PACT in Action: 2006-2007

2006-2007

Share the "Garden Parent Experience" Are you considering being a Garden Parent for your child's classroom? Kindergarten parent Stephanie blogged all about it. You can take a look at end-of the-year booklet, see the slideshow, or read about Room 34 Garden Blog.

Dream Community

Back in March, Room 36 led a showcase of the Dream Community they built. We started by learning what a community is using the social studies curriculum as a resource. A month long unit plan was formed that taught students about maps, locations, neighborhoods, goods, services, workers, products, jobs, and more. Using guided reading groups, whole class discussion, interactive readers, big books, brainstorm charts, videos, and songs, students learned the components and special qualities of a community. After this preteaching, students used a concept web to brainstorm what they wanted in their Dream Community. As the class collaborated, they simultaneously visited places in their community like the Acme Bread Company, a tour of a fire station and various members of our community (a nurse, a software engineer, etc.,) visiting the classroom. The K/1 students then were given a choice of how they wanted to create their own communities through building a 3D model, creating a drama, drawing a map, creating a book or creating a poster of pictures from magazines. They also created a picture of their dream community at the computer lab.

The 1st graders created ad posters with the 5 W's (Who, What, Where, When, Why, How) and put them up around campus advertising the showcase. Also they created a letter to send out to parents inviting them to come participate.

Classrooms from all throughout the Castro School campus signed up to walk through, observe, and ask questions about their Dream Community. The students described their process, the parts, and talked about what is important in a community. After school, they sold goods that they manufactured (using buttons that they sorted, priced, and purchased using an introduction to money concepts).

They made $45 selling their goods! They held a discussion on where the money should go, did some independent writing in their journals, and then voted on one place in our community. Since they had been learning about animals in science and how to take care of them/respect them, the students decided to donate to "Animal Rescuers". Ms. McCleary got connected with a place called Pets in Need, which is "the first No-Kill Adoption Shelter serving the Peninsula and Greater Silicon Valley." The first graders drafted a letter to the shelter explaining their donation, including how they made the money and why they wanted to donate it to the shelter. The community theme continued until the end of the year as a way to work together, prepare for safety drills, and develop their academic and social skills. "Room 36 is a GREAT COMMUNITY!!!!!!"

Room 9: Learning By Doing The fourth and fifth grade have had a busy winter. The highpoint was our trip to the Balclutha, a ship docked in San Francisco Bay. We served as crew for the ship for one night. We were all assigned to a crew and learned how to tie knots, mouse hooks, haul hawsers, and swab the deck. Each crew stood night watch, except the Cooking crew who had to get up at 4:00 am to cook us breakfast. Click here to read more ...

Room 13: Garden of the Senses By Michelle Darling (michelledarlingΦnurturetouch.com)

The room 13 garden is planted and we are now waiting for seeds to sprout, plants to grow tall and more flowers to bloom.

Along with Teacher Stan Adermann and garden parents Michelle Darling and Daniel Trujillo, the second- and third-graders worked hard to create a “Garden of the Senses.” The garden is divided into 4 sections, representing TOUCH, LOOK, TASTE and SMELL. (The fifth sense is represented by a windchime marked “HEAR”). Each section features plants that encourage kids to explore that sensory modality. For example, the TASTE section features tomato, parsley & radish, while the SMELL garden features mint, rosemary & lavender.

The goals of our garden are to encourage kids to: § Appreciate plants using all senses! § Learn about individual plants in the garden, their needs and characteristics. § Enjoy garden-based crafts and activities. § Practice basic gardening skills. Here is a timeline of what we have accomplished so far: Click here to read more ...

City Goverment

Ms Bonnie and her class made a field trip to City Hall to request a crosswalk on Latham Street. The Mountain View Voice wrote about it as an example of Civics in action, and a creative way to teach children about government. Click here to read more ...

It was an amazing day. In the morning, we practiced reading our class letter, re-read each child's letter, and talked about the process of asking the City to change something.

We discussed the fact that we can only ask the City. They make the decision, and that their decisions are made based on what is good for the whole city. We must do more than simply write a letter. We must give them reasons for our request, try to convince them.

For example, I said, we might ask to have our classroom walls covered with candy. They would probably say no, because it would only be good for us (??!?) not for all the people in the city.

The children came up with reasons and 5 or 6 said they would like to speak at our meeting that afternoon. They practiced what they would say.

After lunch and a quick bathroom break, we set off - with a bagful of umbrellas just in case. We sent Stefan and his mother Carina off by car, charged with keeping the precious letters (and Stefan's baby brother) dry.

This was our second walk downtown this week. On Tuesday, we had stopped to marvel at the little bridge with the troll ("a monster - I like it" yelled Ashley). We also stopped to talk to the satellite dish installer and numerous other fascinations. Friday, we were all business, remarking on the wonders we passed without slowing down (much)!

25 minutes later, we arrived at City Hall. A stop at the drinking fountain and reminder of our purpose served to collect our thoughts.

Cathy Lazarus, head of Mountain View Department of Public Works, greeted us with a warm smile and a clear plan. She would say thank you and tell the children how great they were for doing this and give them a gift. We walked into the conference room and sat, two children to a chair.

I think she was a little surprised that we also had a plan. We read the letter together, presented it and the book of individual letters to her, then prepared for our "speeches".

I wish I could remember the exact words. I can't, but I can tell you that the room was quiet, filled with respect and sincerity. Every adult present (while holding wiggling toddlers or keeping a firm hand on a spinning chair) was savoring the experience of seeing our children with such resolve about a real civic issue.

Here is what they said (or close approximations):

Shruti: Please give us a crosswalk. If we don't have a crosswalk, chldren will get lost. So we really need you to give us a crosswalk. Thank you.

Duane: Please can you give us a crosswalk so that kids can be safe?

Kimmy: Please give us a crosswalk so the children will be safe.

Dylan: Please could we have a crosswalk so people could be safe so we don't get hit by cars. Thank you. Stefan: Please give us a crosswalk because people need to be safe.

Madeline: Please give us a crosswalk so children won't get hit by cars crossing the street on field trips.

After the speeches were finished, Ms. Lazarus told us that she would give the letter to Mr. Traffic, the man who decides where the crosswalks are placed. His real name is not Mr. Traffic, but that is what they call him at City Hall. He would give the letter to the painter who will paint the crosswalk.

She raised the blinds. "Mr. Painter will not be able to paint the crosswalks today," she said, demonstrating her knowledge of kindergarters' sense of time (some thought the lines might be already painted when we got back to school!). She pointed out that in the rain, the paint would wash away.

Her gift was an aerial map of Castro School. She made sure the children pointed out the correct intersection to her, so she would know where to place the crosswalks.

After all the thank yous and goodbyes, she walked us out to the lobby, where we found the Arts Focus exhibit. The next 1/2 hour we spent finding our own and others' art projects on display. They were very positive and excited, not only at their own accomplishments, but those of all the kids.

2:10. Time to walk back. As we power-walked back to school to make it back by 2:30, the children noticed the bridge and troll in passing, but the conversation was mostly about art projects. And crosswalks. Every street we crossed, someone duly noted whether or not there was a crosswalk there.

Lessons learned, worlds broadened, accomplishments completed. Just another day in our wonderful kindergarten! Click here to fold up the details again ...

Student Council When it was time to choose a Student Council representative, Ms. Ross' class had a lot of volunteers. Almost everybody had a suggestion for something fun for the school to do. The class discussed all their ideas and then Ms. Ross shared her ideas about leadership and service. The most important thing, she told the class, is not having great ideas for parties and activities. The most important thing is the ability to listen. She asked the class who is their best listener, and gave them time to think about it. By the end of the day, the class had found their representative with a remarkable level of agreement.

Festival Of Lights December is the perfect time for bringing together our unique PACT community. Each year, our wonderful, wide-eyed kindergardners and first graders perform for family, friends, and fellow students.
The Festival of Lights was held at the Mountain View Community Center. The decorations were almost limitless with the colorful lights and this year's International theme - International Snowmen. The tables were adorned in white tablecloths and table runners with flags from all nations and snowmen colored by the children. Snowmen of different types along with many strings of lights surrounded the room and stage.
The evening officially began with a skit and candle lighting by some of the fifth graders. Then, the food! Families brought special homemade delicacy's which culminated in a tasty potluck of dishes from other countries and secret family recipes. The highlight of the evening was when 250 people shared food and kids delighted in sampling dishes from families of other classmates.
The kids sang out loud as cameras flashed and video cameras recorded. With each song, the teachers and families grew more proud of the performing children. The pitch of excitement was high with the kids and their families.
After much applauding hugs and kisses, the end of the magical evening was near. There was a new sense of kinship, friendship and promise of more to come for this community. The PACT Social Committee wishes to thank all who participated, performed, and donated their time to make this evening a wonderful event.
PACT is an active and cohesive community with monthly activities, including children play dates, parent-only and family events scheduled throughout the year.

Masters In Art Another really cool lesson that Bonnie Malouf is teaching in Room 34 is the MASTERS in ART. She began with Claude Monet. She put up a poster from an art exhibition, which shows a WATER LILLIES painting by Monet. After reading some books about him and discussing the colors he used and how created this work, she had the students create their own "Monet masterpieces". [A funny story about this. My kinder came to me with a book one day, and showed me a picture of an older man with a white beard. He said, "Look Mom, this guy looks just like Claude Monet. Can you read what it says about him?"]
Next, Bonnie is going to discuss Roy Lichtenstein. He also did a work called WATER LILLIES, but in his very different style using dots. She wants to show the students how artists use very different mediums and styles, but the result is all art.

Garden Harvest Lessons The first garden harvest presented an opportunity for the Kindergarten class to have lessons in ecology, math, botany and charm. The class harvested the lettuces they had grown, and washed them in a salad spinner. Then they opened the pomegranates and each child counted their seeds and practiced making estimates. Ethan wanted to count by twos, and threes. Duane popped the seeds until he was speckled red with juice. Each child got to choose something from the garden to add to the salad. They chose microgreens, celery, radish sprouts, geranium, and violas, and then it was time to eat. Ms. Bonnie helped the children practice their best table manners. They had to sit down at their place and wait quietly until everyone was seated, and say "please" and "thank you" to the servers. Shruti brought oranges to share too. After they were done, Kimmy wanted to feed the worms, which live in our class wormbin and compost our vegetable scraps.

Pumpkin-Themed Math Mrs. Ross's and Mrs. Hygate's second-grade classes spent the day measuring, weighing, carving, scooping and counting seeds from pumpkins. They charted all their efforts on varying types charts which now hang around the classroom. It was a real "hands-on" math activity. At one point, they had hundreds of Dixie cups containing pumpkin seeds around the classroom. After all was counted and sorted, the children took home pumpkin seeds for roasting and jack o'lanterns for All Hallow's Eve haunting.

Pirate Day The children in Ms. Bonnie's class had a pirate day, complete with sashes and bandanas, parrots with crackers, and gold chocolate coins. They learned pirate-ship talk and learned to stand at attention, read pirate books, and learned a pirate song to sing in their pirate parade. They played "Pin The Tailfeather On The Parrot" and discussed the letters in PIRATE and PARROT.

Oobleck Science and Reading In Mrs. Jensen's class, the king's magicians walked circles around their magic fires, mumbling and chanting, creating oobleck throughout the classroom. Although it didn't rain from the sky, it did get everywhere. Mrs. Jensen read the class the story. Then the class got to experience oobleck first hand, noting it's strange ability to change from a liquid to a solid when touched. The hands-on science lesson fit right in with their Liquids and Solids curriculum. They explored whether it was a liquid or a solid and wondered what kind of magic is required to make oobleck. Luckily, it can be found, like everything these days, on the internet

Orchestral Music with Halloween ThemesRoom 34 had a special day for music appreciation:
"In the Hall of the Mountain King" (a boy tiptoes into a cave to steal some gold, and is chased by goblins and trolls) and "Danse Macabre" (a magical violin wakes up skeletons and ghosts, who dance until dawn on Halloween night). Miss Bonnie divided the kids into 2 groups and each group listened to a different piece.
With each group, Heather told the kids the story of what was going on in the music, and what to listen for - melodies and rhythms, and places where it would speed up or slow down or get louder and softer. Then we listened to the piece (some kids closed their eyes to concentrate on the story). Then we talked about what we heard, and different instruments, and how the musical themes changed as the piece went along, and how music could tell a story without words.
Then we listened again and danced! The "Mountain King" group got very excited because they got to tiptoe in a circle, then walk faster, then run, then run run run as fast as they could to get out of the cave! The "Danse Macabre" group pretended to be ghosts and skeletons, waking up and yawning and looking around, then dancing in a wild circle, then lying down to rest in the middle, then getting up to dance again. Some of them danced in pairs, some made circles; some twirled. Miss Bonnie joined us with some flamenco moves. At the end when the rooster crowed, they all settled down to sleep for another year.

Daily News ItemThe students in Mrs. Katrina's K/1 class have been publishing its very own newsletter every week. The Room 35 News comes out every Wednesday, and is full of the details of classroom life. Each day the class collaborates to write about the things they did in class, and a different child takes a turn drawing an illustration for the article. Recent articles have highlighted the class's experiments with making a tornado in a bottle, celebrating Mrs. Katrina's birthday, and measuring the length of their tables.

Gardening With Sprouts and Worms In garden class, we prepared a box with "red wrigglers," which make compost from food scraps and newspapers. Each child tore a newspaper into strips for worm bedding, and discussed feeding the worms and what they eat. Each kid found at least one food worms can eat and one food they cannot in the magazines, and cut it out and put on the poster under "Yes" or "No". The children also looked at the radish sprouts and thinned them, so the plants will have enough room. We left some planted close together so we can see how they don't develop as well. Getting Ready for worms Did this activity at tables under the trees. Explained what we will need to feed our worms when they come next week. Each kid found at least one food worms can eat and one food they cannot in the magazines, and cut it out and put on the poster

Ohlone Reed Hut Stan Adermann's 2nd/3rd grade classroom is planning on building an Ohlone tule reed hut! Mr. Adermann and Sandy Bartlett harvested the tule reed (in the same manner as the Ohlone only we used metal saws rather than bone saws) and brought the muddy, wet reeds back to school. The children will now clean the reeds and dry them over the next several weeks. Once dry, the class plans to hold a potluck dinner and reed matting party (parents will participate in matting the reeds). Next will come building the structure itself.
We hope to give the children a hands-on view of Ohlone life with building the hut. Additionally, the children will be taking a tracking class so that they can learn how the Ohlone obtained their food. In December they will take a field trip to Redwood Grove and take Keith's awesome Ohlone field trip class.

International ProjectThe parents in Mrs. Katrina's K/1 class have noticed that they comprise a very diverse international group. Because they represent such a great number of countries and cultures, the parents are organizing an "international project" that will take place in the classroom throughout the school year. Parents will take turns teaching the class about their home or ancestral country's culture, foods, dress, music, art, and holidays. The class will make its way around the world with virtual "visits" that include Russia, Japan, Australia, Mexico, Ireland, China, Germany, Canada, Austria, England and Italy.

Lunchtime Orientation Julie H remembered how her children were feeling "lost" during lunchtime in their "big" new school. She emailed the PACT parents group to organize lunchtime volunteers for the first few weeks of school. They helped teach everyone the school rules and make sure all the children feel safe and welcome. The most amazing part is that she had a full set of volunteers within 24 of her request.

There's even more from years previous. Click here to read on ...