Year End Party

22/05/09 22:13 Filed in: Events
The end of the year party was so much fun and delicious! Thanks to all who came and to Sari who organized it. The year went by too fast, but we are holding on to the memories, and to the hope that there will be many more opportunities to talk and share the joy of children’s growth.

Last Day

21/05/09 22:12 Filed in: Preschool
We enjoyed our last day so much. We had a diverse day with much kindness all around. Our snake came back to say goodbye. We practiced our show for the party, and created other art works. We recorded our last temperature increase and there were no clouds. We started the school year with 85 ºF and ended at 75 ºF.

Here is a little guessing game to play with your weather scientist.
1-How many days did we not see any clouds: 5, 16, 27? (A:27).
2-Which cloud formation did we see most often (highest column)?
3-Which clouds did we never see (that is because they are summer storm clouds)?
4- Which clouds did we record most often, cirrus or stratus?
5-Why do you think we rarely recorded cumulus clouds (big cotton balls)?

Here are the data: 23 altostratus, 16 stratus, 10 stratocumulus, 9 cirrus, 4 cirrostratus, 4 altocumulus, 3 cirrocumulus, 3 cumulus, 2 nimbostratus, 0 cumulonimbus.

6- What do you get if you add 27 days without clouds and all the days with clouds? (101 school days!)
7- For how many days did we record a temperature below the freezing line? (13).
8- For how many days did we record a temperature on the freezing line? (4).


The students decided that King Atahualpa’s hidden treasure should be shared among all Inca descendents if it were to be found. We pretended that our snack was the treasure and we searched for it all over the yard with much enthusiasm and pleasure. Everyone found several pieces and we shared everything!

100 days!

20/05/09 22:11 Filed in: Preschool
We had just about 100 nifty ideas to celebrate 100 days of school. We needed 100 hours! We managed to paint 100 fingernails, and 100 toenails. We went down the slide and throe balls 100 times. We planted 100 seeds in our garden using our 100 days compost. It was really wonderful to see all that beautiful compost that we nurtured all year long. Now we were moving it around, using it to grow food! We were so impressed!

For lunch, we set-up a challenge: 100 times 10 favorite food items, and we ate everything!

A trip!

19/05/09 22:10 Filed in: Preschool
Today, we had a group at school working hard in the garden and preparing and eating a good leisurely lunch. Meanwhile, the group of graduating students enjoyed a fabulous field trip. We ran, hugged the world, and explored Bicentennial Mall. We played games and stopped to listen to the beautiful bells. Despite the cold morning air, our body temperature increased to the point where we really wanted to cool off in the fountains. We changed for a pick-nick lunch before heading to Green Hills at the Brushfire Pottery Studio. Everyone was mellow and intensely focused on his or her plate design. We also all collaborated in making a special platter for A New Leaf. We ended with a tour of the kiln room. The staff was so nice and worked magic in several ways! It was a perfect day.

Atahualpa

17/05/09 14:48 Filed in: Preschool
Next Tuesday, the graduates will go on a field trip.

On Wednesday we will celebrate 100 days of school.

We will talk about the lost treasure of Atahualpa.

Lost Treasure


A long time ago, the Inca people lived in Ecuador. King Atahualpa, the sun king, had many great temples and palaces built in Quito. To decorate them the Inca people made beautiful sculptures and jewelry of pure gold. When the Spanish conquistadors came to Quito, they wanted all the gold to bring back to Spain. After the Spaniards took some, the Inca people decided to hide the rest of the treasure. A caravan of 60 000 men carried 750 tons of gold objects into the Llanganati Mountains.
A few years later, a poor Spanish soldier called Valverde married an Inca women and her father showed him the treasure. He took some of it and later when he returned to Spain, he became quite rich. When he died he wrote a description of the way to the treasure for the King of Spain. Many people since then have tried to find the golden treasure. No one has yet found it. Mr. Brunner has found a new path through the mountains but no treasure.

 If the treasure is found, who do you think should keep it and become rich from it?