Laurie V @ WT @laurievwt - Tumblr Blog

Free Little Library

A tiny wooden house has moved into our space, but it's not filled with people ... it's filled with books! The North Hills Campus at WT is now host to a nationally-registered Little Free Library. Our library joins thousands of small book exchanges around the globe that share books, bring people together, and create a community of readers. The structure is conveniently located on the side porch of the farmhouse and was graciously built and donated by the Iarrapino Family. Their generosity helps make the love of reading accessible to all members of our community. Feel free to visit our library, take a book, and share your favorite stories with others.

Kindergarten Sounds of Nature Collaborative Project

Science - Heather Capezzuti

It all began on a sunny September morning. My Kindergarten scientists and I ventured out toward the Northbound trail in search of sounds in nature. We had been learning about what scientists do and how scientists search for evidence to find out about how things work. Our senses are very special tools that scientists use to make observations and interact with their surroundings. That day we were focusing on our sense of hearing.

We found a special spot in the woods to sit alone and listen quietly for a few minutes. We closed our eyes and counted the number of different sounds that we heard. We imagined the kinds of animals that might be making those sounds. Each child then began to compose a nature song by writing a letter or drawing a symbol to represent each sound on an index card. The ideas for this nature lesson were inspired by The Earthkeepers Program at the McKeever Environmental Education Center and Joseph Bharat Cornell's book, Sharing Nature with Children. Needless to say, all of us were very excited to share our nature songs with Mrs. Hanczar and Mrs. Ruiz once we returned to the classroom.

Music- Cheri Hanczar

We had a discussion of the outdoor science lesson using the students' note cards that they created from the sounds of nature. This built upon the sense of hearing, and now the students had a visual. The next step consisted of creating instrumentation (choosing instruments to represent the nature sounds and animals that they had observed in science class) for musical notation of a composition, using quarter notes, eighth notes, quarter rests, and whole notes in a 4/4 time signature. The students created a composition using musical form, including an introduction and layering the different instruments. They also learned where a composer writes his title and name for a personal composition. They were amazed that they had themselves become composers!

Dance- Gina Ruiz

To expand the lesson to dance, the students brainstormed ideas of movement that would express the sounds they heard in nature from science and the songs they had created in music. Because they had notated the sounds on paper in science and transformed what they heard and wrote into their own composition in music, they could draw from past experience to put all of this information they had been working on into dance. In keeping with the nature theme, we went up to the open field. They were excited to be able to choreograph their own dance to the music they had created.

In small groups, some students had the job of making the sounds with their instruments, some made the nature sounds with their voices, and some expressed the sounds with movement. The groups rotated so that each child had a turn to do each part.

Technology-Kate Weber

The students were able to view their performance and enjoyed watching themselves through pictures and video. They shared their experiences with other students and wanted to perform for others. Their excitement prompted expanding this lesson to other classes.

All students were proud of their composition, and other classes wanted to enjoy same experience.

#outdoorclassrooms

Kindergarten writes a Nature Song using Music/Dance/Science

#outdoorclassrooms

When it’s time to leave the nest...

Mourning Doves raise three or more broods in a single breeding season. Both parents build a flimsy platform nest of twigs located from 5 to 25 feet up in a tree or bush. Two white eggs hatch in about 14 - 16 days. One egg is laid in the evening, and the second on the next morning.

This summer a Mourning Dove couple built one of those flimsy platform nests on our covered deck. The entire family enjoyed watching the mother bird sit for hours on end until one day we noticed two wobbly heads poke out from behind her. We were thrilled to watch them grow quickly. Eventually, the babies were too big for mom to sit with them, so they looked at us alone with alert eyes. Later that day, my son noticed that they were completely gone. We celebrated at dinner and soon forgot to look up at the nest when watching the sunset or watering plants.

A few weeks later, my husband commented that the adults seemed to be building the nest up again. We had no idea that Mourning Doves produced more than one brood, but we were all delighted to see the mother sitting in her spot as she awaited the new hatchlings. The next two babies did not fare as well when it came time to leave the nest. Unfortunately, my husband scared them out of the nest too early. He fretted over what happened to them, while trying to remain optimistic.

Well, lo and behold, round three! As the days were growing shorter and the leaves began to change color, a third set of baby birds hatched. These two took a different route to adulthood. They flew to the patio during a rain storm and huddled together under our deck chairs. The next morning we saw them on the roof with what appeared to be one of the parent doves. That night, they returned to the security of our patio and huddled together through another rain storm. The next morning, they were nowhere in sight, and the nest has remained empty ever since.

The moral of this story came to me as I reflected on a summertime of ‘parenting’ by the dove couple. Whether the nest becomes too small, or something scares you from the security of home, or eventually you gain strength to fly off on your own, we all spread our wings and fly. The goal of parenting is to raise our children to handle life and fly independently.

Greeting my students every day is very important to me. Proud to get my pic in the WT new family guide 2 years in a row!

One of my favorite quotes is by Edward Abbey: “May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view.”

Watching students explore the Northbound Trail, play make-believe on the nature playground, and drink in the warm, spring air reminds me of this quote. Regardless of how big the campus may be, the students seem to find a new trail, track animal prints, and best of all they find…the most amazing view. In 2014, most students are lucky to get 20 minutes of recess outside in a typical school day. Not only are our North Hills students getting to play outside for recess and P.E., they are reading and writing in the gazebo, learning to calculate circumference and diameter on fallen trees, and checking water quality and canoeing on the pond.

The teachers have been working hard this year to develop outdoor learning experiences that will enhance your child’s education and peak their curiosity. In the next few weeks, we will be rolling up our sleeves and getting the Hoop House ready for our outdoor classroom and greenhouse. How many schools can boast about how much time students spend outside learning?

If you find your family playing or learning outside, use the hash tag #outdoorclassrooms and share via Twitter.

2nd grade art by the pond #outdoorclassrooms

1st grade cairns

The Mountain Institute, WV 5th Grade Trip #adventurebasedlearning #outdoorclassrooms

5th grade legacy project made with local artist Stevo. #glass #mosaic #outdoorclassrooms

Student-made shelters on the Nature Playground #outdoorclassrooms

Earth Day Dance #outdoorclassrooms

From Childhood to Adulthood

My motto as a parent is to, ‘raise the adult you know they need to be.’ In the infant and toddler stages, I felt sleeping, eating, and learning to handle time alone in the playpen were important. Now that my boys are 17 and 20, I have found all three of those skills have served them well. I ask my son who’s away at college, “Are you getting enough sleep? Are you eating well? Have you taken a quiet stroll or stared out the window without any technology?”

There is a billion dollar industry dedicated to helping adults find restful sleep. From the right mattress and pillow, to the sleep aid that will give you pleasant dreams and allow you to awake refreshed. As parents it’s important to set bedtimes, and provide predictable routines. Getting enough sleep is the key to a productive and happy day.

Healthy eating habits affect so many aspects of our lives. We find children can get tired or grumpy if they’re hungry. They can even get mopey or hyped up if they eat the wrong foods. Modeling, providing, and insisting upon healthy eating habits is essential. Eating right helps with physical health, mental sharpness, energy, and even mood. A snack during the school day is just that. A small amount of good food to rejuvenate the mind and body.

Finally, finding some quiet time alone gives our children time to reflect and learn to handle the “I’m bored” syndrome. When they’re young, we call it nap time. As my boys got older, I called it down time. They didn’t have to sleep, they just had to stay in their rooms playing, reading, or even dozing quietly for an hour each day. Providing down time will not only allow them to unwind, it will teach them how to find something to do independently.

I want my 17 and 20 year old boys, now young men, to be courteous, respectful, and productive members of society. This doesn’t happen automatically, it’s practiced daily.

Just as the lyrics go…"Teach Your Children Well" a song by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young released in 1970.

WT, Did You Know?

Your Child. Actively Engaged. Our students study Spanish or Mandarin – acquiring language and developing an understanding and appreciation of other cultures. As early as Pre-K, our computer science program exposes students to problem solving and computational thinking. On average, because of our Readers and Writers workshop, standardized test scores show that our second graders read at a fifth grade level. Nearly 15% of instructional time is devoted to visual and performing arts. After school enrichment opportunities include chess, cross country, LEGO® builders club, yoga, and private music lessons through the acclaimed Center for Young Musicians. On standardized tests, our students consistently score in the top 5% of independent and suburban school students in the nation. Your Child. Outside. Our teachers are recognized as leaders in early childhood education and outdoor learning. They work with our students in 10 unique outdoor learning environments on seven acres, including Aunt Maple, the Pioneer Village, and a spring-fed pond. North Hills Campus at WT students are outside for at least 90 minutes of the school day because interacting with nature enhances learning. According to reports compiled by the National Wildlife Federation: • Schools with environmental education programs score higher on standardized tests in math, reading, writing, and listening. • Exposure to environment-based education significantly increases student performance on tests of their critical thinking skills. • Children’s stress levels fall within minutes of seeing green spaces. • Play fosters children’s healthy emotional development. • Nature makes you nicer, enhancing social interactions, value for community and close relationships. 97% of our parents report high satisfaction – they love the school, its programs, its culture, and most of all, its teachers.

Kindergarten engaged in some Guided Discovery as they explored our latest #outdoorclassroom in the Hoop House

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Laurie V @ WT