Home for the Holidays?

Rocky needs a home for the holidays! If you want to take part in the care and comfort of the guinea this winter break please let me know by submitting an RSVP on BigTent.

The Art of Red Ball

With help from from Kim, Tiffani, Tom, and Sunita the kindergartners did their part to support our school by completing this year's Red Ball art project. You can see the determination on their well photographed faces. Thanks Rolfs for coordinating and cataloging this absolutely gorgeous masterpiece!!!

Hanukkah, Hanukkah, Light the Menorah

Kindergarten celebrated Hanukkah by lighting many menorahs!


Interestingly enough, this holiday brought many philosophical questions to the minds of our young ones. While reading a age appropriate text on the historical significance of the holiday many children had questions such as, "What is a God", "Why do they celebrate winning a fight" and "who was right?"

Each child got the chance to share their answers to these question when several peers brought them up. However, when asked directly what I believe we got into another discussion about what teachers teach and what families teach.

My favorite quote from the discussion was Jeffrey's, "its your job to teach us, and you have the answer...And you CAN'T teach us it!" I smiled and stated, "We all get to choose what we believe when science can't explain something." Lucia then stated, "Why do we get to share what we think and you can't? That is sad." Jeffrey then retorted, "It's just like our book Whose in the Garden. Everyone thinks they are right. And they all have good answers, but there is a righter right." Jeff then asked, "Mrs. K...what holiday do you celebrate?" He thought he out smarted me, but that is still a question I am not allowed to answer.

That's what I call social studies!

Stefan's Family Culture

Wow! Stefan completed an entire research paper on his Romanian heritage!
He dressed the part as well in a traditional costume. He sang us a Romanian Christmas carol, shared some wonderful breads and told us of Transylvania and its ruthless leader. Many kids agreed they would love to visit Romania and would be brave enough to venture to Count Dracula's lair. Stefan also shared his family rules, one being: "Ask for what you need, not what you want." We had quite a discussion about the difference between those two ideas and why it is important to know the difference. Thank you Stefan for teaching us so much! No wonder there is a Christmas celebration devoted to those named Stefan!!!

The World Forestry Center

Jeff experiments with the varying masses of construction grade woods.
Tom and his group control the production of a saw mill.
Aneel, Mark, Audrie and Jeff (look between the riders : ) go for a white water excursion.


The phenomenal pictures included below were taken by Tom Rolfs. Thanks Tom are the memories!





On the ride home we saw how hard our kids work on their learning!

Celebrating Diwali

Kindergarten celebrates every festival of light that is represented by our community of learners. This year we had the pleasure or learning and celebrating Diwali, a Hindi festival thankful for the triumph of good over evil. This five day celebration focuses on a different aspect of the goodness in our lives. To show how evil is bested, fireworks are lit to banish the darkness. Kindergarten made paper fireworks and each student chose what they were most grateful for during the five day festival.

Lucia's Family Culture

We learned that Lucia's family love to be outdoors, loves to cook together and has many friends in other parts of the country. Lucia is a master at going with the flow, being flexible and yet knowing when something has gone against her family values.

Thank You, Thanksgiving

We gave thanks on Thursday thanks to all the families who came to help us!

The Test's the Thing

There comes a time in all our lives when we must endure a test. In kindergarten, this starts in October and occurs every few weeks until we get into middle school. Fortunately, these kids love "telling the teacher how much we've learned." They get to use their offices and work seriously like "we're in college". SO serious in fact, that the moment the teacher takes a picture they have to look serious too!

Addie's Family Culture

Addie shared many attributes of her household. She let us know what it mean to be a "sister [that] sticks together, why family like being together and how far you have to travel to see some of those you love.

Autumn Flies...Away

Sometimes, we just need to learn a little about practical science application. After learning parts of a leaf, how they lose their color and why, and what happens to them as they decompose, we study what happens when five-year-olds have seven minutes outside with such specimens.



And once in a while, the teacher has to get in on the fun too!