April 2019 Classroom Updates
The Owls and Otters are deep into their studies of Thailand. The children have taken an imaginary flight to Thailand and are learning about the culture, art, food, and climate. Carol and Virginia Watkins (Sebastian's grandmother and mom) visited to talk about their trip to Thailand and shared stories, pictures, and souvenirs. The children have also learned about Mardi Gras when Mr. Josh (music teacher) visited dressed in his Mardi Gras outfit and taught the children songs. Both classes had trips to the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education. The Otters attended a program on Canids, and the Owls attended a program on raccoons. The students are spending more time outside to enjoy the beautiful spring weather and learning about the signs of the season. They are using materials from nature to learn about counting and letters.
The Acorns have completed their Astronomy studies, papers, and projects, and are now learning about weather systems, seasonally and latitudinally. They went to the NC Arboretum to attend a program about weather and viewed the NOAA weather station there. The students went to the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education for a program on the "Wild Woodlands." Silas's mom, April, gave a lesson on lichen, and Cedar's mom, Gretchen, helped the Acorns start some seeds that are happily growing in the sunny window sill. The 2nd and 3rd graders are working on Service Learning Projects.
The Monarchs have also wrapped up Astronomy and are moving into the Work of Air and how it affects weather. They learned how to gather data for their weather station, and they are starting their research for weather projects. They attended a program at the NC Arboretum on Meteorological Methods. The students are hard at work on their science fair research and projects. The Monarchs are actively planning and preparing for their campout in Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest. Each student has 2-3 native flora to learn about. While on the trip, the students will locate their plants and teach the class about them. They have learned about who Joyce Kilmer was and the very large trees they will see. The students are also learning the proper way to pack a backpack.
The Coyotes are beginning their comprehensive study of America during the Cold War era. They will learn about Soviet/American relations during that time, art and literature influence by the Cold War, the Space Race, and ways we are still affected by this era today. They will complete a poetry/narrative creative writing project on this topic. The Coyotes are using meteorological lab equipment from the NC Science House to collect weather data such as temperature, wind speed, relative humidity, and barometric pressure. They are hard at work in math studying such topics as trigonometric ratios, manipulating polynomials, and calculating unit costs. They are working on science fair research and projects. They are also working on developing the Escape Room event.