - 988 until modern Russia. It is surprising to know that once upon a time it was only the churches that were built out of stone, with intricate designs.The classic onion domes first appeared in Novograd in the 11th century. Our children were so mesmerized by these amazing buildings that some of them have made beautiful designs and colorful domes as well...

Architecture is the theme for the month of February.

2010-02-02T18:29:00.001-05:00

From prehistoric pile dwellings to the impressive structures of the Roman Empire and the towering skyscrapers of today's biggest cities, architecture tells the story of human history and culture. On every continent, major buildings offer enchanting insights into the people who built them. This is an alluring topic to study. I am really enthusiastic about it. Students will be covering different types of architecture, but focusing mainly on skyscrapers: some of the tallest structures in the USA and around the world.
Children seem enchanted with skyscrapers. They often ask, "Are these tall buildings built in the sky?" We are taking advantage of this fascination to focus on skyscrapers. The first skyscrapers were built in the USA. Their popularity has spread over the years. Now we can find these towering giants in cities around the world. A skyscraper is like a small world in itself. Imagine thousands of people going to work at the same address.

We had a great discussion about what all is required to build something: land, permit, architect, bricks, cement, concrete, sand, steel, lumber and the list goes on.
This morning our young architects chose their piece of land (paper, shape, size... they had to design within that piece of land). They first had to think about what they would like to build. They then designed their building, using geometric shapes and adding how many pieces of squares / rectangles / triangles they used all together! Sean said, "he loved this activity". In the afternoon, children closed their eyes and thought about the kind of house they live in, and then drew it out... Please keep on coming to our classroom and enjoy looking at different buildings that the children will be designing.

Blogger: Mrs. Adhikary

Secret number / Can you guess what number that might be?

2010-02-02T13:51:00.000-05:00

Secret Number:
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
clue :- 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

1. It is greater than 12
2. It is less than 16.
3. It is even

The secret number is____14_____

We did this math yesterday. The children were all very quiet , when they were listening to my direction.... think ..think.. think.. Suddenly Oliver G. said , " I know what number it is, it is 14. So he got up from his chair and went and crossed 14. Then the others said, " I was going to cross that one out, too". Parents, this is a fun way to talk about -- odd / even / units / tens , when you are driving !

CAVE:Growing our own stalactites and stalagmites.

2010-01-31T16:32:00.000-05:00

Roly ploy Amelia.

What must have taken a million years for the stalactites and stalagmites to grow in a cave, we grew our own within an hour. Oliver Schutt kept on saying, " oh my goodness, I don't believe this, this is amazing".

We had also done an experiment on layers of the Earth with jello. It was a project that lasted for five days, the first day we made the inner core. The second day the outer core the third day mantle and the fourth day the crust. On the fifth day we enjoyed eating the layers, for some children they participated in the experiment , but, got to eat ice cream instead.

A poem

by Amelia Marks

The stalactite
was flying a kite
and I got a bite!

(

The way to start a day is appreciating nature and its beauties.

2010-01-28T22:18:00.000-05:00

For my birthday I received a vase with gorgeous roses from all of my friends at Summers-Knolls. I wanted everyone to enjoy these beautiful flowers! Someone must have picked from faraway places shipping them to the flowershops with care.
This morning my students were shown how to arrange flowers. One even said, "I'm going to make a beautiful creation," and they did, each one of them. Then they carried their flowers carefully and placed them in different areas all around the school. They all seemed really thrilled to make their special arrangements. What a joy to see this activity!
I've included a picture of a book I just added to our Peace Library. It's a wonderful read with lovely pictures that are all about appreciating nature. There is a glorious image of a sun and I have to share that when Amelia saw the illustration, she asked which direction was east. When I pointed towards the east to signal where it was, she put her palms together and bowed a silent, "Namaste."
I couldn't have asked for a better birthday.

Adding by Double Digit Numbers :)

2010-01-26T17:03:00.000-05:00

I introduced double digit number addition yesterday.The children are enjoying it thoroughly and understanding it as well. I started as a game with one student, and now everyone wants to do it.YAY. This morning children got clip boards with paper and pencil and were making their own problems. " math is so much fun" said one student . I had a big smile on my face and said, " totally"

Echolocation- seeing by hearing / Is air moving in or out?

2010-01-22T19:36:00.000-05:00

Why do bats have big ears? How do they see by hearing? Our class wanted to experience, how it must be for a bat , without hitting a stalactitie or bumping into a wall, how each bat hunts its food and locates its spot on the ceiling in the dark part of a cave? Our children discovered that it is not easy, we had one bat , who was blindfolded, the bat had to listen to a moth ( another student making sound from somewhere in the classroom ). The bat held his big ear ( a paper funnel that they made) and tried to eat that moth by following that sound. The children discovered that it is not easy! Someone said, " I was bumping everywhere, and it was too dark, I don't want to be a bat".

Is air moving out of the cave or in?

When the wind blows: Is air moving throough the cave? The children experimented this by holding a piece of paper down. Some said the paper was moving towards the twilight zone, hence air is flowing out , one student said, "her's was moving into the cave "!

My wish for tomorrow.

2010-01-20T21:04:00.000-05:00

It is amazing to know how well informed our children are about Haiti and the devestation that people are going through right now. I took the opportunity this afternoon during our " buddy time " and introduced something about what we could wish for tomorrow. I read a few poems that children all over the world had written about their wish. Our children were equally compassionate talking about, hunger, war, peace, and helping each other. Here are some of their hearts speaking out.

Some children took their projects home , and some thought it would be nice to leave it at school. Enjoy looking at them.

Caves- Ice Age- Formation of caves and Magical-Lofty-Cave.

2010-01-11T17:24:00.000-05:00

A Cave is a hollow space in the Earth's crust. Some caves are narrow, natural tunnels that run just below the surface. Other caves are miles long, forming deep holes in the Earth's outer layer of rocks. Most of the world's caves are found in the limestone region.-Step into a cave and you enter into a world of mystery.How did it come about? Why is it so spooky?What is creeping or crawling in the darkness?Has anyone else ever been inside? We are trying to solve these problems by doing quite a bit of research.Reading many books, videos , internet and experimenting by turning our " reading loft" into a " a magical-lofty-cave". The children have gotten so excited, that they are coming up with brilliant ideas and questions!They have turned the inside of the cave into " prehistoric times "and have made many drawings.We have stalactites growing from the ceiling and children are working on stalagmites.We are also learning about " cave dwellers", " the Ice Age". Did people really live in these dwellings? How did they survive? What did they eat? How did they cook? What did they wear? My kids are becoming " speleologists".This afternoon we did an experiment on layers of the Earth-The Inner core-we are going to make a different layer daily-Outer core-mantle-crust.( A big ThankYou to Paul Schutt for building our cave) Children are enjoying reading in this magical lofty cave.( parents please come and enjoy looking at it).

Yoga - Concentration- relaxation- calming exercises.

2010-01-01T17:33:00.000-05:00

In our classroom children have been practicing yoga since September- I am a strong beleiver that yoga really helps us in balancing mind and body in different ways.I have been practicing yoga for almost a decade now.I strongly beleive that children can concentrate better with practice and helps make the class rooms climate very peaceful.We practice silence games few times a week.This helps children relax.When it comes to relaxation, some children have difficulty in closing their eyes or being silent.Yoga helps channel these behaviors in a positive way.Our children are practicing different poses and postures.Some of these may seem easy, but, it requires a lot of concentration.I have explained to my students about breathing and how we can send oxygen to different parts of our body,how these postures or exercises helps our mind and body; how we can have positive thoughts and above all , how we can be at peace.Also, how we can work with each other, how we can develop team skills and teach each other!It is such a joy to observe children helping each other and children teaching their friends and me some other yoga poses that I may not know. Parents enjoy seeing some of the poses that our children have been practicing and ask how or where in their body these poses helps! The most gratifying feeling is THEY are asking for MORE!

Last school day-pajama fun/ games/ good bye to Lucas & Arvid

2009-12-20T21:06:00.000-05:00

Young architects designing and trying out a play station for our pets this morning!

2009-12-15T20:36:00.000-05:00

Bravo! Sean for bringing Oreo, out of the cage! Arvid and company designed a "fun play station" for our pets this morning, while we were cleaning the cage!

It is soooooooooooo easy!

2009-12-11T21:56:00.000-05:00

I noticed that some children came in without scarves, As it is getting COLD, I thought it would be interesting and rewarding for our children to make something by themselves, and actually wear them; rather than go to a store and buy the genenric brands.
So this morning , I measured my students height, then I explained to them that we would go to Joann fabric store, pick out their favorite fleece and make a special custom made scarf. It was such a gratifying moment to see our bright and energetic kids walk smartly into the store.The children were overwhelmed to find so many varieties! They chose their fabric and went to get it measured and cut . When they approached the sales person,each of them said, " hi I am 47" tall "or whatever they were, and saw their fabric being measured and then cut, they were ecstatic! When we returned back to school , the kids measured the ends of their scarves, depending on how many inches of tassle they wanted. They cut strips out and Voila! ... their scarf was ready to wear. David, Quinn and Amelia said, "it is sooooooooo easy to make ".They would not let go of their prized possesion!

Winters funland!

2009-12-09T20:14:00.000-05:00

.Nature's wonderland is HERE!!!!!!!!!

Serene Nature

OutingWonderland

Sample of different types of math children are working on and enjoying!

2009-12-04T22:45:00.000-05:00

Library / Dr. Benjamin Franklin

2009-12-03T19:23:00.000-05:00

This afternoon our class went to Mallet Creek Library.When my students came to know that Benjamin Franklin started the first library and invented the library chair ( rocking chair), they asked me whether we could visit the library and see if we could find some of his inventions.Since this is a very modern facility we could not find a library chair.Nevertheless, Mrs. Rachel gave us a good tour. We checked out two books on Ben Franklin.When Mrs. Rachel asked my class where we were from, David then took the lead and answered very graciously that we were from Summers-Knoll and that we were learning about Benjamin Franklin and hence the visit.

A million thanks to Dr. Benjamin Franklin for starting a library and opening the doors of knowledge!

Library

Benjamin Franklin-WRITER,INVENTOR,STATESMAN

2009-12-01T18:40:00.001-05:00

December is the month where we are learning about Benjamin Franklin, one of the most important and interesting people in the history of the United States of America! When we think of Dr. Benjamin Franklin, we think about his many inventions- inventions which he originated more than two hundred years ago. It was as if Ben Franklin could see into the future. Almost everything he created is still very useful today , many of which we could not do without!

This afternoon, I took a vote with my students as to which book of Benjamin Franklin they wanted to read.( I had four)They chose Benjamin Franklin ( writer, inventor,statesman) by, Pamela Hill Nettleton, illustrated by Jeff Yesh.The children were all relaxing / laying down on their cushions beautifully.As I kept on reading, they were all so much into Ben Franklin, that any time I mentioned an invention that he had made they would say, " oh my gosh". Their eyes kept on getting bigger and bigger! They were so immersed in the book and all the wonderful inventions. It was such a joy to see this reaction :) When I told them about the " library chair and the writing chair ", they all started clapping their hands and wanted to know more and more. Furthermore, when I was telling my students about " Poor Richards Almanac" and some of the wise sayings- "early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise," one of my students said, " I go to bed at seven thirty and I get up early, so I can think." Then started a great discussion about healthy living and eating! I cannot express how very happy and connected I felt with my students. What a joy to see them learn and enjoy life! Then they wanted to draw and write something about Ben Franklin in their journals. Here are some interesting facts that our children said this afternoon....enjoy.... it is precious!

Learning to tell time / Clock-work.

2009-11-17T21:03:00.000-05:00

What is the best way to tell what time it is? A clock!

Our class is learning how to tell time!

An hour is sixty minutes long.It takes an hour for the big hand to go around the clock. When the big hand is on 12, and the little hand points to a number, that is the hour!30 minutes make half an hour. There are 3 ways to say time to the half- hour. For eg. we say 7:30, thirty past the hour or half past seven.And that a clock also has 4 quarters. One quarter- hour is 15 minutes.The children have made their dinner time, bed time, math & recess time.......They made their own clocks to bring home!

The New Seven Wonders!/Explorations-

2009-11-15T20:37:00.002-05:00

On Thursday when we walked into the school, Mike was very focused in building a tower. He made a tall, magnificent tower which was literally touching the ceiling from the table. The children were all very delighted to see how concentrated Mike was. So somebody looked at me and said, "Look at this Wonder." I smiled and said, "Indeed SK's magnificent tower!" I was very excited; what a beautiful way to start The Exploration Class. I was really impressed and couldn't wait to hear what my group had to say! The explorers are: Alec, Max,Veda, Sophie,Grace, Emi. I asked my group why they chose The New Seven Wonders? They had some very interesting things to say:-Alec was fascinated by architecture and wanted to explore Chichen Itza! Max said that, "he and his grandfather are always discussing about the wonders, and he wanted to explore The Taj Mahal".

We talked about the following:- in which continents and countries the wonders are? Why/ how people chose these wonders amongst so many magnificent structures? Why are there eight wonders, when it says Seven only?And a lot more! I am so excited that Max and Alec are going to be good mentors for our younger ones. In fact they were helping them build The Taj Mahal with blocks.

I will update more about our wonders soon.

Nature Walk/ Beautiful day in the neighborhood!

2009-11-13T19:09:00.000-05:00

This morning the k/1 class went on a Nature walk deep in the woods of county farm park. The children discovered many bird nests, moss, different types of berries and dried plants like Queen Ann's Lace. We were really quiet and listening to sounds of nature and heard the cawing of Blue-Jays.It was a beautiful day in the neighborhood........

Electricity / Magnetism (continued)

2009-11-12T21:38:00.001-05:00

We have covered quite a bit on electricity and magnetism. We discussed that everything is made of atoms. The air we breathe, the book we read,the floor under our feet, even our own body are made of atoms!Atoms are very very small.The tiny parts of the atom are called electrons. Electrons circle around the nucleus or center of the atom!Every electron carries a tiny amount of electrical energy called a charge.There are two types of electrical charges- positive and negative. Electrons have a negative charge and that protons carry a positive charge.To make electricity we need energy. Energy is found in many of earth's natural resources:- water, wind, coal ,gas.Wind , sun , water are all renewable energy, we can use it over and over again. Where as coal and oil can be used up . They are nonrenewable energy.We watched couple of Bill Nye videos on magnets and electricity. And came to know that electricity flows to every electronic device on a looping path called a circuit.Electricity has a special relationship with magnets.Magnetism can make electricity.We did couple of experiments with a compass and a balloon and discovered static electricity!The children had a wonderful time.They thoroughly enjoyed learning about Thomas A. Edison and how curious he was as a little boy.Here are some pictures.... enjoy....

This months theme @ SK is Electricity/ Magnetism!

2009-11-05T06:57:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we had a good discussion in our classroom about Electricity! Benjamin Franklin was the first person to help people understand the principles of electricity. Thomas Edison changed the world with his invention of the electric light bulb! And how electricity has dramatically changed our life styles. When my students heard that before electricity became available about 100 years ago, homes were lit by kerosene lamps, food was cooled in ice boxes and that homes were warmed by wood- burning stoves or coal stoves and how people dug holes outside their homes and stored their meat and perishable food in them for the winter, they were in disbelief and said, "Oh my gosh." So we grabbed this opportunity and did a survey in the school. I divided the children into two groups. They went to the different classrooms, the office, the dining area and the kitchen to see what gadgets and appliances they could find. They were writing down on their clip-boards and came across more than 25 different electrical appliances! They were so thrilled to inform us that a stapler too, was an electrical one. They even wrote down defibrillator! Today with our buddy friends we were able to experiment with magnets. They found that magnets have a north and a south pole. Magnets repel each other. They attract only iron and steel.This is only the beginning!

We will be learning a lot more through videos. Yesterday we saw one on magnets. (Thanks to Mrs. Carpenter.) We will read many interesting books and do some more research and activities on electicity. We will go back on time and see how our forefathers lived. We might go to the Hands-On Museum and learn more about electricity. This weekend children will do some research at home, where they will discover the electrical gadgets and appliances that they use on a daily basis. We will learn about flash-lighta and batteries, who discovered them and how they got their name... and a lot more.... I will keep you posted.

For now, here are some pictures... enjoy.

Eco-Fair /A grand finale to our farming theme!

2009-10-31T08:44:00.000-04:00

What could be more gratifying than to see children walking into the school with costumes that they have created with recycled materials. Bravo! Thank you, moms and dads for helping with this very satisfying feeling and enriching your children's lives. You are educating them from a very young age to know that they can have fun by designing their own outfits versus buying costumes which may give satisfaction only for one evening. We teachers had fun being creative as well. Children were artistic and inspirational to one another, making arts and crafts out of recycled materials. Here are some pictures....enjoy.

We also had time to read stories! The most rewarding thing to see was that children asked to work on their "work- books" at the end of the day. It gives me such joy to see the children so interested in their work and their studies.

Buddy time/ making butter

2009-10-21T19:13:00.000-04:00

Every Wednesday Mrs. Carpenter's students come to our classroom, for an hour. It is very enriching and rewarding to see the students interacting with one another.For the older ones , this is the time when they can be the leaders, mentors, teachers and feel very confident about themselves. For the younger ones, thay are simply thrilled to do everything with the older ones, they look up to them as their role models. We have done different activities , where the older ones have read to the younger ones. We went outdoors and explored nature, students made leaf- crowns, leaf rubbing activities. I had given a presentation about Nepal. We also went to Elaine's room and saw a video on Farming.Today to tie in with our Farm theme, the students made butter! Yes, real / fresh butter right in our classroom. Mrs. Carpenter brought some jars and buttermilk. She poured some butermilk in the jars. Students were shaking the jars and using a lot of their muscle.... and voila.. they made butter. They then spread the butter in some crackers/ bagels and what a special treat it was. They kept on snacking !What a neat avtivity this would be to do on a rainy day at home.

Veda enjoyed listening to the story and doing some puzzles in our classroom. Then she and Amelia went to the dining area to have their snacks.
Enjoy the pictures from " buddy time".

North African Feast ! What a treat!

2009-10-18T20:49:00.000-04:00

Thank you! Chef Alex Young/ students/ Joanna/ and all the parents for organizing this AMAZING FEAST! It was nutritious/ delicious.Jan , you and the students were phenomenal ..bravo..to all who participated in the circle dance.Jesse/ Renatta ... who would have thunken? You two were awesome.Once again, it feels very special to belong to this wonderful community/ family - Summers-Knoll School.

Howell Nature center

2009-10-17T20:26:00.000-04:00

We did it!The children were all super troopers. They were bundled up very well and I was amazed to see, that by the end of it all the adults looked kind of tired , but the children were little energizer bunnies! Thank you parents for being so supportive.
This was my first experience going to the nature center. I thoroughly enjoyed it as much as the children.It was a nice time to bond with the parents and to see the children from a different perspective!
We had signed up for these activities:-
Wolves/ Canoeing/ Animal Tracks/ Native American Drumming.
For those parents, who would have loved to come but, could'nt , please make sure that you ask your child something about these activities.The children were very much into all of them .We all became detectives and had to solve some mysteries on animal tracks.It was refreshing to see how they were helping each other out.
I must say that we all enjoyed the drumming/ dancing and making up our own beat the most. Enjoy the pictures:)
We missed those of you that could not come , perhaps another time?

Huggy Froggy

2009-10-17T19:53:00.000-04:00

Dear Parents,
Your child is coming home with someone very special. His name is Huggy Froggy. He comes with a tooth brush, a rubber duck, and a journal. Please follow the instruction on the journal and enjoy our special friend's visit.

2009-10-14T20:27:00.000-04:00

Tantre Farm

2009-10-14T20:24:00.000-04:00

The first thing that one of my students said yesterday morning, when he walked into my classroom was: "I am sooooooooo excited about going to the farm that I can't concentrate". It was a day full of hustle/ bustle:)

Yesterday afternoon the whole school went on a field trip to Tantre farm.We are getting ready for our big event- The Feast, which is coming up this Sunday. So we went to harvest vegetables. The children were thrilled to follow Deb, the leader/ owner of the farm and April one of the helpers. They were very careful not to step on those precious vegetables and herbs and freshly ploughed soil. They were extremely happy to taste and smell many special herbs. If you ask them what their favorite one is, I'm sure they will tell you.

Words cannot describe how excited they were to pull out the carrots! They fed some of the animals as well. They were each given a bag to put their treasures in. Some children were so eager to fill their bags in, that they were pulling out grass, stones, leaves, anything that their hands could reach for. It was great to soak in a moment with the simple pleasures of life!

Research on apples.

2009-10-11T18:43:00.000-04:00

2009-10-11T18:41:00.000-04:00

Research on Apples

2009-10-11T18:39:00.000-04:00

Research on apples:
I have been observing my students eating snacks for a month now. I have thoroughly enjoyed watching them eat. Among all the snacks apples are the only ones that they really love eating down to the core! So, since this month’s theme is Farming, we seized the opportunity to do a little research on Apples, which followed on nicely from classroom work we had done on the Tree/ parts of the tree/ fruits/ seeds.
Our class walked to Trader Joe’s yesterday morning. Each child got an umbrella. I showed them how it worked. Some of them had never held one before. (We could have even just gone with our jackets and hoodies because it was only drizzling, but the umbrellas were so much fun, we couldn’t resist them!) When we arrived, a volunteer named Skip from TJ welcomed us in and gave us a grand tour. Our children had many questions to ask about apples. We had already had a good discussion prior to going there!

We discovered all kinds of things about Apples. Some were geographical facts. (Did you know that apples come in more than 300 varieties, some that come from Michigan and the USA and many that come from other countries? Trader Joe’s had apples from Fiji. So later we looked at our globe and found Fiji, which is closer to Australia than America. This led to a great discussion about transportation.) Some were facts about health and nutrition. Ask you child about the healthy benefits of eating apples! Some were mathematical: we discovered that Trader Joe’s prices its apples individually. The children had fun figuring out the difference in price between an organic apple (59c) and a regular one (49c). Then we found out that there are specialty apples that are sold for much higher prices. Every week they have a specialty apple. This week’s special was Honey Rise apple from upstate New York. One apple costs $ 1.29. When the children heard this they said, “Oh my!” It was very sweet to see their reaction.

At the end of the tour, Skip gave each of our students an apple and a balloon. They all shook his hand and thanked him. The children all looked very satisfied after accomplishing so much. Then they picked up their umbrellas opened them and walked back beautifully with the balloons as well. Since we did not have balloons for all the students at SK, we did a little experiment and let the balloons fly. We enjoyed watching them go high… high… and higher
After our trip, we came back and studied the texture of the apples. Then the children looked at the apple and drew apples. We then cut apples; children all looked at the apples as if they had never seen one before. Then they printed yellow and red apples with paint- some got core design, some got stars!

For afternoon snack students washed their apples and then sat down to eat them. Before they bit into it I asked them, what does it sound like when you bite the apple?

This is what they said -
Ocean /rustle of leaves/ biting into a carrot/breaking of a branch/walking into a bridge/turning off the light.

As they were eating I asked them what part they were eating. Which was their favorite?
They all said Golden Delicious, excepting one who said Granny Smith because it was sour. Then we talked about the Five Senses.

I have thoroughly enjoyed this project as much as my students. It was a very special morning. It was a truly interdisciplinary experience, bringing together math, geography, science, art, creative language, discussion skills, manners and social skills, and many other aspects of learning. I am very proud of my students, and all the wonderful work they did!

Yipeeeee our math books are in!

2009-10-08T18:47:00.000-04:00

Exploring/ discovering math

2009-10-04T14:46:00.000-04:00

Brain food cookies.....thumbs up:)

2009-10-04T14:40:00.000-04:00

Exploring/ discovering math.

2009-10-04T14:37:00.000-04:00

Parents, here are some updates for October :)

2009-10-04T12:42:00.001-04:00

The theme is Eco-Friendly Farming!

If you have any interesting books or artifacts about farming please send it with your child. My class will be studying about rice-paddy fields and terrace farming.

I will keep you posted :-)

We will also carry on with last month’s theme— North Africa— for a week longer because the children are really into making flags! They have been measuring, coloring, cutting and are getting ready to make something special for The Curious Epicure Dinner.

We celebrated the beginning of fall by making “Brain food cookies.”

The children measured oatmeal, brown sugar, sunflower butter, mixed it and voila! There were delicious and nutritious snacks all around!

On Friday we had set up our room a little differently with various math exploration activities. They enjoyed it thoroughly. From now on every Friday we will transform the classroom into Exploring/Discovery Centers, with Scientific Experiments, Math Exploration Centers, Language Art Centers, Social Studies, Cooking, Yoga, field trips to the library, nature walks and so on.

Please mark your calendars:

1. Wed .Oct. 13th @ 1pm trip to Tantric Farm to harvest vegetables.
2. Thurs. Oct. 15th all day trip to Howell Nature Center.
3. Fri. Oct. 16th Staff dev. Day—NO SCHOOL.
4. Sun. Oct.18th THE CURIOUS EPICURE DINNER-4-7pm.
5. Fri. Oct. 23rd @ 10:00 to Wild Swan Theatre. (Streganona & the magical pasta pot)
6. Fri. OCT. 30th Eco Fair in the morning @ school.

Cross- cultural presentation on Nepal/ Asia/Eastern Hemisphere!

2009-09-30T18:44:00.000-04:00

mummified pictures!

2009-09-27T15:00:00.000-04:00

The floating mummy / By Quinn, David & Amelia Sept. 25th 2009

2009-09-27T14:40:00.001-04:00

The Floating Mummy

The mummy floated in the river Nile.

It floated for a mile.

And went into a pile.

Then into a file.

North Africa /Egypt

2009-09-27T14:40:00.000-04:00

Right now, we are learning a lot about North Africa and particularly Egypt. It was really fun because we created a desert-model (Sahara) in our classroom. Using an aquarium we placed sand and cactus' and the students definitely understood that this is the hottest continent. We took a look at the river Nile, comparing it with the size of five American states--children seemed shocked to find it is the longest river in the world.
Students got to see how people living in North Africa have different lifestyles. Using books and pictures, they got to see directly how everyday things are different--we carry groceries in our hands, and many people in Egypt people carry things on their heads!
The pyramids and the Sphinx really fascinated all the children. We even mummfied a cat because this is something that was done in ancient Egypt! I brought different shawls (wished they were white) and the students each picked a color; we carefully wrapped them and turned them into a mummy. Oliver G. amazed us all by his ability to stand still for so long. Mrs. Carpenter's room was surprised to see us mummies marching on over.
The children have made flags of Egypt and have done some mosaic art work about the Mediterreanean Sea. This week we will be working on more Pyramids and more flags of additional North African countries.
Pictures to come :)

Teaching Arabic Con't...

2009-09-27T14:16:00.000-04:00

It was such a joy to have Max, Maria and Peter from Renata's class coming over to our class and teaching our children how to count in Arabic! When these young teachers walked in with confidence in my students they were very attentive listeners and were enjoying every moment. The guest teachers first talked about what they were going to do. Then they wrote Arabic numerals on the black-board and asked the children to repeat after them.

Soon after, the children were divided into three groups and each did something different. Some kids were counting, some were writing and some were playing board games:)

This went on for about 40 minutes. I could clearly see what a big impact the, "student" teachers left on my students. It was truly refreshing to work collaboratively with different age-groups! I'm looking forward to more days like these.

Arabic Numerals

2009-09-27T14:09:00.000-04:00

2009-09-21T20:24:00.001-04:00

Children trying out different geometric shapes and seeing the world in a different color, outdoors and indoors

2009-09-13T13:06:00.001-04:00

2009-09-13T12:58:00.000-04:00

Team work.

2009-09-13T12:56:00.000-04:00

Bug under the rug:)

2009-09-13T12:55:00.000-04:00

Takng care of pets

2009-09-13T12:53:00.001-04:00

In the classroom con't

2009-09-13T12:50:00.000-04:00

Friday fun con't

2009-09-13T12:49:00.000-04:00

Natural trash can........yipeeee.........

2009-09-13T12:47:00.000-04:00

Friends matter!

2009-09-13T12:45:00.000-04:00

Friday fun con't

2009-09-13T12:43:00.000-04:00

Friday fun !

2009-09-13T12:41:00.000-04:00

Try try again!

2009-09-13T12:38:00.000-04:00

Bug under the rug:)

2009-09-13T12:36:00.000-04:00

In the classroom con't

2009-09-13T12:22:00.000-04:00

In the classroom

2009-09-13T12:06:00.000-04:00

First Day Con't...

2009-09-08T17:46:00.001-04:00

Quinn and her friend on the tricycle... go green!

If a picture says a thousand words, this photo of Sophie is sure to convey the happiness all the kids seemed to be experiencing today!

Amelia was exploring the playground and was kind enough to pause so I could take this quick snapshot :)

Oliver seems destined for the X-Games! He spent much of the morning showing me various tricks on his scooter.

Veda was enjoying the sense of touch--feeling the textures of the tree bark--perfect for this season!

Grace seemed a little shy at first, but upon exploring the loft and classroom, she seemed comfortable enough to pose with this wonderful smile!

What A Fabulous First Day!!

2009-09-08T17:36:00.000-04:00

Today was really a beautiful day for me. I hope the kids felt the same! Every Fall I get really excited at the idea of starting a new academic year, but this year was especially neat because I can relate to all the new students who are also being introduced to Summers Knolls for the first time :)

The park is so lovely, I had to take some pictures of the children playing.

Thanks to Elaine for letting me borrow her camera... after the morning of rain, Oliver, David, and their friend, were thrilled to point out a wasp's nest.

More pictures to come :)