Second Grade Time Travel

The second grade students have embarked on their trip back in time to ancient Egypt!  We started by asking what the students might think they already know about this amazing civilization, and it was wonderful to note that many of them shared things they had learned from last year's second grade class when they gave "Egypt Tours!"  Next we generated a list of questions they want to try to answer throughout the study.  Some of them included:

"Did they have toys?"
"How did they build the pyramids?"
"Did they have hospitals?"
"What kind of animals lived there?"

Reading parts of Egypt in the Past and Present aloud, provided an overview of the big ideas that we will be covering in the next few months.  Each student then received a new "Explorer's Notebook." This little book will give them a place to collect information and sketch when they learn something new! Using their experience of researching birds earlier this year, the students brainstormed categories that will help them organize the information they find.  They decided that many of the same categories apply, such as diet and appearance and adjusted others to fit more appropriately, such as making habitat into houses.

Many great books and "artifacts" have also appeared in the classrooms and are being explored by the students.

Nuestros autorretratos / Our self-portraits

And they are finally done!!! One of the many ways in which a positive sense of self is nurtured in Spanish class is by providing all students with the opportunity to create his or her autorretrato (self-portrait).

To commence the autorretrato project, the students were taught some of the Spanish terminology and concepts associated with portrait painting. Students learned in español some of the body parts with an emphasis on facial characteristics as well as colors and shapes. Many books were read, plenty of songs were sung, some activity sheets were completed and numerous games were played that helped the learners practice the Spanish vocabulary for these themes, orally and in writing.

To culminate the self-portrait project, we read Katie Kissinger’s book that provided positive exploration and celebration of skin color differences, "All the Colors We Are – Todos los Colores de Nuestra Piel." Afterwards, mirrors and multicultural colored tissue paper, markers, crayons, pencils, buttons and yarn were provided. As the students observed themselves in the mirror to look at their facial features and small details, the students were encouraged to discuss qué color (what color) comes closest to their piel (skin), ojos (eyes), cejas (eyebrows), pestañas (eyelashes), labios (lips) and pelo (hair).

Along with the self-portrait, a short autobiography of each student has been added. This layer of the project provided an additional opportunity for more learning in español. In the younger grades, students were introduced to Lynn Reiser’s book, Margaret and Margarita. This is a cute story about two little girls that meet at the park, one speaks English and the other speaks Spanish. When the two children meet, they find a way to communicate. The story helped introduce students to phrases such as me llamo (my name is) and me gusta (I like). We also read Audrey Wood’s book, Veloz como el grillo (Quick as a Cricket). This book reinforces the concept of individuality and feeling good about one’s self. The tale provided the students with the opportunity to learn the term yo soy (I am). Afterwards, when the students were "interviewed" for their autobiografía, they were able to respond to the following:

¿Cómo te llamas? (How are you called?)

¿Qué te gusta? (What do you like?)

Yo soy______ (I am _____)

The students in the 3^rd and 4^th grade were encouraged to write their autobiography in English and Spanish. The dictionaries and iPads were used as resources to help with translation as they completed the following;

Me llamo… (I am called…)

Mi cumpleaños…. (My birthday…)

Yo soy… (I am...)

Yo tengo… (I have…)

Me gusta... (I like…)

Please stop by! I encourage you to come to our Spanish classroom and marvel at all “the colors of us!”

Kindergarten Picture Dictionarty

There are many fun ways to explore literacy skills development in kindergarten.  One of the activities we engage in is called Picture Dictionary.  Every Tuesday and Thursday, we are visited by Susan Niescier, who is a Literacy Specialist from Montgomery County.  When she is in our classroom on Tuesday, half the students work with her doing fun activities to strengthen reading and writing skills.  The other half join their teachers to work on their Picture Dictionaries, and on Thursday we switch groups.  This activity highlights many of the important teaching and learning techniques that we use in kindergarten.  We often design activities that are collaborative, fun, and student centered.

Each week we work on a new letter.  The students write each letter in upper and lowercase, and then,  they generate their own ideas about which words begin with that letter.  They choose three words and proceed to draw pictures.  Then they have to sound out the word and write it next to the picture.  After they have completed these three steps, they tell us the definition of each word and we write the definitions on their page.  This activity develops handwriting/fine motor, phonemic awareness, and expressive language skills.

The students love this activity.  They are quick to begin brainstorming words, and we are able to work with them in small groups.  By giving the students individual attention, we are able to scaffold their skills development more effectively.  Cultivating a love of learning is an essential keystone in our kindergarten curriculum.

Back in Business: An Overview

AFS students are starting the new year with new projects in the library. First graders are spending some time exploring how the library is laid out. Where are the fiction books? Where are the non-fiction books? In our ongoing effort to have students take one book they can read to their families and one book they can read with their families, students will be exploring the library. As we explore, students will star the areas that have books they might want to read.

Second grade is focusing heavily on the nonfiction section for the next two weeks. How are these books organized? What do those numbers mean? Who thought of this? Second graders are taking their library mapping a step beyond focusing exclusively on nonfiction. The goal is that students can begin to become more self sufficient library users and to introduce them to the concept of the Dewey Decimal System.

Third grade students are working on their story settings. Each student was challenged to pick a part in a favorite book and recreate the scene in a shoebox.  Because we really want students to read deeply and use their own imaginations, they are not allowed to use books that have been made into movies unless they haven't seen the movie. They also can't use books that have pictures already drawn of the setting. One of our students even discovered that the picture didn't really match the author's description.

Fourth graders are working in groups to create "Welcome to Pennsylvania" commercials. They are incorporating the facts they learned in class and their own imaginations to share what they have learned about early Pennsylvania. The students will record their voices in Garage Band and then export them to iMovie so sound effects can be added.

Coming back from winter break can be a challenge, but we have our amazing projects to keep life exciting and fun!

January 20th- Join the Lower School Book Club for Adults

Join us for our Lower School Book Club for adults led by Ann Botel-Barnard, our Language Arts Specialist. We are excited to come together to share a love for a great story!

Book: My Brilliant Friend

Location: Lower School Library

Date: Friday, January 20, 2017 from 8:00-9:00am.

Enjoy a light breakfast and great conversation as we discuss what we loved about the book, what we had questions about and what we could connect to. Feel free to join us even if you have not read the entire book. You will still have a lot to contribute and the discussion will enhance your reading of the book. You are welcome to bring adult friends and relatives that are also interested in discussing this book.

RSVP: Ann Botel-Barnard  abotelbarnard@abingtonfriends.net

Elena Ferrante’s book is a beautiful journey of friendship between two friends as they navigate the challenges and changes of their friendship and their nation. The novel starts in the 1950’s in a poor but vibrant neighborhood in Naples, Italy.

3rd Graders Weaving Their Way Through Art

The third grade class has started off the new year in art class by embarking on a new project: taking on the task of weaving. The third grade artists learned that a loom is the structure on which a weaving is created and excitedly added warp, or vertical, threads to their loom to begin their creations.

As a class, we discussed the importance of choosing a thoughtful color palette, to give a sense of design and consistency to our pieces. The students brainstormed different color families, like warm and cool, which they could use, or how they could create contrast using complementary colors. The third grade artists imagined the possibilities of using rainbow colors or limited color palettes, selecting two to three colors to repeat.

The third graders then began selecting their weft threads, which they began weaving into their looms using a simple AB pattern of under-over. As they continue to work on their weavings, they will be introduced to a new technique each class which they can add to their weavings, including the block technique in which smaller sections of warp threads are woven to create a pattern of blocks. They will explore more complex weaving patterns like AABB. They will also get the chance to add more complex shapes such as triangles, and decorative motifs like fringe to their weavings. When their masterpieces are complete, they will learn to transfer their weavings from their looms and add fun flourishes like handmade pom-poms.


Weaving helps to reinforce fine motor skills and gives students the opportunity to practice their knot-tying and needle-threading skills. There are many connections to math as students use division to plan out their block weaving and create and follow patterns.

Looking forward to MLK Day!

We hope you can join us for our annual MLK Day of service on Monday, January 16.  All are welcome.  To sign up, click HERE!

Gently used clothing and books of all types are still being collected in the Lower and Upper School lobbies.