Looking Back

It's hard for me to write the final post of the year but this is a happy one.  And, a big shout out goes to Ms. Freeman, whose mother-in-law is the inventor of the awesome "scrolling calendar" we've used everyday this year to keep track of our days!  Here's how it worked...  A common feature of our daily End Meeting was to collectively decide on an experience from the day that we wanted to "capture" on the scrolling calendar. Each week the calendar displayed a square for each day (so 7 squares). But on our last full day together we finally unrolled the scroll!  It stretched from the K space to Mr. Pecor's room!  And below you can see us revisiting highlights from the year- when Aiden joined our crew, when we met Leo Lionni's Frederick, and more!  What a gift to ourselves.

Happy Summer!

Mindful Movement by Our Own Design

An exciting project that we were able to enjoy right at the end was a kind of culmination of much of the work we have done throughout the year with mindful movement (often called yoga).
Starting at the beginning of the year I introduced different poses and breaths to the children as a way to bring awareness to the present and to help regulate our energy.  We kept up with this practice through brain breaks, with our 100th Day Sequence of 10 poses for 10 counts each,  the website "Cosmic Kids", and most recently through the Design-Your-Own-Sequence Template that I created for the class.  Our tech integration specialist, Kristen Courcelle, was incredibly helpful to me with this project.  You can see how it works through the pictures below.  First, children sit down at their Chromebook and click and drag stick figures in familiar poses to create a movement sequence in 8 frames.  Next, they stand up and try their own sequence being mindful to link their breath to the movements with slow, full in and exhales.  After trying their own sequence, children can team up with a friend to simply try someone else's or, to practice a sequence together!  Alternatively, we can project one person's sequence for the whole class to try as a group.  It's a design your own mindful movement break!  Have a look.

Ending Strong

You can tell by the posting date that school has ended and I'm still trying to catch up!  It was hard to say goodbye and the quote of the week from the last week of school rings true, "Good friends don't say goodbye, they simply say 'see you soon'".  Perhaps this post (and the one or two that will follow) will help us to remember some great moments from the last two weeks and to stay connected.  Have a look at the flurry of Candle Days that we enjoyed in the last two weeks.  We learned about Nature Appreciation with Colin and Graham, Crystals with Josie, Art Inspired from Nature with Matilda, Costa Rican Animals with Shea, and Healthy Cooking with Mesa.  So much fun!

At long last...

Here are some stories that we wrote in EARLY spring but just managed to post.  Some students read their's as recently as today!  Maple sugaring was on our minds.

Time Is Flying

In these final weeks it seems like each day we are doing something for the last time.  The word "bittersweet" comes to mind for sure!  Have a look at us making cards for our fifth grade buddies and then enjoying play time with them on the playground .

Right down to the last days we are continuing to learn from one another.  Recent Candle Days have highlighted Taekwondo and Tibetan Culture.

Our final Social Studies unit of the year, mapping, has captured our interest and will be featured in individual Kindergarten Memory Books.  Below you can see a classmate working hard to map the classroom using the idea of a "bird's eye view".

Working Harder To Get Smarter

The title of this post is a phrase we use in our classroom and I hope the pictures from last week will show we are doing just that!
For some time now we have been getting to know the characters, plots, vocabulary, and story structure of Arnold Lobel's classic Frog and Toad books.  After watching a claymation video of some of the chapters, we became inspired.  Here is some of our work...

On Wednesday we met up with Juli, our friend and bird expert from the Winnooski Parks Department for our third and final birding expedition.  This time we left Orchard School at met Juli at Muddy Brook Park for a river trail hike and observation walk.  We were lucky to see a Yellow Rumped Warbler and a Red Tailed Hawk!

Later in the week our fifth grade buddies helped us research accurate images of common Vermont birds so that we could color our guide books like scientists.

Lastly, if you haven't been outside the classroom lately than you may not have seen the individual and group projects that demonstrate the children's understanding of two recent units of study- conservation of our natural resources and plants as a food source.  Below you will see our mural that explains how when it comes to vegetables... sometimes we eat the tops, sometimes the bottoms, and sometimes the middles!  Hanging in front of the mural, you will also see our globe mobiles that communicate tips for how to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.

Aack! Time is Running Out

In the latest classroom newsletter I mentioned how aware I've become that our time together in this class in drawing to a close.  I'm struck by how much I still want to experience with this group!  We seem to be busier than ever with many of the things that have brought us joy throughout the year: contributing to the garden, learning with our big buddies, and deepening our friendships. Below you can see us learning about Addie's passion for painting and the celebration of Diwali with Vyaan- two fantastic Candle Days.

On Friday before a big Orchard community weekend, we had Explore time with our big buddies.  It was challenging and inspiring to make a tower that was taller than Mr. Wright!  Some Kindergarteners took that idea and decided to make a fort big enough to get inside.  

When the weekend arrived the fun didn't stop.  Below you can see a glimpse of Veggie Printing at Spring Fling.  Many thanks to the PTO for putting on a great, inclusive event.

And on to Saturday for the first (hopefully annual) Garden Work Day!  Teachers, parents, students, former students, one Mr. T came out to lend a hand reading the garden beds and putting in some new plantings.  It was so encouraging to see us working together and making a big difference in all the growing spaces.  A big shout out to all who helped.

This last picture is from earlier in the week when our class went out to thin the radishes.  If you are interested in helping care for our gardens this summer please get in touch!