Pre-Kindergarten & Kindergarten 11
Digital Group Stories
Children worked in small groups and created a group story. They needed to listen carefully to each other's idea to help build upon the last idea. They explored concepts such as setting, characters, problem and solution in order to make their book. They had a great time doing this work together! We hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
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Mini Olympics & Father's Day
For more photos, please click on this link.
We continue with learning about single use waste and look for solutions that will lessen our footprint while still enjoying life.
We decided to make homemade rice crispy treats and compare two components of our dish with the store-bought rice crispy treats.
1. We determined which product created more trash.
We recognize that the store-bought ones make more trash but half of the group preferred those over the homemade ones. We brainstormed solutions so that we don't pollute the planet AND still eat what we like.
1. We determined which product created more trash.
- 21 pieces of trash = store-bought rice crispy treats
- 5 piece of trash = homemade rice crispy treats
- 10 children = store-bought rice crispy treats
- 9 children = homemade rice crispy treats
We recognize that the store-bought ones make more trash but half of the group preferred those over the homemade ones. We brainstormed solutions so that we don't pollute the planet AND still eat what we like.
- Let's make them with Choco-Krispies. Ms. Giovanna
- Let's make them with Oreos. Paula
- Let's make them with chocolate chips. Natalia
- Let's make them with M&Ms. Gabe
Ms. Andrea is graduating ASFG! We celebrated her with donuts and made her a book of drawing so thank you for helping us grow.
Below is a visual summary of our five weeks attempting to reach ZERO WASTE in our lunchboxes. We will keep trying to reach ZERO for a week.
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead
Happy Mother's Day!
To all you wonderful, amazing, extraordinary Moms... We hope you had fun with your child! We are grateful for all your guidance, thoughtfulness, and LOVE!
Happy Children's Day!
Thank you Marissa, Jess, Ere, and Alexis for helping out on Children's Day!
Unfortunately, Giovanna and I were busy in classrooms so we couldn't get out and take photos of the children enjoying their special day.
Please talk with your child about all the cool activities that were provided!
"This was the best day of my life, well, the best day of my life at school." Lucia
Unfortunately, Giovanna and I were busy in classrooms so we couldn't get out and take photos of the children enjoying their special day.
Please talk with your child about all the cool activities that were provided!
"This was the best day of my life, well, the best day of my life at school." Lucia
So the quest for zero waste lunch in 21 lunchboxes continues... We achieved our goal on the first day back from the vacations. We were so EXCITED! CONGRATULATIONS!!!! We are charted our progress on the chart below. As you can see We hit our most trash, defined by not being able to reuse, on Thursday, May 2nd. Let's try to achieve an entire week without a single piece of trash! WE CAN DO IT! YES WE CAN!
Happy Spring Egg Hunt!
Zero-Waste Lunch: Venturing into our second week...
This week we have shown more consumption that last week and no progress. We are eager and excited to reach our goal! Please help us by avoiding the below items when packing lunches. Here are some suggestions made by the children to help us improve:
- I can use a reusable fork instead of a disposable, plastic forks that breaks easily.
- There is special wrapping material made out of beeswax that can be reused. Ms. Stefanie showed me. Let's not use plastic wrap or aluminum foil any more!
- I want to make to make granola bars with my Mom so we don't have to buy them in plastic anymore.
Zero-Waste Lunch: Did we reach out goal?
We showed improvement, almost getting to ZERO. Let's try again next week and see if we can do it TOGETHER!
ONI and Me: The exploration continues...
In the month of April we celebrate our amazing home, Earth. After exploring how to take care of Earth...
Nicole- Trash goes in the trash can.
Lucia- I pick up trash I see on the ground.
Theo- Use both sides of a paper.
Natalia- Use the entire sheet of paper.
Cayetano- Recycle
... we decided to set a classroom goal to produce ZERO-WASTE in our lunchboxes. This requires YOUR help. Below the children explain their goal. We will begin our Waste-Free lunch challenge on Monday, April 1st. We appreciate your support. ENJOY!
Nicole- Trash goes in the trash can.
Lucia- I pick up trash I see on the ground.
Theo- Use both sides of a paper.
Natalia- Use the entire sheet of paper.
Cayetano- Recycle
... we decided to set a classroom goal to produce ZERO-WASTE in our lunchboxes. This requires YOUR help. Below the children explain their goal. We will begin our Waste-Free lunch challenge on Monday, April 1st. We appreciate your support. ENJOY!
Special guest readers in honor of Book Fair
Thank you Jess and Lupita for coming to our library class and reading us a fun book!
Book fair is coming! Come with your child and enjoy the celebration of literature on display. There are books for all ages and for all interests.
We experienced a puppet show by one of the authors who will be at the book fair. Ask your child about the puppet, Señor Horacio, and the strange and interesting characters in his nightmares..
We experienced a puppet show by one of the authors who will be at the book fair. Ask your child about the puppet, Señor Horacio, and the strange and interesting characters in his nightmares..
Let's help Mama, A.C. by purchasing treats at our annual EC Bake Sale this Friday, March 15!
ONI and Me
Since December we have been exploring the organization ONI, the people they serve, the Huicholes, and how we can help others.
In December we collected sweaters and blankets for the Huicholes. Recently, we began making our clay plates to sell at the school's Empty Bowls event (Thursday, March 21), where you can come and buy ceramic art made by ASFG students and staff (all proceeds go to ONI). And, just last week, our high school student, Ms. Andrea, delivered powdered milk with ONI to the Huicholes in the Week Without Walls activity that occurs in our High School program, and shared her experience with the children.
Gabe- Huicholes have little food because they live far, far away from stores.
Sergio- There is little water and they must walk for long distances to find water.
Maria Jose- We have lots of stuff and they have little stuff.
In December we collected sweaters and blankets for the Huicholes. Recently, we began making our clay plates to sell at the school's Empty Bowls event (Thursday, March 21), where you can come and buy ceramic art made by ASFG students and staff (all proceeds go to ONI). And, just last week, our high school student, Ms. Andrea, delivered powdered milk with ONI to the Huicholes in the Week Without Walls activity that occurs in our High School program, and shared her experience with the children.
Gabe- Huicholes have little food because they live far, far away from stores.
Sergio- There is little water and they must walk for long distances to find water.
Maria Jose- We have lots of stuff and they have little stuff.
Exploring Light & Shadows
And, well, this photo also makes me smile...
Love continues to be explored in PK-K 11
We prepared for Valentine's day by making cards and planning our day's activities.. Love was in the air! So much so that children took turns making impromptu shows, singing for their friends. Below is just one example of our daily sharing of love.
Happy Valentine's Day
We were greeted at the door with BUBBLES!
We made ice-cream!! In order to make ice-cream we needed these ingredients: vanilla extract, cane sugar, whole milk, and heavy whipping cream. We also wanted to add Oreo cookies to the mix!
But, where do these ingredients come from?
We learned that vanilla, chocolate, and sugar all come from plants and that milk comes from cows.
How does the vanilla pod from the plant become liquid that is in the bottle? asked Marcelo.
But, where do these ingredients come from?
We learned that vanilla, chocolate, and sugar all come from plants and that milk comes from cows.
How does the vanilla pod from the plant become liquid that is in the bottle? asked Marcelo.
We exchanged books!!!
We discovered our mailboxes full of cards!!!
Happy 100 Day!
Thank you parent helpers for making our 100 day a success!
What will I look like when I am 100 years old?
Using the app AgingBooth, we explored what would happen to our faces over time...
February- The month of LOVE and FRIENDSHIP
We are currently working on making cards for our friends. In order to do so, we must use many skills.
- First, we write our name on the card. "So the person who gets the card knows who made it!" -Cayetano
- Second, we need to read in order to find our friend's name in our classroom name cards. "I found Addison's name!" exclaimed Ana Sophia.
- Third, we need to use our letter knowledge to form the letters in our friend's name. "I made the letter R!", Ivanna said with wonder and joy.
- Simultaneously, we need to use our reading skills to know to copy the name from left to right. "Do I start with the O or the C?", asked Luciano before he wrote out Cayetano's name on a card.
- Fourth, we need to think of our friend as we make a card that they will like.
- Fifth, we need to read the names on the mailboxes to find our friend's mailbox in order to leave the card we made for him/her.
Below is one example of how we promote flexible thinking in young children.
A day at Tricycle Time looks something like this:
Welcome back and Happy New Year! This week we reflected on our winter holiday aided by paper and pencil. We explored the flexible world of numeracy. We reconnected with friends and worked with classroom materials.
Building a caring community
Children have been learning about all the wonderful support they receive from so many at ASFG. In appreciation, each child made a special card to say thanks.
Lucia
Ivanna
Gabe
Natalia
Paula
Ichika
Maria Jose
Lucianna
Theo
Addison
Luciano
Emilia
Loretta
Nicole
Marcelo
Sergio and Manu
Ana Sophia
Filippo
Ben
Cayetano
Five weeks after planting seeds and seedlings in our Ecohuerta box, the corn, beans, and squash are growing so big! A small group of children went out to make an observational drawing of the different leaves.
We know that plants drink water but how do they drink water?
Marcelo- Plants use the roots to drink water.
Natalia- The roots also hold the plant so it doesn’t fall down.
MaJo- The stem helps them drink water.
Addison- How?
Exploring how the colored water travels in the stem of the celery...
There are sticks inside the celery [stalk]. I have celery at my home and I eat the sticks inside the celery [stalk]. The sticks inside are soft and skinny. -Addison |
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A Seed Game: Based on the seeds collected from our fruit exploration, children enjoyed studying the seed and then checking their guess on the back of each card.
Nicole- Plants grow because of a seed.
Maria Jose- I know tomatoes come from a plant but I buy tomatoes at the store. Do seeds come from the store?
Picking up from our exploration regarding planting from our work with pumpkins, I brought in fruit to explore what we know about seeds and what we want to learn.
Maria Jose- I know tomatoes come from a plant but I buy tomatoes at the store. Do seeds come from the store?
Picking up from our exploration regarding planting from our work with pumpkins, I brought in fruit to explore what we know about seeds and what we want to learn.
What we know about seeds
Gabe- The avocado has a big seed in the middle.
Paula- You can't eat that seed.
Natalia- Maybe the seeds we can't eat are poisonous or spicy?
Maria Jose- Or maybe we don't eat seeds that we don't like [their taste] but we eat seeds that we do like [their taste]?
Marcelo- Tomato seeds are slippery.
Addison- I have never seen a tomato seed.
Filippo- After you peel the banana you eat the seeds because the seeds are inside the banana.
Theo- The banana seed is super tiny, like a flea.
Manu- Banana seeds we can eat. Papaya seeds we cannot.
Luciano- We do not eat the green part of the watermelon. The seeds are inside where the red fruit is.
Nicole- Sometimes you can eat the watermelon seeds and sometimes you can't eat them.
Theo- Papaya seeds are slippery and look like roly pollies. They are hard on the outside and shiny on the inside.
Paula- You can't eat that seed.
Natalia- Maybe the seeds we can't eat are poisonous or spicy?
Maria Jose- Or maybe we don't eat seeds that we don't like [their taste] but we eat seeds that we do like [their taste]?
Marcelo- Tomato seeds are slippery.
Addison- I have never seen a tomato seed.
Filippo- After you peel the banana you eat the seeds because the seeds are inside the banana.
Theo- The banana seed is super tiny, like a flea.
Manu- Banana seeds we can eat. Papaya seeds we cannot.
Luciano- We do not eat the green part of the watermelon. The seeds are inside where the red fruit is.
Nicole- Sometimes you can eat the watermelon seeds and sometimes you can't eat them.
Theo- Papaya seeds are slippery and look like roly pollies. They are hard on the outside and shiny on the inside.
"The lime is spicy." -Gabe
"The lime is sour." -Maria Jose
"I like limes!" -Filippo
I know of a fruit called "guayaba fresa". I wonder if I eat the strawberry and the guava fruit at the same time if it will taste the same? -Theo
"Melon smells horrible!" -Luciano
Questions we have about seeds
- What color are the seeds?
- Why are some seeds on the inside and others are on the outside?
- Why do we eat some seeds and not others?
- Why do seeds have different flavors?
- Where does the fruit come from?
- Why are seeds different sizes?
- Why are some fruits small with big seeds (avocado) and some fruits are big with little seeds (watermelon)?
- Why do some fruits grow big and others stay small?
Thank you for your support with the ONI sweater and blanket drive. We will continue to collect items until Thursday, November 15.
This week we explored the Wixarika culture to help children relate to the people we are caring for. I shared my story of volunteering with ONI and the children were fascinated by the photos I shared of my experience. Ask your child about what interested them when learning about the people that live in the mountains of Jalisco.
This week we explored the Wixarika culture to help children relate to the people we are caring for. I shared my story of volunteering with ONI and the children were fascinated by the photos I shared of my experience. Ask your child about what interested them when learning about the people that live in the mountains of Jalisco.
Happy Halloween!
Happy Birthday Ms. Tina
Making Jack-o-lanterns...
Making Connections: from caterpillars to plants
As we have invited pumpkins into the classroom and scheduled a guest gardener to visit the students, I turned my attention to supporting the connection between caterpillars and plants. Please email me your child's planting experiences to help us build our repertoire of knowledge.
How would the pumpkins fit in to the connective story we are weaving?
Nicole- Plants grow because of a seed.
Sergio- You put a seed in the soil, then you add water on top of the seed, and then you wait a long time, and a new plant grows.
Marcelo- I planted in a pot.
Sergio- I put the seed in the ground for more space, not in a pot.
Majo- I know tomatoes come from a plant. The seeds come from the supermarket.
Loretta- To grow fruit, you need a fruit seed. Each plant has its own seed.
Natalia- There is a fruit seed and a plant seed.
"How does the seed get on the ground?" a child asks.
Meanwhile at recess a group of children discover Pumpkin Jack.
"Look Ms., the pumpkin is disappearing! It's Pumpkin Jack! And the seeds are on the soil!"
Gabe- The root, it holds the plant.
Ben- One day the wind made the tree fall down near my house.
Loretta- Plants have a life cycle like butterflies. Seed, plant, seed, plant. Butterfly, egg, caterpillar, cocoon, butterfly. Butterfly, egg, caterpillar, cocoon, butterfly.
Ben- One day the wind made the tree fall down near my house.
Loretta- Plants have a life cycle like butterflies. Seed, plant, seed, plant. Butterfly, egg, caterpillar, cocoon, butterfly. Butterfly, egg, caterpillar, cocoon, butterfly.
The Story of Flowers interpreted on white boards. Children are exploring how elements such as weather and seasons affect nature's planting practices. Notice the drawing of roots that was not present in previous drawings.
Three more books were read this week to expand children's understanding of planting.
From where do plants come?
In preparation for the special visitors, the plant experts, we came up with questions to further investigate.
- How do plants eat? Ivanna
- Where does cactus come from? Majo
- How do the spines come out? Natalia
- How do flowers come out? Loretta
- Do all plants have flowers? Manu
- How do trees grow tall? Filippo
- How do bugs help plants? Marcelo
- What is pollen? Sergio
- How can we help plants not fall down? Ivanna
- How can we care for plants? Nicole
Thanks to Ecohuerto we made healthy soil comprised of compost, small rock, large rocks, rice, and coconut fiber. We learned that Ecohuerto boxes help plants retain moisture to keep the plants hydrated. We studied the roots of a baby plant, and planted two boxes with corn, squash, and beans (Milpa Mexicana). We also connected to the fact that our caterpillars eat plants, other animals eat plants, and we do too!
What animals get their food from plants?
More happenings in the classroom... Rainbow was born, concepts of numeracy were explored, a new drawing experience was suggested by the children, and we studied our pumpkins in detail this week. Click on the image to enlarge each one.
"How does the caterpillar get bigger?"
To expand upon the children's observational questions, I investigated the process in which caterpillars develop. I learned that they do not grow like you and I, rather they shed their skin, or molt, in order to accommodate their growing bodies. They shed their exoskeleton a total of five times before making their way to the next stage in their metamorphosis process. Please watch this video with your child to discuss what they know about molting.
Soon after discovering that caterpillars molt, we saw "Pinky Pie" leave its old skin behind.
Meanwhile we had three butterflies emerge from their chrysalis, Flower, Heart, and Birthday Cake. It took Flower and Birthday Cake 12 days to emerge and Heart only 5 days! We realized that five children predicted five days and no one predicted twelve days (graphic below). We also discovered that Simberlator died while trying to transform itself and Unicorn and Carolina got sick in their chrysalis and will not come out as a butterfly. In fact, we found a maggot in our caterpillar house and learned about Tachinid flies. Click on this link to learn more!
Children grappled with the nature of life, as we wanted butterflies to emerge and at the same time realize flies are necessary as a food source for other species.
Below is a video of the maggot emerging from a chrysalis for the curious.
Children grappled with the nature of life, as we wanted butterflies to emerge and at the same time realize flies are necessary as a food source for other species.
Below is a video of the maggot emerging from a chrysalis for the curious.
"It's happening! The caterpillar is transforming!"
Questions arose after revisiting the caterpillar transformation experience.
-"Where did the face go?"
-"Why does it wiggle so much?"
-"What is happening inside the body?"
-"Is there a body?"
-"Why are there gold dots and a gold line?"
-"Why do caterpillars make cocoons?"
-"Why does the caterpillar skin fall off?"
-"How does the cocoon stay hanging and not fall down?"
-"Where did the face go?"
-"Why does it wiggle so much?"
-"What is happening inside the body?"
-"Is there a body?"
-"Why are there gold dots and a gold line?"
-"Why do caterpillars make cocoons?"
-"Why does the caterpillar skin fall off?"
-"How does the cocoon stay hanging and not fall down?"
Making Predictions
We asked the children, "How many days do you think it will take for a butterfly to emerge?"
A Caring Community
At the beginning of this week a pre-first teacher asked for our help. She had 10 caterpillars and NO FOOD! She asked if we would be willing to adopt these caterpillars and we said YES! Discussions about limited resources, asking for help, sharing the responsibility for creating a healthy community, and the magic and wonder of caterpillars surround our classroom.
This morning we discovered one of our caterpillars had started to hang upside down (like the letter "J"), indicating it was ready to make a cocoon. We carefully watched for any changes all day. From one minute to the next, the caterpillar transformed itself into a cocoon (we didn't witness it this time) but we did notice it had fallen down. Poor cocoon!
A discussion ensued as to how and if we should intervene. The children felt strongly that we needed to hang it back up. The challenge we faced was in thinking creatively on how to prop it up. After trial and error we came up with the solution of using string and a paper clip. We now have our cocoon hanging near our treehouse. Come check it out!
Gabe expressed concern that while we are not in school over the weekend the butterfly could be born. Since we are not sure how many days it will take for the transformation, we decided to keep a graph to measure the passage of time.
Gabe predicts the butterfly will emerge in 7 days. What do you think?
OUR FIRST SWIMMING CLASS
Our first swimming class was full of fun and exploration
A little bit of our week...
Open House 2018
Children's experience with Open House materials the next morning...
¡Viva Mexico!
This week we started working on making our treehouse look more like a tree. We drew leaves by studying them closely with magnifying glasses. As a suggestion made by two students, we have now begun drawing leaves directly on the walls and branches of our tree. As well, we continue to explore ourselves in connection with our families. And we began exploring math materials. Below are photos from the week.
Self-Portraits
Can you guess your child's self-portrait? Check below for the answer.
Get to know PK-K 11 friends
Help your child learn his/her new classmate's names by practicing until all names are mastered by memory! Click on the image to enlarge the photo.
Help your child learn his/her new classmate's names by practicing until all names are mastered by memory! Click on the image to enlarge the photo.
First full week of school in photos
Welcome to the 2018-2019 school year!
On the first day of school we reconnected with old friends and began building new friendships. We learned about the classroom routines and explored our surroundings. It was a joyful day!