The Learning Chronicles

Kindergartners are learning about shapes and their attributes with Coach Weiner. They noticed how the shapes were the same and different. For example, they discovered that both squares and rectangles have four straight sides and four corners but the sides on the square were all the same size.

First graders have been learning all about plants! We have learned about their life cycles, their parts, and their purpose. Our students had so much fun getting their hands dirty planting and dissecting plants! Thank you to our Gardening Committee for providing these enriching activities!

The third-grade ornithologists are exploring birds both in the classroom and around the Pine Hill campus. Broadmoor naturalist, Susannah Elliot, recently took the third graders outside looking for birds using binoculars that were provided by a grant from the Brookline Bird Club.

Fourth graders are developing their math fluency skills through hands-on activities, digital platforms and discussions. Rather than just memorizing, students are building an understanding from within and are taking an active part in constructing number sense. To enhance these foundational skills, please refer to this fact fluency resource. Thank you for supporting your confident mathematician at home!

Fifth graders are learning about Indigenous Peoples’ perspectives on history. They conducted research in order to learn more about these people. We celebrated all of the contributions of Indigenous People by creating this display for the other members of the school to see!

Our Kindergarten students have been working very hard this month. We have been learning about El Día de los Muertos and some of the symbols represented in the holiday. We have enjoyed learning about shapes as well. We listened to Spookley the Square Pumpkin in Spanish and worked on Mi libro de Formas.

November started with upbeat discussions of the Día de los Muertos holiday, which is celebrated in some parts of the Spanish speaking world. (¡Es un día feliz!) Students identified symbols of the holiday and created colorful mini-books. Moving on, students were also introduced to the famous Mexican artist, Frida Khalo. Students listened to a short story and we played a number of interpretive games, like “Simon Dice/Simon Says” to show what they know. Ask your student what facts they know about Frida.

Second graders also learned about El Día de los Muertos. We talked about traditions and symbols that are associated with the holiday. We enjoyed having some students share how they celebrate this holiday with their families. All grades worked on decorating calaveras and we now have a wonderful display up in the classroom.

The theme of early November was Día de los Muertos. We compared and contrasted the symbols and significance of Halloween and Día de los Muertos. Ask your child to identify how the celebrations are similar and different.

In November students are also communicating on topics related to school. We are working on sharing which school materials we have and items we need throughout the school day. See students engage in a communicative Tic-Tac-Toe game with school supplies.

In keeping with the theme of El Día de los Muertos, fourth graders also learned about the holiday. Students enjoyed a movement break from the movie Coco. We made connections between El Día de los Muertos and Halloween. How are they the same and different? Ask your students how!

¡Un Cuarto de Escapo! Fifth graders created Un Altar for Día de los Muertos as they tried to “escape” from Spanish class. Working in teams over a number of days, students had to solve six tasks on a variety of review topics (numbers, colors, family, hobbies, feelings) to collect important objects for their altars. Students got creative, collaborated, preserved and escaped! This is a great segway into our next topic, “La Familia”.

Fifth grade has been discussing digital citizenship and the difference between personal and private information and which is okay to share online. They’ve had conversations about digital footprints and what kinds of things are appropriate to post/send and who may be reading it and how can a message be conveyed or interpreted. We had great upstanders and great classroom participation. Students can practice their skills and knowledge through the fun Be Internet Awesome website!

What’s YOUR favorite Thanksgiving song? On the hill, it is definitely “Grandma’s Feather Bed”. Kindergarteners are learning some of our traditional All School Meeting tunes this week such as “Albuquerque Turkey” and “Thanksgiving Dinner”. Pictured here are some KJ students getting their ‘piggies from the shed’ (cue silly face and TWO snorts ONLY, thank you!). Ask your kindergartener to show you all the moves!

First grade artists have been working with the gold-standard of fall fruits, THE PUMPKIN! In their first project, our artists explored using contour drawing to show their pumpkins’ form, completing them by demonstrating their finest, most patient coloring skills. They followed that project up with an exploration of inverted colors. Students “flip-flopped” between black and white, while still applying their contour drawing skills, to create some truly dynamic designs.

Fourth grade students use the Pine Hill Library whenever they need it. Students come and check out books, meet in small groups or when they need a quiet place to think and work. Fourth graders also have planned library lessons. We started the year with orientation sessions to reacquaint students with all of the library resources. Most recently students came to the library for a lesson on how to use an atlas which was connected to their Social Studies work. In fourth grade the students see the library as an extension of their classroom.