Specialty Class Highlight September 2022: Music

Please read to the end for a music listening assignment.

We are having loads of fun in music class. We started the year by learning about a magical musician who could change the way that people feel with his music. The students agreed to become apprentices to this gnomish wizard and work hard to learn the ways of music. They have been doing a great job.

First and Second Grades - Besides having lots of fun, our focus in first and second grade has been on learning a variety of songs, understanding high and low sounds, and the ways notes can move. We have begun to use these concepts on the bells and penny whistles. 

    *Penny whistles go home on Wednesday and need to be brought back to school on Monday. Please help your child to remember to practice and bring back their instrument on Monday.

Third and Fourth Grades - We started the year with a focus on rhythm. The students have begun to create a class rhythm composition. That has been put on hold for a while with the arrival of first, the penny whistles, and second, the ukulele.

    *Ukuleles and penny whistles go home on Wednesday and need to be brought back to school on Monday. Please make sure that your child has a clip on tuner for their ukulele. Also, please remind your child to play when they have their instruments at home. 

Fifth Grade - Fifth grade also started the year with a focus on rhythm and has worked to create a class rhythm composition. We have begun a new ukulele skill with the playing of individual notes. 

   *Please make sure that your child has a clip on tuner for their ukulele. Also, please remind your child to play when they have their instruments at home and remember to bring them back on Monday.

Listening assignment - We learn by being exposed to quality works of art. To that end, I am going to share with parents some musical selections that will be good for your children’s musical brains. Please share this music with your kids.

At this time I would like to introduce you to an album called Bolling’s Greatest Hits. (which you can find on Spotify and YouTube). The composition and playing are excellent. The different sections tell stories without a single word. The track Africaine is one of my favorites, but many of them are wonderful. I hope you enjoy it!

Warm regards,

Ki Ben

Specialty Class Highlight September 2022: Environmental Education

Dear Community,

I was really excited to start the year and to get to know the students. The forest is a magical place that invites creativity, imagination and creation. From woodworking and building projects to farm and garden chores, your children are engaged in a wide array of purposeful hands-on activities.

First Grade 

In first grade, we listened to a story about a magical town called Mountaintop. The town houses the baker and his children, the potter, the weaver and many more. Your students are now working on building the town. They have gathered clay and are currently creating the farm animals that will populate Mountaintop.

Second Grade

The second graders have been put in charge of the community compost. They will be able to use the composted fertile soil for their third grade gardening projects next year. The students deliver the wheelbarrow to the compost every day and return it to the parking lot. (Currently the community fills half a wheelbarrow each day. Hopefully we will get to three wheelbarrows a day in the near future!) Besides that, the students work on creating an herb garden next to the parking lot. 

Third Grade

Our third graders began the year with farming and gardening, and taking care of our goats, donkeys and chickens. We are currently taking a break from farming and are creating an herb garden for the Joyful Beginnings program. In addition, we are playing various games such as mastering an obstacle course (that includes a fallen tree), walking backwards,and jumping on one leg.

Fourth Grade

The fourth graders began the year by researching rabbits and rabbit habitats. Then we designed a rabbit hutch that we are going to add to the farm. The students are learning to use saws, hammers and clamps in the process. The fourth graders will be put in charge of caring for our bunnies once they join the farm. 

Fifth Grade

In fifth grade, we are busy transforming the earth from the play area into a pizza oven. Your students started with digging and learned what's good clay for building. We add some water from the creek and a bit of hay to the clay. Students then mix the clay with hay and water using their feet. After that, they shape the earth to create bricks and arrange them. We hope that by the end of the year, we will be able to invite you all for a taste of pizza. 

Specialty Class Highlight September 2022: Mandarin

Dear Garden Families,

I am very excited to start this year’s Mandarin lessons with the Grades students. I hope that my students will have a good time learning Mandarin, and at the same time, learn valuable wisdom to become a happy person.

First Grade:

This is our first year of learning Mandarin. We start with a greeting song, learning how to greet each other properly and how to pay respect to each other.  We have learned how to sing the facial songs, color songs, and tiger song.  Later, we will learn how to count to 100 in Mandarin.

Second Grade:

We reviewed all the songs and contents from last year. Our class quickly learned a new song: figure song. Now our class is ready for Chinese characters. Chinese characters are made of basic strokes. We begin by learning the 14 basic strokes. Once we have mastered all the basic strokes, we will learn how to write numbers in Chinese.

Third Grade:

We reviewed all the songs from last year in the first two weeks. Now we are concentrating on reviewing the basic strokes of Chinese characters, as well as numbers. We will make a Chinese calendar this year.

Fourth Grade:

We reviewed all the songs from last year. We also learned a new ancient poem and reviewed the content for Chinese characters. Now we are concentrating on learning new characters, understanding how the characters are formed, and setting the foundations for more complex characters in future. Homework for writing characters will be assigned. 

Fifth Grade:

We reviewed all the songs from last year. We also learned a new ancient poem and reviewed the content for Chinese characters. Now we are concentrating on reviewing the old characters as well as learning new characters. With more characters, students will learn how to form a term with different characters. Homework for writing characters will be assigned.

Warmly,

Cerina