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We serenaded our Farm Friends today on Earth Day!

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We serenaded our Farm Friends today!

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On our way to the woods to hide sunflower seeds so our bird and chipmunk friends would be happily surprised!

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An afternoon well-spent! Hiding sunflower seeds for birds and chipmunks to be happily surprised, checking out the beehives, tasting some fresh honey...with Mr. Henry, our friend from the Adolescent classroom...what a wonderful Earth Day!i

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Early Childhood - Sandpaper Letters

Sandpaper letters are a fundamental tool in our classrooms, offering tactile and visual experiences that enhance early literacy skills. When students trace the textured letters with their fingers, they engage their sense of touch, which helps reinforce the shape and form of each letter. This multisensory approach supports memory retention and fine motor skills development. Additionally, drawing the letters in the Sand Tray aids in the development of reading, writing, and learning to copy, further solidifying their understanding of letter formation and phonetics.

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CHEF OF THE WEEK : ADAM

From the day he started in our community in January, Adam has been wanting to make a frut salad. So he was very, very excited when it was finally his turn.

Adam's favorite fruit it appears, is apples. So he said he would like to have Honeycrisp Apples, Gala Apples and Granny Smith apples. It took some cajoling to have him consider some additional fruits. He agreed to 4 others if they were added in moderation.

He began with the 2 pears - coring them and then dicing them. It was quickly evident that Adam was very comfortable using the sharp paring knife we had. He culled a few strawberries and then quartered them. The apples came next - he needed a bit of help coring them but after that worked independently getting through 6 apples very quickly. He said he liked making the pieces really skinny.

The next day, He peeled and sliced 3 bananas and then diced up a cored pineapple. By now, we had a huge fruit salad - so much so that he needed to transfer everything into a bigger bowl. Once that was done, Adam mixed everything together and stood back to admire his work. "My fruit salad's done," he said with a huge smile.

Many of is classmates went up to him and said they really liked his fruit salad. One of them - a friend who LOVES word play - said it made her very "APPY"!

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CHEF of the Week: Larkin

Larkin, it seems, had been waiting for the longest time for her turn to be the Chef of the week. Each morning, she would rush to make snack for her friends. Each day she would ask if it was time to make her fruit salad. Finally on Thursday when she was told today was the day, she let out a whoop of joy! "Yesssss," she exclaimed, "I am ready." Destemming the grapes was "easy peasy" she said and then she started on the pears. She wanted to try coring the pears by herself and she tried really hard and finally asked for some help. She was very efficient in dicing the pear slices after that. She needed a bit of help to quarter the mandarin oranges and then after that, she peeled them and cut them up. She culled the strawberries, asking if she could taste the greens - she did and grimaced, "No, no, no," she said, shaking her head. Then she cut the strawberries up.

On Friday, she took out the pineapple. She cut that up into bite sized pieces saying it was her "favorite". She peeled a few banans next and sliced them remakably evenly. That done, she mixed her salad up and said, "It looks so beautiful." It did indeed and it tasted great as well. As soon as she was done, she asked when it would be her turn to make fruit salad again! She was disappointed to hear it would be a while - acompromise was arrived at when we said we could let her family know she could make a fruit salad fro them every day!!

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Welcome April!!

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CHEF OF THE WEEK : HANS

Hans bears his 3 1/2 years on this planet with a gravitas and charm that suggests a previous life as a seasoned diplomat. So when it was his turn to be the Chef of the week, he took it in his stride with ease and confidence.

Thursday morning saw Hans starting the fruit salad by putting the raspberries in to the bowl one by one until it was suggested that he could perhaps empty the container of berries into the bowl. He then destemmed the grapes and washed them- his eyes widened with wonder as he observed the water dripping through the colander! He was handed a "very sharp knife" and when he understood which side of the knife was sharp, every now and then he would pause and check to see that he was using "the right side". When he experienced the knife slicing the grape in half so effortlessly, he was stunned! His mouth dropped open and he whispered, "Well it's really very sharp."

On Friday morning he satrted with the pears. He insisted that he could core them himself and he almost did - needing help only occasionally. Then he diced the pears. He peeled the bananas next and then sliced them. It was interesting to watch him move a step back and slice them without anchoring the banana in place.

He divided he cored pineapple into long slices and then diced those slices. This was when he nicked his finger. After his injury had been tended to, Hans soldiered on. He peeled and sliced some oranges. Tossing / mixing the salad was easy for Hans. He then served out the salad into bowls for his friends. When his friends came by to compliment him, he accepted each compliment seriously and then carefully thanked the compliment giver. He was delighted to be able to take some of his fruit salad home to his family!

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Preparing the Hand for Writing!

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SAPPING

The annual sapping of our maple trees was undertaken by the Adolescent students this week. It was an incredible lesson for everyone and we were all filled with admiration as to how much they knew. The students patiently watched as the trees were dilled and were rewarded when we got to taste the sap straight from the tree! We cannot wait for the syrup that we will get to taste after the older students have boiled down the sap.

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Through the week we marked the Lunar New Year. On the actual New Year Day, Wednesday, 29th, Ben read the story behind the Chinese Zodiac out to his classmates. On Thursday, Ms Weihan shared pictures of life in China now, her home, and how they celebrate the New Year. 

Friday itself was wonderful! A day filled with discovery, learning and new experiences. Ms Katie and Ms Yaxin and Mr Henry from the AD classroom helped with the crafts - the children made paper snakes for the Year of the Snake, lanterns and paper flowers to decorate their home. There was a display station set up by Ms Yaxin that explained the Lunar New Year and some personal items brought in by Ms Weihan and Ms Yaxin. Ben demonstrated paper decoration making to the Elementary and Adolescent students and Meric and Mica delivered Nian gao to them.

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Ms Weihan and Ms Zella from the AD classroom helped the children make sweet dumplings filled with peaches. Ms Katie made Nian gao - a sticky rice cake.

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Then we all sat down to a story, ate the dumplings and cake and learned to say Snake in Mandarin as well as Thank you and Happy New Year.  Finally, Ms Katie distributed Hong bao envelopes with wishes for a happy new year to the children. The children were impeccably respectful and engaged and will no doubt hold these experiences in their hearts for a long time.

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CHEF OF THE WEEK : HARRISON

Harrison was the Chef of the week. he knew he was not going to be in on Friday so he worked very diligently to complete his fruit salad on Thursday. Harrison is always particular that he would like to try something first by himself as long as he has been told verbally what to do. He tends to avoid asking for help until he absolutely has no other option. So he tried very, very hard to core his very firm pears . He turned the pears every which way and pushed down really hard and only when he had no other way did he ask for help. Once cored, diced the pear slices without any issue. He was particularly careful to remove the stickers from the fruit and then confounded some of his classmates by dicing 2 slices at a time! The nectarines were tricky. He clarified that he "actually wanted peaches" but as they could not find them, he settled for nectarines. He did need help to deseed them but once that was done, he dealt with them with the same speed and efficiency. The strawberries were next. He preferred to cut off the tops rather than pull the greens off. After that, he mixed his salad up and then it was all ready!! And all done in just one session! Harrison's simple 3-ingredient salad was much appreciated the next day at lunch!

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