Busy week in kindergarten before our springbreak rest. We were able to spend more time with Ms. Tammy this week and continue her gardening project. On top of that we had many opportunities to interact with our baby chicks and include them with part of our free play! New faces continue to filter in and out of our room...hinting to us that next year will be even busier! Until next week!
Grades 1/2 March 20 - 24
Hi Garden Families,
We had a great week with the yellow gnome named Times. We spent our mornings working with gems to figure out how multiplication works. The children really enjoyed taking a group of gems and seeing how many ways they could be grouped for faster counting (multiplication). We also practice form drawing with circles which takes some practice and patience. We are back to playing in and around the creek this week with the nicer weather. We saw a Yellow Belly water snake (our best guess😊), snails, minnows, and many macroinvertebrates.
The children all helped to make and tasted mango lassies on the last Thursday of Hindi class. Next week we will begin learning American Sign Language. They also had so much fun playing Camel Tag and Blindman’s Bluff in Games class. For Handwork, the children wet felted around plastic eggs, an activity offered at our Springtide festival on April 15th, as well as continued working on their knitting projects. Our garden is starting to show its signed of springs as the seeds the children planted are now seedlings and being replanted into our garden beds! The watering crew worked very hard bringing water from the pond to our new plants too.
Spring has sprung! Please check your child’s backpack and be sure that their extra clothes are in place and updated for our spring weather. They will be getting wet once again and a change of clothes is necessary as well as extra shoes for inside (or boots for outside). Jacket are still needed in the early mornings as is full rain gear (pants too please). Every child has had their water bottles (yay!) which becomes even more necessary as it warms up. Thank you all!
Have a lovely week,
Ms. Melissa
Kindergarten March 20 - 24
This week in kindergarten we started our new spring circle! New songs and rhythms are added to our day. We also welcomed back Ms. Tammy for a few days. We enjoyed a visit from a new and prosper student Nicolas. The class finished up our week with Ms. Tammy leading a great gardening project. Until next week!
Week of March 20 - 24
Namaste,
We leave the Hindi language and on to American Sign Language. At other times of day, every purposed and spontaneous opportunity leads us into appreciation of and practice with reading, writing, calculations, fractions, time, wildlife and relationships.
Watercolor
More Watercolor
Yellow Banded Watersnake
Mr. Lee's games are a favorite!
Aquatic Dragonfly Larva
Aquatic Fly Larva
Reading & Writing
Self Portrait using Times Tables
Semester 2, Week 8
Hi Garden Families,
We had a chilly, but enjoyable week in class. We met Minus, the blue gnome, and practiced subtraction using gems on our place value boards. The children built numbers and then practiced the concept of “borrowing” from the tens bags of gems as we subtracted numbers. We will continue practicing both addition and subtraction as we move into meeting another gnome next week whose name is Times.
The children also spent time with Ms. Angela this week and worked on the weather wall near the front desk. They learned about the various types of clouds and wind speeds. We also had a good time celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with some stories, treats and we learned to tie a Celtic heart knot as well.
It was wonderful talking with each of you for parent conferences these past two weeks as well. Thank you!
Have a lovely (and much warmer) week!
Warmly,
Ms. Melissa
Week of March 13 - 17
Hello families,
Cold weather encourages us to hold school indoors with a few excursions out into the cold. As we read about weather, we talk science and math as well as artistically create an indoor weather station collage. It should be ready for weather forecasting by 3/31...
Kindergarten March 6 - 10
We had a very busy week this week in Kindergarten. We embraced the wet and cold weather of the mornings followed by the heat of the early afternoons. We had a small family of chick's hatch and enter the world here at The Garden School, where now we shall raise them all just like our own ( because they are). Finally our thoughtful children finished up a Get well Soon card for Gabriela, who has been out with bit of a sickness this week. We sure do miss her.
Until next week!!!
Semester 2, Week 7
Hello Garden Families,
We had a busy and exciting week at school. We worked daily on the concept of place value (ones, tens, hundreds) to build numbers with gems. The children enjoyed the challenge. We then took the numbers we built and added more gems to them to practice addition with single and double digits. We also enjoyed wet-on-wet painting the green gnome who we found out is now named ""Plus" by King Equals. Next week we will move into the concept of subtraction.
Of course, (way) more exciting than math was watching the first chick hatch out of its egg earlier this week. The children have enjoyed watching and holding the newly hatched chicks each day since then.
Thank you all who came for parent conferences and I am looking forward to those scheduled for next week.
Next week is looking much colder than this week. Please continue to send your child in layers and with rain gear in their bags. :)
Have a lovely week,
Ms. Melissa
Week of March 6 - 10
Experiential learning permeates the walls and forest of The Garden School. Transplant the pea seedlings 6 inches apart and 4 inches deep. Look at the clock hands to tell what time we begin the water sample incubation. The thermometer reads how many degrees Celsius for air and then water? What is the difference? For me, this type of learning is fun!
Games with Mr. Lee result in the children emptying their water bottles. Hydration matches invigorating exercise!
Can you speak and write Hindi? Garden School graduates can.
Academic rigor meets the developing scholar.
Academic rigor meets the developing scholar.
Kindergarten Feb 27 - Mar 3
This week in kindergarten, we experienced a taste of early spring by shedding layers, rolling up our sleeves and hunting down edible plants such as sassafras and cleavers. Also, we were able to celebrate Sadie Mann's Earthstrong and was surprised with a wonderful snack from Sadie's mother, Abby. Thanks again. Our children and their parents are so special!
Semester 2, Week 6
We had a busy week at The Garden this week!
We started our final math block, meeting five gnomes and an ancient tree named Old Dismas, who will teach us more about the secret of numbers and mathematical operations. We revisited the Roman Numerals I – XII and learned larger Roman Numerals such as L for 50 and C for 100. We also began building numbers up to 50 with gems forward and backward, using the concept of place value based on the rainbow. Our fun way of remembering rainbow order is with the phrase “Regal old yellow gnomes buy itchy vests”. We played a bean bag toss game to help us remember the order of colors. For Language this week, we re-visited nouns and verbs, and introduced adjectives, including three special adjectives we call “articles” which are “a”, “an” and “the”. We created funny sentences describing nouns in which we used many adjectives!
Next week we will continue our gnome adventures while building numbers forward and back to make the concept of place value concrete. We will work on addition equations as well.
Parent conferences will be happening next week as well! I look forward to seeing and talking with you then.
Warmly,
Ms. Melissa
Week of Feb 27 - Mar 3
March arrives! Increasing outdoor & unpredictable weather, so please attend each day or store inclassroom: raincoat, rain pants, rain boots, water and dry shoes/socks, dry-wick top & bottom layers, hand toweland extra "change of clothes" for prn/ end of day. Academically, we explore fractions in relationship to measurement and division. Fluency motivates all other activity. Writing responses, in Vimalla, as we expressively read. Strategically think with our math facts and calculate the 4 operations while repetitively relying on basic facts using a distribution method.
The Garden School Adopt-a-Stream service poster will be displayed at Cobb County Watershed offices.
Kindergarten Feb 13th-17th
This week in kindergarten we had new adventures with some new friends. We welcomed Olivia into our Kindergarten family last week, and we'll she loves her new school! The weather was kind to us, only to rain early in the week, but that did not stop us! We push on through the forest no matter what the conditions. Our class is becoming more and more anxious to be involved with upcoming nature take home projects!
Semester 2, Week 5
We wrapped up our alphabet block sharing stories of Saints and Hero's this week. The children increased their amount of writing in both cursive and print. We also talked about sentence structure and practiced verbally creating lots of sentences (some quite sillyJ) with nouns and both action and helping verbs.
We will begin our new block following winter break, meeting some friendly gnomes while we are learning/revisiting the four mathematical operations and place value. During this block children build larger numbers and use those numbers to add, subtract, multiply and divide as we follow a story of adventure with the gnomes.
We said good-bye to Senora Lina this past week and are looking forward to meeting Ms. Indira for our next block featuring Hindi. During Games class with Mr. Lee, the children loved play Octopus Tag (a game invented by Alys). The students and Mr. Ben began construction of clocks and practiced pentatonic flute, we planted more seeds and destroyed more (and more and more) kudzu with Mr. Michael along with bringing water from the pond and adding to our compost pile. During handwork, the children continued to work on knitting skills, with some children starting to follow specific knitting patterns.
I hope you all have a restful and fun-filled break this coming week!
Warmly,
Ms. Melissa
Week of 2/14/2017
Often during the week of 2/14/2017 all grades students were shared by Ms. Melissa and Ms. Angela. Together we learned through math fluency games, calculations on the chaulkboard or paper, and reading aloud The Wizard of Oz.
"Look out, look out Jack Frost is about.. such wonderful pictures he'll make... " Friday's a.m. frost led us to recite a class poem as well as explore physical change, temperature, and the water cycle.
2017 Summer Camps
For those who are already looking ahead to a summer full of fresh air and exploring nature's wonders, here's what we'll have going on at The Garden School! You can pick up a paper registration form in the office or register online at www.tinyurl.com/SummerGarden17
Grades 3 & 4 Academic Update
Growing in Independence & Confidence. We recite. We sing. We explore. We write.
We measure: Time, Height, Length, Weight, Quantity. We infer: Average, Round.
12 inches=1 foot, 3 feet=1 yard, 8 ounces=1 cup, 2 cups= 1 pint, 2 pints= 1 quart, 16 ounces=1 pound
Communication
Grades 3 & 4 Teacher, Angela Sauve'
Class day issues please text: 404-713-3367 & hello@thegardenmarietta.org
Ongoing communication please use, Faculty@thegardenmarietta.org>
Academic Growth & Mastery
Home practice always welcome! Keep track of home practice in one notebook and share with me!
1. Growing into Multiplication Masters:
5 Times Tables: "Happy Birthday"
6 Times Tables: "Pop Goes the Weasel"
7 Times Tables: "Head and Shoulders, Knees, Toes"
8 Times Tables: "Baby Beluga"
9 Times Tables: "Kitchen with Dinah"
12 Times Tables: "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star"
2. Developing as authors: Please check out a copy of The Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum Read aloud smoothly and loudly. Write a response using the question to begin your answer.
Chapter One
1. Describe the place where Dorothy lives (use three details).
2. What does Dorothy do when the house is being carried by the tornado?
Chapter Two
1. Who does Dorothy’s house kill?
2. What surrounds the land of Oz and prevents Dorothy from easily returning to Kansas?
3. Why does the Witch of the North kiss Dorothy?
Chapter Three
1. What does Dorothy do to get ready for her long journey to the Emerald City?
2. What is the favorite color of the people of Munchkinland?
3. What does the Scarecrow hope to get from the Wizard?
Chapter Four
1. Is the Scarecrow able to scare crows?
2. Who tells the Scarecrow that he will only be as good as a real man if he has a brain?
Chapter Five
1. What does the Tin Woodman hope to get from the Wizard?
2. Why is the Tin Woodman made of tin? Explain the whole story.
3. Practice calculating, if one digit is mastered, then increase to 2 digits...
64 + 7= 74x8=
64+37= 74x89=
Make up new problems each practice.
Please pack for indoor/outdoor.
Bring your raincoat each day.
WATER BOTTLE filled and visit restroom upon arrival.
Semester 2, Week 4
Happy Valentine's,
We had a fun and busy week at school.
We continued hearing stories of Saints and Hero's while we added summaries to each picture highlighting various aspects of the stories. Our stories varied from "Francis and Clare" to "Hiawatha, Bringer of Peace". Summaries vary from a single sentence in print to two or more in cursive depending on the student. The children also modeled various characters from the stories in clay or beeswax and as well as painted scenes using the wet-on-wet painting technique. We continued practicing our skip counting of threes using sticks, balls or beanbags to create the skip patterns and drew the threes multiplication fact flower. We had a special bonus class with Ms. Roxanne working on multiplication tables and measurement too!
This week the children played basketball inside and capture the flag outside with Mr. Lee, finished assembling the new desks for the second forest classroom and practicing pentatonic flute with Mr. Ben as well as working on the many gardening projects we have happening, such as seed planting, with Mr. Michael. We all enjoyed our week in Spanish with Senora Lina. Senora Lina will continue teaching Spanish until break, after which we will start our next language block.
A Valentine’s Day postis on our Facebook group outlining our Valentine’s Day fun. Please let me know if you need more information.
The weather continues to keep us on our toes with donning and shedding our layers. Please keep on sending them with your child! J Thank you!
Warmly,
Ms. Melissa
Connection and Attachment in Early Childhood Education
Ms. Lisa, Mr. Lee, Ms. Alexica, Ms. Jas, Ms. Naaz, and Ms. Melissa all had roles to play in the kindergarten this week! Those of us who don't usually spend time in there enjoyed getting to know these special little people better.
Knowing and loving every child in our school is a fundamental part of the teaching experience at The Garden School. When we speak and act out of love, we are building the world we dream of. When children understand to their very core that they are cherished and accepted, they are able to engage vigorously with the task of learning, trusting that they will be safe in exploring their physical, emotional, social, intellectual, and artistic capacities.
Research abounds on the long-term importance for young children of developing loving, attached relationships with adults. Learning how to build and maintain a positive and supportive relationship has a limited window in early childhood. There are many resources available on this topic, and we like to remember this summary from Tim Moore at the International Society for Early Intervention:
- Relationships matter. There is strong evidence that relationships of all types have a significant impact on the development and well-being of those involved.
- Relationships affect other relationships. Parallel processes operate at all levels of the chain of relationships and services, so that our capacity to relate to others is supported or undermined by the quality of our own support relationships.
- Relationships form a cascade of parallel processes. Relationships form a cascade of parallel processes from governments and societies through to parents and children.
- Effective relationships at all levels share common characteristics. There are nine key characteristics: attunement / engagement, responsiveness, clear communication, managing communication breakdowns, emotional openness, understanding one’s own feelings, empowerment and strengthbuilding, moderate stress / challenges, and building coherent narratives.
The Many Treasures of Mixed-Age Learning
With several students and teachers out last week with symptoms of the flu, our elementary students all crowded together for main lesson. While combining ages poses some pedagogical challenges, there is so much richness and connection that comes from having a chance to see how those older and younger than you learn. It was wonderful!
The practice of grouping students into grades based on their age during the school year is quite new in education. It developed after the Industrial Revolution as a way to ease the administrative burdens of educating large groups of students in rapidly expanding cities.
Although there are pedagogically sound reasons for such a division, they don't tell the whole story of education, and much is lost when we make assumptions that all children are developmentally ready for the same materials and experiences at the same time.
At The Garden School, small classes and caring, highly-trained teachers allow us to understand and meet the needs of all our students regardless of their age, and to feel confident that each of them is developing according to their best potential.