5-8-08  Today’s The  Day!  Here Come The Butterflies!

4-28-08 They are all in!

We took our chrysalis’s out of their jars and pinned them to our butterfly pavilion. They will remain there for us to observe until they emerge as butterflies.

4-25-08 Changing Time!

Check out what is happening - just today! All of the caterpillars crawled up to the top of the jar and fastened themselves to the lid. They curled themselves up and shed their skin for the last time. By time we were ready to leave for the day, two caterpillars had formed chrysalis’s .

Caterpillar Update 4-22-08

Over our LONG weekend - the caterpillars ate and grew. They have used up more than half of their food supply and have quadrupled their size. Each time they grow, they shed their old skin. We can find little balls of black furry bits at the bottom of the jars.

4-15-08 We named our caterpillars!

We have 2 jars of caterpillars. Each jar has 5 caterpillars. Everyone wrote the name that they wished on a slip of paper. We put all of the papers into a box and mixed them up. Then we chose the winning names. One jar has caterpillers named Darth Vater, Gaby, Cat-y, Matthew and Lazy. The second jar has caterpillers names Hannah, Jeffrey, Sky, Max and Jakey.

SOMETHING NEW IN OUR CLASSROOM!! 4-14-08

TODAY WE RECEIVED TWO CONTAINERS OF CATERPILLARS. WE ARE GOING TO TAKE PHOTOS EVERY FEW DAYS AND ADD THEM TO THIS POST SO THAT YOU CAN SEE THE CHANGES THAT ARE HAPPENING.

EVERYTHING THAT THEY NEED RIGHT NOW IS CONTAINED IN THE FOOD AT THE BOTTOM OF THE JAR THAT THEY ARE IN. AS THEY EAT THEY WILL GROW BIGGER AND BIGGER. WAIT UNTIL YOU SEE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!!

All about US

We are a Kindergarten class in a Pre-K through 8th grade school in NYC.
We are trying - through grant writing and hard work - to be a Technology forward program.

Last year, the students used seasonal visits to the Botanical Garden’s New York Chinese Scholars Garden to create magnificent digital photo essays and artwork. We continued on our study path to learn more about China, its customs, inventions and inhabitants. We eventually embarked on individual detailed research projects about asian animals. The students were excited about gaining new knowledge and sharing it with others.

This year, we are looking closer to home for inspiration. We are going to be studying STATEN ISLAND across the curriculum. We will be visiting, photographing, sketching, researching and learning about our island’s history and the many wonders to be found right here on our island home.

ALL About US
The important components of our classroom’s philosophy are Interest Based Learning and the Montessori Method. With these methods the entire curriculum, from the reading materials and the writing topics to the science projects and math, are driven by the children’s interest based participation in everyday learning activities. Materials are ‘hands on’ with a multitude of manipulatives that enrich a child’s understanding of the learning taking place. The children are challenged to find what excites them and holds their attention. They are encouraged to take risks and showcase their expertise. In doing so they have many opportunities to learn about themselves and their world, to learn about their own abilities and to see how they can influence things, people, and their environment. They learn to become organized scientific thinkers, explorers, active and competent learners, and eventually teachers of fellow students.
The students learn how to learn, which is one of the most essential goals of education. A curriculum built on the foundations of Interest Based Learning allows children full agency in their educations. They will learn how to organize data and information in meaningful ways, to use the Internet for research both effectively and safely, and to use expository texts to find interest-related information. The students take the skills and the knowledge they acquire from studying a specific ‘interest based’ topic and apply them to future learning. They are capable of transferring their skills so that they are able to acquire knowledge in any area of their choosing.
There are several goals for each school year: 1) Students will become fluent readers, creative writers and organized thinkers. 2) The partnerships between the child and parent and the school are strongly shaped. And 3) That morality and good judgment are modeled. It is our aim to relate learning to the children’s own passions so that learning is undeniably enjoyable for them. A love of gaining knowledge ensures that they will become motivated to excel and to become active, inspired learners.