Tennis with Mr. C

Today in Gym class, Mr. C introduced the kindergartners to the game of tennis, using balloons and styrofoam 'rackets'.  The emphasis of the game was on eye-hand coordination, and it wasn't easy because sometimes the balloon had a mind of its own!  The children had great fun!!

Join us for the Nature Playdate on May 17th!

Arbor Day

Arbor Day is one of my favorite AFS traditions.  Outside, surrounded by the beauty of a spring day, it brings the whole school together to share in the celebration of Spring and renewal and a rite of passage as the Seniors prepare for their graduation and pass down their collective responsibility to the Juniors.  It is celebrated with poetry and music and the planting of new trees. The Seniors and their First Grade pages are dressed in the splendor of the season.  There are Morris dancers and Maypoles.  It is such a joyful experience. And while we started out a bit chilly on Friday afternoon, the sun broke through and warmed us up!

Kindergarten Dog Show!!

What an amazing conclusion to our dog study!  Our Kindergarten Dog Show was a huge and exciting success!  We were thrilled to have Raji's kindergarten cheering us on, and to our delight, several family members as well!  And, a testament to our community, we had the most phenomenal judging panel showing their support for all of our work. There was so much talent, it was tough to make decisions.  But they did a wonderful job, and every entrant won a first prize ribbon for their dog and a gold medal for their expert training!  It was a dreary, rainy day outside, but in our classroom it was pure radiant, sunshine!!

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Spring projects

Devin engaged the children in two spring projects that captured the joy and beauty of the season.  First they each designed their own kites, which they were thrilled to send soaring on two different occasions.  Afterward, the children wrote a poem to share their feelings about the experience.  The second project, nature sun catchers, gave the children an opportunity to work creatively with blossoms, grasses, sprigs of green and twigs.  Some children incorporated patterns or symmetry into their sun catcher, some were free form in style, and one was a nature peace sign.  They are gracing our classroom windows with the beauty of spring.

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Morris Arboretum

Our trip to the Morris Arboretum was wonderful! The weather was not too cold.  It was actually perfect to be out exploring on this beautiful spring day!  Before our lesson began, we had time to visit Out on a Limb, and expend some energy.

After a food web game that helped us understand the connections between the sun, plants and animals, and the way energy is exchanged between them, we spent the morning discovering the many aspects of the arboretum.  Enjoy our visit!