Lower Elementary Pictures - Fall 2013

Here are some pictures from various moments during Fall of 2013 in the Lower El.

Week of November 22, 2013 Photos

Here are some pictures from the week of November 22nd. As mentioned in the Friday newsletter, we shucked the corn off of the cob and attempted to make popcorn. Here's a look at our first try. There's also a few pictures of Kalia during a science experiment about heat rising and a picture of Simon learning about the ancient Sumarian's, Mayans and Greeks and their earliest forms of writing and systems of numbers including Roman Numerals.

 

 

Enjoy!
Amy and Rachel

Mystery Solving with Elders- October, 2013

Children working together in the Upper El. class to solve the Great Chocolate Caper. They discussed what it means to make a generalization and how to stick with the facts, rather than assumptions based on generalizations.

 

Preparing authentic African dishes

As part of RiverRun's cooking program, an African luncheon was prepared by students with the guidance of Amy, and Hamza and Hasan's mother and grandmother!  Dishes from Ethiopia, Ghana, Egypt, and Zimbabwe were included on the menu.  After the meal, a  presentation by Fatima Serville and her mother (natives of Africa) gave the children an opportunity to learn fascinating facts about Africa. " The whole experience was cool," as one student was heard to exclaim!   

Thank you, Fatima and Fatima's mom!

 

What we've been up to . . .

What have we been up to lately?  Take a look!

Investigating the parts of a plant with flowers donated by
Ambiance Floral Shop on Everett Road. . .

Learning about alpacas during a field trip to Merry Hill Farm in Amsterdam. . .

As the class studies Africa, the students were fortunate to receive the following from one of our parents, Fatima, who grew up there. 

An anthropologist proposed a game to the kids in an African tribe.

He put a basket full of fruit near a tree 
 and told the kids that whoever got there first won the sweet fruits.

When he told them to run they all took each other's hands and ran together, 
then sat together enjoying their treats.

When he asked them why they had run like that 
as one could have had all the fruits for himself they said:

UBUNTU, how can one of us be happy if all the other ones are sad?
UBUNTU in the Xhosa culture means: "I am because we are"

"Can we eat the snow?"

The Air & Waste Management Association, in honor of Earth Day 2012, awarded educational grants, and RiverRun won one of them!  We received funds to purchase a microscope and other scientific equipment so the children could pursue their "Can we eat snow?" project.

Recent Random Pictures

Here are a few pictures of recent happenings at RiverRun.

Art and Music

 

Liam's mom, Juliana, doing her regular Sign Language with the class.
Thank you, Juliana!

Kalia's grandmother, Pamala, made us a mat for our mathematical golden bead chains. Here is a picture of a couple of the kids using it. Thank you, Pamala!

Authors' Tea

Before the holiday break, the students hosted their families for a delightful "Authors' Tea".  Each student had a turn at going up in front, reading the story he or she had written, and sharing his or her illustrations.  After all of the authors were finished sharing their books, the entire RiverRun community enjoyed delicious scones and jam along with hot tea.  The children loved making their tea and using the dainty little tea cups!

 

In our mixed-age and collaborative environment, the students are used to helping one another.  During Authors' Tea, when a student needed help reading a word, other students were eager to help out their friends!

Ben and Sean's mom enjoys having scones and tea with the boys.