From the colorful and personalized counting books of the pre-k to the calculations of trigonometry via an intriguing problem on the SmartBoard in the 5th grade classroom. (There’s more than one answer.)
Tag: PDS
Sanctuary
There’s an animal sanctuary in Saugerties and today students from the high school were there giving a helping hand. There was a barn to be painted, muck to be raked and animals to care for. Here is a collage of pictures from today’s service learning trip. Thanks Tanya for making the connection, organizing the trip and for the photos. And…
We Are Under Construction But There’s Still Plenty of Room for Recess
With the main playground currently out of bounds due to construction those swings are still, the tire swing empty, the playhouse deserted and the slide unslid. But all is not lost. There is still recess – a time to go outside, be with friends, meet new people, run around, hula-hoop, play ball, climb mountains, learn to fly, invent new games,…
Perturbation, Paradox and the Welcome Back Picnic: The Virtue of Necessary Change
Balance is a wonderful thing. We want it in our lives and in our school curriculum. But sometimes we need just a little disequilibrium to move forward. Take for example the PDS picnic – traditionally held on the first Friday and close to the Gilkeson playground. With that area fenced off for construction we had to come up with another…
The September Welcome Picnic
The weather held, everyone ate, children played, old friends caught up and new friendships were made. Magnificent garden gate prizes for everyone! The annual back to school welcome picnic was a fun, families and food fiesta. Construction made the usual Gilkeson venue out of bounds so we moved to the back of Kenyon – a change that worked very well.…
Building? The Kindergarten is Ready
Found in the kindergarten classroom yesterday – the hard hats lined up in the block building area ready for the work to begin Construction? No problem. And for kicking back after a tough day of hard work, or maybe taking on another kind of job – some softer alternatives lined up near the reading corner.
Transformation
Last week I found this huge moth attached to my back screen door. It was several inches across and a beautiful fluorescent green. It’s a luna moth (luna actius) and quite common in deciduous wooded areas of north America. I had never seen one before. And by morning it was gone. Last Monday – in the orientation for new faculty…
Problem-solving is what you do when ….
Problem solving is what you do when you don’t know what to do. – Alinda. That’s just one of the things we learned yesterday at the new teachers orientation in Kenyon. Each teacher had five minutes to present a lesson to the group. These were videotaped and the playback classes used as a starting point for the discussion of learning,…
Who knew?
Who knew that behind the east bookshelf in the back of the Kenyon library there was another lovely window? And that underneath the mustard colored carpet was a parquet floor just waiting to be cleaned and polished? They will certainly be lovely features for the new faculty-student center for the high school.
Mid July Update
Solar panels, wind turbines, solid waste fuel, electronic generators and all manner of imaginative and greener ways to power cars, boats, tanks, military transporters, barges and trucks The task for the first and second grade was to imagine a vehicle powered by an alternate fuel source. And then build the model. With the rise in gas prices this spring it…
Kids Know Things
Solar panels, wind turbines, solid waste fuel, electronic generators and all manner of imaginative and greener ways to power cars, boats, tanks, military transporters, barges and trucks The task for the first and second grade was to imagine a vehicle powered by an alternate fuel source. And then build the model. With the rise in gas prices this spring it…
Construction Begins: June Progress Report
Out with the old hoops, in with the new floor. The gym is looking good. Checking the plans in the parking lot, checking the rock shelf in front of Gilkeson Moving the rock in the playground and the summer camp has lunch on the porch of Kenyon House.
Ground Broken
I came to work after a drilling at the dentist to the joyous sound of jackhammers at work. The posts are in, the fence erected and the Gilkeson enhancement project is underway. The fence surrounds the front of the building where the new science labs will be. The backhoe is already at work. The playground area is also fenced off…
Keep the Connection … Expand the Horizon
Children are natural learners. It’s what they do. And the learning is joyful and the thirst for knowledge, understanding and mastery of skills insatiable. The primary task of school is to keep that connection with joyful learning vibrant and intact. The second task is to expand the horizons of learners – to provide opportunity, to create new contexts and scaffold…
What do we know about bees?
The pre-k children know a lot about bees and their wall display shows it. I found this on their classroom wall and it reminded me of a wonderful interview Listen to the Bees in About Town – the local community paper for northern Dutchess that I picked up at the grocery store. My mother kept bees and I have always…