The Saplings Times

This perfect Autumn week had us out on all kinds of outdoor adventures! We are in year one of our 3 year cycle of the cultural curriculum, which includes Science, Geography, and History. The overarching theme of our studies this year is "Air". We have been learning about the solar system, Earth's moon, birds, and seed dispersal. The Saplings are becoming quite skilled at identifying birds by their calls, with Blue Jays, Black-capped Chickadees, and the American Crow being the most frequent flyers (literally) past the Haiku Box. You will soon see an at home Phases of the Moon project come home. Learning about the phases of the moon has been a topic that the Saplings are very interested in. Unfortunately, it turns out to be not so easy to observe the phases during our school day. Keep an eye out in your Sapling's home/school folder for a booklet titled Phases of the Moon. We hope that you will help us track and record the phases of the moon for this project!

In this activity, students are the birds who are hunting for worms. The worms (in this case rotini noodles) are in a variety of colors. In relay race format, students run to the location where the "worms" have been spread to grab the first worm that they see, learning that some of the worms are easier to find than others. In this activity, students learn about the value of camouflage in nature and ponder what birds might be looking for in a snack.

Fall is an exciting time to go for a hike in the woods with all of its beautiful colors and fascinating changes going on. This week, we went on an adventure to one of our many favorite stops, a place we call "The Clearing". It's always nice to visit and explore places we don't see every day. At the Clearing, we discovered quite a variety of animal scat reminding us that we are sharing that space with many other creatures!

In this Science lab, students investigated a collection of seeds and seed pods to determine if they travel by wind, water, gravity, or animals. The Saplings created experiments to make their determinations before sorting the seeds into their classifications. Seed dispersal is a really fun topic to study, and there is a great selection of children's books on the topic. Here are some examples of books the Saplings have read or will be reading:

The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle

Miss Maple's Seeds by Eliza Wheeler

Seeds Move by Robin Page

A Seed is Sleepy by Diana Hutts Aston and Sylvia Long

Important Dates to Note:

Friday, October 27th-Half day for staff PD, dismissal runs from 11:45-12:00

Saturday, October 28th-Halloweenfest, hosted by Family Committee

Tuesday, October 31st-Halloween celebration during the school day at MVCS