As part of their exploration of Inuit culture, the K/1 class made “soap stone” carvings to add to their museum gallery. Through reading fiction and non-fiction text, they learned that the Inuit created carvings for a variety of reasons. The purposes might be functional, such as for fishing hooks and sewing needles, or more spiritual, bringing good luck to hunters.

 

 

Did you know you could taste books?  Rate books?   Neither did the 2/3 class at Vermont Day School.  A book tasting is when a person is looking for a new book and might need to try a few before they decide.  The 2/3s were trying to choose a series of books and they did so by tasting a few.

The tables were set, the books were displayed, the rating cards were standing by, the taste of a snack was ready to go.  Seats were taken, books were chosen and finally “you may read” rung through the air.  With the timer set at three minutes per book, patrons were asked to taste a book and then rate it.  While reading patrons were served a taste of a snack.   They did this four times before they decided on a series to read!

As part of their current Chemistry unit, the 2/3 class is exploring matter, practicing how to measure and categorize matter, and learning about the three main states of matter: solids, liquids, and gases. They brainstormed similarities and differences between the states using Venn diagrams, and had a lot of fun (and got really messy!) testing out Oobleck to see if it acts more like a solid or like a liquid. The students were intrigued to find out that sometimes it acts like a solid (it retains its shape when you hit it hard) and sometimes it acts like a liquid (it takes the shape of the container it’s in). Next up….investigating how matter can change from one form to another!

The 4/5 class is excited to launch a new project-based unit in Math focusing on geometry and measurement, and requiring students to apply their computational skills in a hands-on, collaborative project. Their driving question is: How can we design, build, and map 3-dimensional prototypes for a future Vermont Day School?

Over the course this project students will learn, practice and apply a variety of mathematical skills including: creating 3-dimensional polyhedra from 2-dimensional polygons, finding area, determining the reasonableness of solutions, managing a budget, using tables to organize data, mapping our school design on graph paper, using coordinate planes to plot points, representing 3-dimensional polyhedra as nets and learning geometric vocabulary. 

All are excited to embark on this rich, engaging learning experience in math. Stay tuned for more photos and details about the prototypes they create for a future Vermont Day School!

 

 

Last week, the K/1 class presented Navajo inspired short stories to the their schoolmates, as well as to their parents. The stories were creative and imaginative and incorporated information that they had learned about the Navajo culture. Students practiced reading their stories aloud and recorded them on iMovie to share with others. Well done, K/1s!