Outdoor Classroom

Now that our new nature playscape has been completed, we have the opportunity to explore this space from different perspectives. Not only is it an inviting area that was designed to engage our children in outdoor exploration and discovery, but it is also an area that can be utilized as an “outdoor classroom.”

This Wednesday we held our very first Meeting for Worship outside. We sat on the wooden benches to enjoy the sights and sounds all around us as we settled into silence. Some friends were inspired to share their thoughts and stood up to speak their mind. “Meeting in quiet is so peaceful” one friend shared as another said, “Moment of silence means we’re calm.”

And, on Thursday, our newly designed “stage area” was the perfect spot for us to sit and have our Morning Meeting. What a wonderful way to start our school day and connect with the beauty and wonder of nature.

Community Building w/ 3rd grade

One of the many ways in which we foster relationships with others on campus is through our partnerships between grades.  As Kindergarteners, we get the chance to partner with Felix’s and Karolye’s 3^rd grade class.

We paid them a visit this past Friday and gathered for Morning Meeting. Everyone got the chance to greet one another, “Kindergarten style.” We sat down in a circle and one by one we stated our name and then “passed the peace.” Afterwards, we sang Bob Marley’s song “Don’t worry about a thing...”

   

Following our greeting, the 3^rd graders were asked to share their thoughts about why we have moment of silence and what does it mean to them. One of the third graders replied, “It’s a time to get your bad feelings out and not worry about things” and another answered, “It’s a time to relax your body and share something.” And yet another responded, “You can share your mistakes too!”

Thank you 3rd graders! We are looking forward to many more times together.

Nick Bruel's visit

After having to postpone his original visit to AFS, we were fortunate to meet Nick Bruel on Friday. Nick Bruel is the bestselling author and illustrator of the beloved Bad Kitty series. Nick introduced himself to us and explained how he knew early on that he wanted to be a writer. He shared his story of how “he loved nothing more than to write stories and make drawings to go along with them”. Using the SMART Board, Nick showed us some of his most popular books and read them too. In an extremely funny and very entertaining way, he read Bad Kitty, Poor Puppy and A Bad Kitty Christmas. He had us all laughing hysterically.  

After the read alouds, Nick discussed how he comes up with a story. He said that once he gets an idea, he then asks many questions. To demonstrate this strategy, Nick showed us cards with different words and invited us to share our ideas on what the story may be about for each of them. For example, one of the words was “Splash.”

“What do you think a story with this title is about?”

“Swimming”

“Who is swimming?”

“A dog and a lion”

“Where is the dog and lion swimming?”

“In the ocean”

“How did they get to the ocean?

“They ran to the ocean”

“Is the water warm or cold?”

“Warm”

“How long have they been swimming in the ocean?”

“2 minutes”

And Nick and the Kindergarteners went on and on. Please ask us how the story ends. We would love to share it with you. It’s a great way for us to practice retelling and summarizing a story as we identify the beginning, the middle and the end of the story.

Trees and Shapes

We have our new play structure in our outdoor playscape, and the children are ecstatic!  While admiring it, the children noticed two things.  It is made from trees, and it has many shapes.  We decided to go on a shape walk through the school, and the children felt very grown up with their clipboards and pencils.  We wandered through the hallways noticing how many shapes there are around us.  We talked about the various attributes of each shape, and we practiced drawing one on our recording sheets as we saw them.  We couldn't find any trapezoids until the end of our shape journey, and the children were so excited to finally have one to draw on their papers!

We have been learning the names of shapes in Spanish, and we also went on an outdoor shape walk. The children could hardly contain their excitement as they found shapes all around them!  It is inspiring to see such joy in discovery.

We had an interesting discussion about trapezoids, squares, and rectangles.  They all have 4 sides and 4 corners, and yet they are different shapes!!

Visit From The 11th Graders!

Field Day is coming on Wednesday!  This is a day of fun relay races, and the Juniors are paired up with the kindergarteners to participate in the races.  They came by for a visit today to meet the young ones.  They joined us during our lunch time and played with us for a little while in our Outdoor Playscape.  Cross-grade interactions are very exciting for our younger children, and they are quite educational for the older students as well.  Initially, many of the students are not sure how to interact with each other.  Soon they develop fun and nurturing relationships that have a positive impact o both groups.

Moment of Silence

Meeting for Worship is the heart of Quakerism and the center of spiritual focus for AFS. Quakers believe there is “that of God” in each person. The belief is that each individual can steer himself or herself toward one’s own truth and that silence is the manner in which this process can take place. In our Kindergarten classroom, we have been talking about what it means to be in a “moment of silence” and how to think of it in a positive way.  We want the children to expect it and gradually become comfortable with it.  It is an opportunity for not only shared silence, but for reflection as well. As we gather in silence, Kindergartners learn to listen to their own thoughts, and if they so feel the need to share, they may rise and do so. During one of our many conversations, we asked the Kindergartners what does a “moment of silence” mean to you? ....

GK: “It’s the nice thing to do. It’s peaceful.”

Cara:  “Helps us relax our body.”

Matthias: “Moment of silence makes you happy and makes you very peaceful.”

Sania: “You’re completely quiet and thinking.”

Jason: “It’s peaceful and it makes people happy.”

Luc: “Love.”

Saniya: “AFS is where everybody makes friends and if somebody is doing something wrong, somebody tells them.

 .... and, after sharing silence, we asked the Kindergartners what thoughts they were having during their moment of silence and some responses were:

Hayden: “Having friends and helping the earth.”

Sameerah: “Being peaceful”

Saniya: “I was thinking the earth and nobody was talking and hitting.”

Cara: “Sharing friendship.”

Sania: “It was feeling peaceful. It feel good when I breathe.”

GK: “I felt peaceful and quiet.”

Oliver: “It felt friends.”

Matthias: “It felt soft.”

Neil: “Peaceful.”

Sameerah: “It felt quiet.”

It is experiences like these that strengthen us in our lives and our relationships with others. It nurtures the bonds of our community.

We also share a moment of silence before we eat snack and lunch. We light candles, and the moment the candle touches the table, the children know that it is time to rest their hands on their laps and become silent. We tell them that the reason for sharing these moments of silence is to give us a sense of calm. First, we begin by taking a deep breath and think about what it is to settle our bodies. This helps us focus our attention in order to create an opportunity to experience the presence. It can harmonize us with those around us.

¡Noticias de Alicia!

¡Bienvenidos familia, amigas, y amigos! Welcome! For this school year, 2012-13, I will be teaching Spanish to the youngest members of our AFS community and I couldn’t be more excited. In fact, our journey has already begun. During our “clase de Español” (Spanish class), we have been practicing words for greetings. My aim is for our Kindergarteners to demonstrate an understanding of Spanish words used when greeting someone as well as common and polite gestures such as a hand shake or a wave. The phrases we have been working on are:

¿Cómo estás?  (How are you?)

¡Muy bien, gracias! (Very well, thank you!)

¡Asi, asi! (so,so)

No muy bien, gracias. (Not very well, thank you)

¡Hasta luego! (See you later)

¡Adiós! (Good-bye)

We have also been practicing on how to ask ones’ name.

¿Cómo te llamas? (What is your name? or the literal translation, How are you called?)

¡Me llamo, _______! (My name is ______! or I am called ________!)

So, go ahead and give it a try! Practice at home with your child how to ask each others’ name and greet one another in Español.

Until my next “noticias” (news) ....

Paz,

Alicia