Pearls in the Sky
I know this has nothing to do with my usual posts, Home Ec, but I just had to share this little garden delight with you. Almost everyday when I go into the garden, I run into this very industrious spider's…
Yes They Can!
This past week my students completed reading the first book of the year, The Family Under the Bridge. I was delighted that my youngest son not only knew what to do but dove into the work headfirst! He began by…
Pages From a Third Grade Observation Journal
Almost exactly a year ago we posted about observation journaling (A Closer Look – Part 1 & Part 2). Working on this kind of journal is an important and holistic endeavor that builds science, reasearch, art, and writing skills. At…
No Rules Animal Poetry
Douglas Florian is a poet and artist extraordinaire! Winner of the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award and recipient of an ALA Notable Children’s Book Award, he is the author and illustrator of many delightful children’s books. Douglas Florian believes there…
Back-to-School
It’s time to transition from summer back-to-school. Coming Soon…“Welcome Fall!” iMadonnari Celebration fashioned after Edward Hopper’s Approaching a City, 1946.
Creative Writing and The Periodic Table
A few days ago Søren shared an idea, “am going to write a story using all the letters on the periodic table.” What in the world? After a summer of focusing on the garden—tilling earth, planting seeds, and harvesting fruit—the…
Our City Garden
I’ve been watching our garden grow. The boys have learned so much about attention as they tend this living and growing thing. When little green tomatoes appeared they beamed with satisfaction. And when it was time for the first harvest…
Da Vinci Summer II: Spontaneity
Sir Ken Robinson has all sorts of ideas about creativity: “You can be imaginative all day long and never do anything.” “To be creative you have to do something.” He defines imagination as, “…the process of having original ideas that…
Sweet Tradition
When Hannah was little, one of her favorite books was The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear. We read this story over and over! The story is clever, rhythmic and provides terrific opportunities for garden…
Listen with Your Eyes
I love summer not because we are “off” but because we get to jump start and fine tune our rhythm of routine. We get to be outdoors. And this summer that fact, connected to our policy of TQM equaled a…