2008-2009. Throughout the school year, teachers and parents supplement the PACT curriculum with activities in gardening, cooking, literacy circles, physical education and music. They provide transportation for field trips relevant to their classroom studies, adding a valuable set of experiences for each student.
PACT is more than a school -- it's also a close-knit community. PACT
parents and students gather frequently for informal social events,
and also more formally for PACT-wide events organized by our Social
Committee. Every year, this committee organizes events for children
and parents like our Friday afternoon playdates, excursions to a
local pumpkin patch, PACT days at the Jungle, Rock Climbing, Ice
Skating, Pajama and Movie Night, potluck dinners, and our annual
Festival of Lights.
Destination Imagination
Destination ImagiNation is a fun competition where kids show off their creative side, with strict limits on parent "help". It starts with an open-ended challenge and a
small budget, and a team of up to seven kids. They create their own solution to the challenge, usually a structure, performance, or some combination of the two. The
team coach is allowed to help keep the kids focused on their task but not to provide ideas - every aspect of the solution is supposed to come from the children.
The team coach also provides "Instant Challenges" - a task or performance that you solve with a short time limit.
This year Castro school signed up three teams to compete in the Silicon Valley region. One of the Castro teams,
a combination of PACT and Dual Immersion students, advanced to the state finals in the ViDIo Lit Hits challenge. Each team
was supposed to create a performance of a piece of literature in the style of a music video. The Castro "Mind In Motion" team
chose "Knights of the Round Table".
The students wrote the script, including some anachronisms to lighten the mood. The audience - especially the other kids - thought they were hilarious. The kids originally wanted to do a swordfight, but the team coach suggested that nonviolence would be better. The kids came up with the idea of defeating the dragon with a Thumb War. They also built their own props, made their own costumes (knights, queen, and dragon) and made some castle-wall backdrops. For the music, two of the children played their own instruments while the others did the song and dance. They had written their own lyrics and set up the choreography too.
The team came in seventh in the California state finals, a great accomplishment for a first-year team. Congratulations team!
Spring gardening
Over the last two weeks of garden we have been learning about
flowers. Here are some highlights:
- Last Friday we planted violas and strawberries in our garden bed.
We discussed why plants have flowers.
- This week we learned the different parts of a flower. We looked at
a variety of different flowers and cut some open so we could see some
of the structures inside the plant. We also discussed ways flowers
attract pollinators. We observed the flowers found in the school
garden and talked about ways each one was attempting to attract
pollinators.
- When you are walking around your yard or neighborhood this weekend
pause to notice all of the flowers out right now. Most of the fruit
and nut trees are blooming, or have just finished blooming and now
have fruit.
We will have more fun with flowers next Friday - including eating some!
Cooking with Kinders
I just wanted to share with you what we did today in class for a cooking project. We made two different kinds of fruit smoothies: Berry Surprise and Mango Madness. We learned about the food pyramid and different food groups. We talked about what food groups the ingredients for the smoothies fit into. We also learned that yogurt has calcium and protein for strong bones and muscles, and the fruit has vitamin C and other vitamins to keep our bodies healthy. We learned how to read a recipe and we each had a job for measuring the ingredients. Everyone had a "blast" turning on the blender. Then we had a taste test and voted for the smoothie we liked best. Berry Surprise got 14 votes and Mango Madness got 3.
Garden fun with First Grade
It has been an eventful year thus far (and really wet lately!), but the kids have stuck with me and are reaping the fruits (or vegetables) of what they have sown. Believe it or not, every child in the class is now a vegetable convert - when we go into the garden now, they are anxious to harvest something and taste it.
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As a matter of fact, a typical gardening day begins with them checking the plants for readiness, harvesting something appropriately that they want to try, washing it, and eating it on the spot, no salad dressing needed. The favorites are currently radishes, 3 kinds of lettuce (mixed greens like butter, mesclun, etc.), the broccoli flowers (they can't wait for the florets, so they are carefully tasting a few of the leaves and flowers to see if it all tastes like broccoli), and last but not least, the fresh spinach. They have mistakenly eaten the radish leaves on occasion and survived, too :-) The carrots and broccoli are not quite ready for prime-time yet, but should be good to go before long. I am happy to report that most things we have planted for our "salad garden" are growing well (and willy-nilly, which one kind gardening parent referred to as "companion planting" :-) ). We also have many herbs in our garden that we hope to put into a nice vinaigrette one of these days. The kids often pick those to taste and smell them as well.
Some highlights of our year: growing herbs in little terracotta pots, measuring their growth, and then transplanting them to the garden; planting the "salad" - we started out with seeds (not seedlings) as I wanted them to witness the whole growing process and to try to identify the plants as they were growing - the kids planted everything themselves, thus the companion planting effect :-) but it worked surprisingly well; taking care of the plants as they grew, learning not to disturb them when they were baby seedlings, and not to overwater them; planting the red emperor tulips for the nationwide Journey project (the kids did all the digging/planting once again) in the back garden, where there is very little sunlight (we all were skeptical at first, but wanted to try it), and then watching the tulips come out like gangbusters during our rainy season - we observed the tulips growing faster in the sunlight, but the "dark side" tulips are also doing very well; observing that, quite inexplicably, we have beautiful golden daffodils in the middle of our vegetable garden, probably courtesy of the gardening parent from last year or year before - not sure when the bulbs were planted - but the kids of course remember that they must have planted them :-); inviting Maja Popovic, our resident master composter, to come into class to talk about worms and composting - the kids had a glorious time with the worms, and strangely enough they have stopped harassing the compost bin now (I used to have to police the worm bin to make sure the kids were not kidnapping the various worms and sowbugs for the garden all the time); and last but not least, getting every single child to try something green (or red radishes) in the garden without turning up their noses at it, which I succeeded in doing - they are now very comfortable taking things straight from the garden and munching on it for snack (after washing it, of course), and have even sung the praises of broccoli flowers and spinach - the greener the better, they like to say. I'm pretty sure the original kids have been replaced by vegetarian aliens :-)
So I would recommend that everyone who has a child claiming to be a vegetable hater (haha) to take their child to the grocery store's fresh vegetable section to show you what they have planted in the garden (and are eating quite happily). You might even have to stop them from eating straight out of the grocery bins ;-) We will also be making a real salad in class (probably multiple salads until the carrots are a bit more ready). Let me know if you have any special tossed salad recipes (or spinach salad recipes - no real bacon, though) that you would like the kids to try. Hope you enjoyed this digest!
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February in the garden with the K/1 class
The garden was quite wet today, so we did our gardening inside. We
had a great time planting bean seeds in small pots. We examined our
seeds and drew them on a journal page before planting. We discussed
the things seeds need to grow: air, water, soil, and light. These
pots will be in the classroom for the next few weeks. Hopefully the
beans will sprout over the break and we will have a great surprise
when we return to the classroom. We will spend some time each week
charting the growth of our beans.
Sneak peak for Feb 27: Worm sorting!
January in the garden with the K/1 class
On Friday we continued our discussion of bulbs. We observed, touched,
and smelled some different flower and food bulbs. We had tulip,
daffodil, amaryllis, onion, and garlic bulbs. Oh yes, and even a
light bulb! We talked about the bulb being a modified stem, and how
they store all of the energy needed to produce a flower without even
being planted in dirt. Amazing!
Each student had an opportunity to plant a garlic bulb in the class
garden bed. We learned that garlic doesn't like to be planted too
close to its neighbor, so we used our handspan to measure the space
between bulbs. We will be observing our garlic grow in the garden
over the next few months. Next month we will be planting potatoes
with the hope that we can enjoy some potatoes and garlic in late May.
Don't forget to check in on the Journey North tulip experiment:
http://www.learner. org/jnorth/ tulip/
The next week: It was a bit too soggy to go to the garden today. Instead, we brought
the garden to the classroom. I brought in a variety of fresh herbs to
investigate including, parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme (we didn't sing
the song), mint, dill, tarragon, oregano, and cilantro. We also tried
some peppermint tea. We used all of our senses to investigate each
herb. After looking, touching, smelling, and tasting we charted our
favorites. Peppermint tea and mint were two of the favorites. Thyme
was the least favorite. I was so impressed that the students were
willing to taste each of the herbs.
A new PACT parent's Arts Focus experience
The first session of Arts Focus is in full swing. It’s amazing to walk around the campus at 11:30 and see the kids all returning to their classes with their hands full of treasure and their faces full of pride. I’ve seen everything from colored clay dolls to paper towel holder giraffes to little fluffy pillows and beyond.
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In Clay A, we have been learning about slabs, drape molds and tube molds. The students are using these techniques to create all kinds of projects from bird feeders to spooky skeleton head candle holders. I have also seen many students just express their imagination, from an entire jungle scene complete with separate animals to a skateboard to an elaborate (and time consuming) bunny head. Some of the kids have been focusing on different methods of transportation and I’ve seen a wide variety of ships and planes come out of the “transportation club”.
Being a first time Arts Focus Volunteer, it amazes me how the kids at PACT School have their own ideas. You give them a lump of clay and they are ready to go. I don’t think I’ve heard a single student ask “what should I build?” (I’ve heard ‘How can I build a…?” and “Will it explode in the kiln?” but never “What should I build?”) Another thing I have been thrilled not to hear is “He’s copying me!” It seems like from the 5th graders on down, everyone has ideas and in general the students are happy to share their ideas with each other.
As an art major myself, I’ve found that somehow in all my education, I’ve lost that spontaneity and the courage to trust my own ideas and try things that inspire me. I’ve read that by about third grade students start to lose this and become more worried about the end result. You tell a class of Kindergarteners “Draw me a tiger” and they will grab a crayon (or pen or chalk or whatever) and start. You say the same thing to an average class of third graders and they will say “What kind of tiger?’ “Does it need to be realistic?” “How big should it be?” “What should I draw it with?” But somehow in Arts Focus the kids seem to feel safe enough and interested enough to just dive in and enjoy the process. Even the 3rd through 5th grade students. Watching their creativity is rewarding in its own right and I really feel I am learning as much from them as they are from me.
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Our Very Own Compost Bin!
from www.reducewaste. org:
Composting in the Classroom
Composting at school is EXCITING! Kids love it! You can schedule a
class presentation on how to compost at school. We prefer to begin
programs early in the school year so students can see the changes in
the compost as the year progresses. For More Information Please
Contact: THE ROTLINE Phone: 408-918-4640
We will need help from our classroom parents to make this a success. For
starters, we need three bags of "brown and green" waste such as lawn
clippings and leaves, as well as cut-up Halloween pumpkins. We need
help maintaining the compost bin (e.g., turning contents over with a
pitchfork a few times a week). More details will be available at our
next Parent Meeting.
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Starting out in the garden
Our class has been busy growing and learning through our outdoor
containers and our class garden plot. To make communication easier,
each of our 28 students has been assigned to one of four groups.
Each group of 7 kids visits the garden for 30 minutes every other
week.
Tuesday, September 30: Groups A & B
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On our very first garden day, we enjoyed a snack of honey and
crackers, and noted that honey comes from plant nectar. We reviewed
the curriculum factoid that "All organisms need energy and matter to
survive" and discussed how we will meet our plants' needs for light,
water, air, and nutrients. We measured the air temperature and
discussed how weather affects plant needs. The kids made plant labels
for our outdoor containers:
• Barrel: Agricultural plants that can be enjoyed through
touch, taste, smell and vision, such as parsley, sugar snap peas, and
dahlias. Water: 5 days per week.
• Red butterfly container: Nectar plants such as lavender,
seaside daisy, and rosemary, which attract butterflies, bees, and
hummingbirds. These plants come from chaparral or Mediterranean
climates. Water: 3 days per week.
• Cactus pot: Cacti and succulents suited to a desert climate.
Water: Once a week.
Watering containers is a "classroom job" designated by Ms. Dominguez,
so the kids enjoy gardening even when it is not a garden day.
Garden Math: The barrel can hold 2.0 cubic feet of soil, but the bag
of potting soil only holds 1.5 cubic feet. How many bags are needed
to fill the barrel? The Group A kids had no problem figuring this
out… can you?
Some of the Science experiments we started… stay tuned to see how
they unfold…
• Pineapple Mint vs. Basil: who will take over the pot? By
observing this contest, we hope to see how an invasive plant can take
over a habitat, and why it's important to safeguard native plant
species from invasive foreign ones.
• Which container will nasturtium like best? We planted
nasturtium seeds in all three containers. The kids' hypothesis is
that only the ones in the red container will grow, since that
environment best suits nasturtium.
• Cactus propagation: The kids examined a barrel cactus
cutting and observed how it differs from other plants (e.g., its
walls can expand to save up water). We put the cutting in a cool,
dark place; it will be ready to plant when the cut end is dry
and "healed."
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Rocket Day ... and beyond!
One of last year's most exciting events was Rocket Day. Using kits from sciencekit.com, PACT parents helped their students launch rockets powered by air pressure. The event was so popular
we did it again this year.
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The social committee arranged the event and coordinated the parents: some helped to build the rockets using two-liter bottles, easter eggs, cardboard wrapping paper tubes, cereal boxes, and tape.
The cereal boxes were cut into fins to help the rockets fly straighter and higher. Other parents hauled water, helped with the bicycle pumps, and monitored safety.
Some of the children launched their rockets over and over, and some spent the evening chasing and catching the rockets as they fell out of the sky.
One PACT parent wrote on the email list that he would love to try it again, experimenting with different rocket designs. Several more expressed their enthusiasm, and
PACT rocket club was born. The PACT rocket club built several collapsible rocket launchers out of PVC pipe and old bicycle inner tubes, and hosted a rocket day for the kindergartners and first graders.
They tried a special design with fins that extend past the bottle's nozzle, parachutes, and worked on balancing the "center of pressure". Little scientists were delighted.
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Garden learning for Kinder-First Grade class
We had beautiful weather for the garden today. I hope you all got a
chance to get outside and enjoy the sun.
Today in the garden:
We checked the temperature (68-72, in case you were wondering).
We observed our garden bed. The carrots and radishes are growing
quickly. The peas have small tendrils beginning to look for something
to climb. We observed many leaves in our garden bed and around the
garden. We also noticed small holes dug by the squirrels preparing
for winter.
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We talked about nutrition today and we ate a Rainbow. We talked about
how important it is to eat a variety of vegetables and fruits, and how
we want to have a rainbow on our plates. We tried to eat all of the
colors in the rainbow plus white. Here is what I brought for our Eat
a Rainbow session:
Red: tomatoes
Orange: carrots
Yellow: bell pepper
Green: snap peas
Blue: blueberries
Purple: grapes
White: mushrooms
Have a great weekend. May all the rainbows be on your plates!
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Gardening with Kinders and First Graders
Today all of the children made a trip to the garden in small groups.
I would like to just give a quick update so you can talk with your
children about their experiences.
We talked about using all of our senses in the garden. We used our
sense of smell to discover some interesting plants like lavender,
mint, and rosemary.
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We learned tool safety.
We learned the main parts of a plant: leaf, stem, flower, fruit,
root, seed.
We learned what main things seeds need to become a plant and thrive:
air, sun, water, soil
We planted seeds in our garden bed: lettuce, carrots, onions,
broccoli, radishes, peas & parsley
Some of the seeds should be sprouting by next week.
We tasted already grown vegetables to match the seeds we planted,
along with some strawberries. What an amazing group of vegetable
eaters! I thought for sure I would be taking the onions and radishes
back home.
We discussed which part of the plant we were eating. Carrots= roots,
broccoli = flowers, etc.
Not part of the planned activity: we looked at some spiders and
sowbugs in the bug viewer.
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More Gardening with Kinders and First Graders
Today's Garden lesson was about animals commonly found in the garden.
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We talked a little bit about the roles animals play in the garden.
Our time was shortened today due to an earthquake drill, so I didn't
get to everything I had planned. I placed words and pictures of the
animals around the garden so the children could find each one and
practice writing the words. I also put up a spider web frame in our
garden bed to see if we can entice a spider to spin a web for our next
lesson. Here are the animals we talked about today:
- Spider
- Earthworm
- Ladybug
- Sowbug
- Squirrel
- Bee
- Bat
- Ant
The small groups observed the changes that have occurred in the
garden since our last visit.
We noted the temperature. FYI 74-78 degrees F (depending on group)
We have sprouts! Some of the radish seeds we planted last week have
sprouted. The peas have also sprouted.
Thanks to the squirrels digging up the peas (but not eating them),
we had an opportunity to see the sprout coming out of the seed.
We talked about the different kinds of seeds we eat (and ate some).
Things like rice, corn, wheat, sunflower seeds, almonds, peas,
chocolate, soybeans, and the largest seed of all - the coconut.
We had a scavenger hunt for different things found in the garden. We
searched for the plants, bugs and flowers on our list.
I'm sure they are all still talking about being Pirates, but maybe you
can ask them why there was a coconut in the garden!
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This year is exciting, but we did even more last year! Click here to read on ...
