May 20, 2011
Dear River Run Families,
This week play practice continues. We have begun to work on acting and how to move around the stage. The children have done a great job remembering their lines and going with the flow of the many changes I have made as we experiment with how to use our room and the supplies we have to create the set. Please bring in costumes next week. Katelyn, Spencer, Abigail, Noah, Benny, Maddy, Nicholas, and Maria need hooded sweatshirts (hoodies) and boots. Kya, Emma, Jaden and Grace need black shirts and black or dark pants/shorts if possible.
On Thursday I started to talk about the Clock of Eons, previously call the Clock of Eras. This is an impressionistic lesson which tells the story of the creation of earth thru the beginning of life and ends with man. This will lead us into the Time Line of Life, the last Great Lesson the children will get this year. This lesson is given every year so that the children can take in a little more each time as they get older and mature. The questions they ask, the topics they choose to research further, and their understanding changes so much as they progress through the three year cycle.
Have a great weekend,
Amy
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
We’ve been very busy again this week at RiverRun. We’ve continued to learn about many countries south of the U.S. as we worked on our country reports and had two community visitors. Children’s librarian, Cathy O’Connor joined us to share folktales about South American and led the students in playing a jack game with peanuts (as typically played in South America). She also guided them in making a cup-and-ball toy (that was played by the ancient Greeks and Romans) called a balero. Mercedes Teague shared with the class about her experiences growing up in the Dominican Republic. We learned about the climate, languages, traditions, and practices of this country. Next week students will begin sharing their country reports with classmates as they finish them and in early June we plan to have a South of the Border party to sample foods from some of these countries.
We also welcomed Greg Lindenfelser to the classroom today as he began gardening work with our students. He discussed seeds and demonstrated how to make newspaper pots. Then each student planted beans, which are waiting on the classroom windowsill to grow. He’ll join us again in June for more gardening activities. In PE we have started stick activities which work on fine motor finger dexterity, hand-eye reaction, and agility. We were able to obtain this activity kit (and other materials) through Small Hands due to the money raised through our fall fundraiser. Thank you to all the families who supported that fundraiser.
Another class activity was our field trip to Schenectady Museum on Thursday where the students were able to see invention prototypes built by other students. The students also participated in the science exhibits at the museum, before heading back to RiverRun via the city bus. Everyone got good exercise during our 40 minute walk through Union College and Schenectady neighborhoods.
In art we’ve been working on costume elements for the play as well as the new aluminum punch project which you’ll see come home shortly. Following along with our study of insects, we’ve also gotten caterpillars for hatching into butterflies. Today we found a bug in the classroom that we observed and tried to identify before it was set free.
Next week we have two non-routine days – Tuesday and Friday. Tuesday our staff will be participating in a goal setting session with the Board of Trustees and a substitute teacher will be working with our students. Our elders are planning and leading the afternoon program on that day. On Friday, the class will be attending programs at the Berkshire Museum.
Please check your child’s backpack today for our textbook request forms for next year. They need your signature and are to be returned to the classroom by Wednesday, May 25th. Please let us know if you have any questions about these.
Best wishes,
Nancy
Upcoming Dates:
May 27th – Class Field Trip to the Berkshire Museum and Family Camping Weekend
May 30th – No School – Memorial Day
June 3rd – 6:15 p.m. – Class Play
No comments:
Post a Comment