Last Town Forest Walk

Today was our final Town Forest Walk so we changed things up a bit. We had kids go in smaller groups so that they could have more say in what parts of the woods they most wanted to visit. Our quest was to find the Lady Slipper - a rare and protected flower that is our only orchid. It is illegal to pick! All groups got to see these special blooms close up. Along the way, groups also saw birds, geraniums, ducklings, insects, lupine, nests, skunk cabbages (the kids were shocked to see how big these had grown) and cattails. We saw that the trail by the wetland area was blocked off again due to flooding caused by the beavers who have moved in and set up camp in the forest - they seem to enjoy it as much as we do!

There was a spirit of fun in our forest explorations today. Some kids were imagining the big hill as Mount Olympus - home to the Ancient Greek gods and goddesses (there may have even been a minotaur sighting). Some kids found a curbstone at the Bacon Street entrance and toed the line as though it were the marble starting line of the Ancient Olympic games. 

The weather was warm and sunny and though we were shaded enough when we were under the canopy of leafed-out trees, by the end kids were hot. A surprise was waiting for them at the end of the trail - Ms. Crowell had bought popsicles to revive them! We enjoyed them as we sat on the grass and groups shared out their discoveries from the trip. 

There was some sad reflection on the walk back from our second graders that this was their last walk with the 1-2s, but we hope the Town Forest will continue to be a place in nature that they can draw inspiration from and find peace in. Enjoy the pictures below.

Olympic Training!

 In the weeks ahead, the 1-2s have many great events and celebrations. Among these is our 1-2 Olympics! Each House Table puts forth a champion for one of five events that are from the original Olympics: standing broad jump, sprint, javelin (broom handle) throw, discus (frisbee) throw, and the marathon. Today the kids were testing their mettle in each of these events. Some are harder than they look - especially the marathon that is two lengths around the outer fence of Sargent Field. If you look closely, you can see one of our athletes practicing this - he is a teeny, tiny speck of white across the field in the first picture below. 

Over the next few weeks, competitors will continue to have opportunities to practice their technique and build their stamina for the big event which will take place on Friday, June 17th as part of our big Greek Fest Celebration! (more details are in this week's email)  Don't be surprised if your young olympian starts asking for a frisbee or broom handle to practice with at home…

Enjoy the pictures below!

Greek Study Stations

This week we launched our Greek Study stations. Kids have been divided into six groups (named for various monsters of mythology) who they will travel to each station with. There are six learning stations that each group will visit over the course of the rotation - each centered around a different mode of learning including musical, kinesthetic, visual-spatial, logical-mathematical, verbal-linguistic, and intrapersonal skills. After completing the learning task at the station, all groups get together for a share in which each group presents some part of their learning. 

At one station, kids make a mosaic design with small color squares in the style of the beautiful floors and walls of Ancient Greek homes. At another they examine a map of Ancient Greece marked out with locations of exciting places from history as well as mythology. They must answer questions on a separate sheet using their map skills! At another station, kids visit the "Underworld" and write in a journal. They choose the image of a god or goddess to color and put on the cover of their journal and then write to say why they are drawn to that particular deity.  A fourth station asks them to build an instrument that could represent the sound or voice of one of the gods or goddesses. At share time, the kids play their instruments and the rest of us try to guess which god or goddess is "speaking" through that instrument. A different construction station has the kids using what they are learning about Greek architecture to create a block temple. They use a wide range of elements including columns, pediments, archways and something that represents the god or goddess they wish to dedicate the temple to. Finally, there is a station at which they must create a play that depicts a scene from a Greek myth or a myth in its entirety. In the picture below, Theseus is rowing the boat of tributes from Athens to Crete while King Aegeus looks on in concern - worried  he will never see his son or those children of Athens again (your child can fill you in on the rest of that story!). 

The kids are very excited about the stations and each has a favorite they can't wait to visit. We love to incorporate hands-on experiences that offer different entry points for kids so that each can have their time to shine! It also promotes a lot of collaborative group work skill building. Enjoy the pictures below.