Sunday, February 22, 2015

What we are reading....







from the publisher,  "In Childhood and Nature, noted educator David Sobel makes the case that meaningful connections with the natural world don't begin in the rainforest or arctic, but in our own backyards and communities. Based on his observations of recurrent play themes around the world, Sobel articulates seven design principles that can guide teachers in structuring learning experiences for children. Place-based education projects that make effective use of the principles are detailed throughout the book. And while engaged in these projects, students learn language arts, math, science, social studies, as well as essential problem-solving and social skills through involvement with nature and their communities.


The pressures of test preparation, standards, and curriculum frameworks often reduce the study of nature and the environment to a set of facts and general concepts. However, as Childhood and Nature demonstrates, linking curriculum with an engagement in the real world not only provides students with the thinking skills needed for whatever test comes their way, but also helps them grow into responsible citizens and stewards of the earth."

Sunday, February 8, 2015

Outdoor Installation of Cairns (After Goldsworthy)

Lower School art teacher Alia Tahvildaran and her kindergarten students practiced painting stones and stacking their collection until the weather cooperated enough for them to head outside and install cairns in the woods along the Green Ribbon Trail.  Working in small groups you could hear students exclaim,  "I'm playing with rocks!",  "Try it again so it doesn't fall!",  "Kindergarten "rocks!" 
In this art and science project students were introduced to the stone work of artists Andy Goldsworthy and Thea Alvin. In addition to showing Kindergarten images from this great book Tahvildaran also showed them stone works from Andy Goldsworthy's digital catalogue where you can browse by year, form, material, or place.




Sunday, February 1, 2015

Integrating Nature and Technology in the Lower School

First grade science students used their iPads and the “LeapSnap” application in the tree identification process collecting fallen leaves from the historic oak trees that mark the corners of our quad, then returning to the science room to use online resources to identify them as red oak, Quercus rubra.