I began this poetry lesson with a pile of picture books on my lap. I selected a view to read to the kids. We are never too old for a good picture book! As I read through the books, I asked the students to listen for words that “strike the soul.” These are words that… …make […]

Upcoming Tests, Projects, & Quizzes Unit 25 Spelling Test–Friday, 3/17/17 __________________________ Upcoming Events St. Patrick’s Day Bagpipes Performance by  Tom Strelich–Friday, 3/17/17 (12:00-12:20) Field Trip to Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History–Wednesday, 3/22/17 (9:30-12:30) cancelled Santa Barbara Opera Lab–Thursday, 3/23/17 (1:00-2:00) Santa Barbara City College Geology Lab Field Trip–Friday, 3/24/17 (10:30-12:30) Spring Break–3/25/17-4/9/17 

Monday Read for 20 minutes and record it in your reading log. Your nightly reading should be a book that you are reading for your next book report. Remember that you must choose a different genre each time, and graphic novels count as a genre. When you finish it, you can choose any book you would like to […]

Today, we had a special guest come to our class to teach us how to make synthesizers!  Music Guest, Billy Stepler Let’s Build Synthesizers “We are playing with pitches that live in between.” Billy Stepler has over 15 years of working as a flight test engineer for the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division.  He has […]

The fourth grade students had the privilege of attending the Dorrance Dance show today at the Granada Theater. This show was AMAZING! The show, choreographed by Michelle Dorrance, takes the art of tap dance to a new level. I was unable to take photographs, but here is a video clip about their group. 

We have a field trip on Thursday, 3/9/17, to see the Dorrance Dance performance at the Granada. Please have your child wear their “best dress” uniform. We will be returning before lunch, so there is no need to cancel Locally Grown Kids. 

Today my heart was overflowing with gratitude for the power of poetry to elevate thinking and writing to a different level. There is something magical about it. Students experience a freedom they rarely experience with other types of writing. The prompt for today’s session was an ordinary object. I collected some things from my classroom […]

Today, the fourth grade students were busy solving “fraction of” problems. They counted out a particular number of plastic chips. They worked to figure out a strategy for finding fractions of that number. It is important for students to solidify a concrete understanding of fractional parts before moving to abstract problems.

It’s always so much fun to see our entire EK-12 student body together for a day of fun! Our entire school was divided into mixed-aged teams–a different color for each. The teams competed in three events: the “shoe kick” game, dodge ball, and basketball. We finished the day with a pizza lunch. It was a beautiful […]

Last Friday, the Lower School started our day with an interactive capoeira performance by the Brazilian Cultural Arts Center.