Second Grade Composers-Rhythmic Building Blocks Using Bird Names

In music class, second graders have been learning about rhythm using Rhythmic Building Blocks. To connect with their study of birds, we chose bird names that connected with the rhythm patterns we were creating. Students were put into small groups and given a stack of rhythm building block cards with both the bird names and the Rhythmic Building blocks like the ones shown below:

Students were asked to compose a 4 block rhythm pattern using the building blocks. Each group took a turn performing their compositions for the class using Rhythm Sticks.

Friends consulting about which Rhythmic Blocks they should use.

Second graders working collaboratively to come up with just the right order. 

Some students used all eight cards in the pack for their composition

An example of one of the  Rhythm Block compositions.

In our next lesson, we will extend it to 8 blocks and use the composition to accompany our song and movement game "Here Comes a Bluebird." Stay tuned!

Friendship, Story Structure and Conversation in Second Grade Book Groups

Frog and Toad Are Friends and Mouse and Mole: Fine Feathered Friends are the first two books to be read by second graders in small groups. Students were very excited to explore the structure of these two books and discuss the literary elements embedded in each. Both of these books contain sophisticated language and metaphors, literary writing and beautiful illustrations as well. Even in this first session, second graders jumped into discussion as they made text to self and text to text connections by comparing elements from the story to their own lives and other books they had read. Second graders have been concentrating on exploring character personalities and traits that are reflected by actions in the story as they have been reading their independent reading books in reading workshop. With the addition of book groups, the exploration of character will continue in our small group discussions as well. It is readily apparent how discussing a book with others elevates the ideas of each individual and also enhances vocabulary, as sophisticated language shared from the book and from each student's contribution to discussion exposes and increases the vocabulary of all. Writing occurs in each book group after the reading and discussion of a section or chapter, and this enables the students to deepen their comprehension as they further express their ideas. We look forward to reading a number of books from a variety of genres in book groups this year in second grade.

Beary Special Friends in Second Grade

The second grade tradition of creating hand-sewn teddy bears began more than 20 years ago, and it is a wonderful way to begin the year as we get to know the students and their families. Just last week, this year’s class created their bears!  First, the students chose the color felt they wanted to use, and then came the job of tracing and cutting the bear shape and choosing buttons for eyes and a nose. On Tuesday, Thursday and Friday mornings, family members joined us to help with the sewing and stuffing of the bears.  There were animated conversations between children and adults about potential names and possible activities with their new stuffed friends.  

On Friday afternoon, the bears went home for a weekend visit, and their owners recorded the adventures they had together in words and pictures.  This will lead to a more extensive writing project in the next few weeks.  In art class with Amanda, the children have begun to use the woodworking benches to build furniture for their bear.  When completed, the bears and their hand-made furniture will be on display outside the library.  Be sure to check them out!

Amazing Afterschool Enrichment Courses

Registration Forms due to the Lower School Office as soon as possible!

Courses begin the week of October 5th and will run for 8 weeks. Make-up classes will be scheduled in the event of a missed class. Classes start after school with a snack and break - instructional time is from 3:30 till 4:30.

Course Descriptions

Origami for Beginners

Instructor: Damian Falana

Mondays and Tuesdays, fee: $220

Tuesdays only, fee $140

3rd – 5th grades

Create amazing paper crafts and figures!

Learn the ancient art of paper folding. Students will learn to make gifts for others and items to keep and will develop their fine motor skills through creativity

Introduction to Guitar

No instrument necessary.

Instructor: Raji Malik

Wednesdays, fee $140

K – 5th grades

Skills that will be developed are basic fingering, listening, composition, cooperation and immersion in the joy of making music!

Introduction to Strings

Some instruments available for loan.

Instructor: Franklin Nino

Thursdays, fee $140

1st – 5th grades

This course is for students who have very little to no experience with the violin. Students will learn instrument fingering, bowing, basic position and a few easy songs.

Intermediate Strings

Some instruments available for loan.

Instructor: Franklin Nino

Wednesdays, fee $140

1st – 5th grades

Students in this course can read some notes, can maintain correct position and know basic fingering and rhythm. Students will learn more complex songs and develop their range of notes and fingering positions.

Fourth Grade Immerses Themselves in the Lenape Culture

The fourth grade traveled to Churchville Nature Center last week and got to experience first hand the life of the Lenape Indians in the 1500's just prior to European contact. Much was discovered, from how to plant a Three Sister's garden to what foods the Lenape foraged for. They learned how food was cooked and stored and got to sample corn meal cakes with a bit of blueberry.

While sitting in a long house, they learned about the social structure of the different clans. Students played games that were designed for developing their aim and acuity for hunting. They inspected different weapons the Lenape used for hunting as well as having the opportunity to examine different types of animal pelts that were most commonly hunted. The children also discovered how all the  parts of an animal were used, the Lenape were not a wasteful culture.

Students tried three different methods of starting a fire with friction. The weather conditions weren't on our side that day and unfortunately there was no ignition. This week the students were charged with designing and drawing up blueprints and directions for construction of their own wigwam. We started work on a class wigwam this week, so make sure to check back to see how all their imaginings developed.

An additional note:

The fourth grade spends the year studying the history of Philadelphia. If you are looking for something to do with your child next weekend and are interested in enriching their understanding of colonial Philadelphia, the re-enactment of the Battle of Germantown on the grounds of Cliveden in Mt. Airy, PA. is an exciting event to attend. Below is a link with more information.

Sat., Oct. 3,  10am - 4pm

Cliveden Grounds  | 6400 Germantown Ave.

Reenactments of the Battle of Germantown at Noon & 3pm

Click HERE for More Info & Schedule of Events

Maker Space - A Laboratory for Invention

The new Lower School maker space debuted to rave reviews.  The maker space is a place for exploring, creating and crafting.  As classes make their initial visits, they have the opportunity to freely build and become familiar with the wide variety of materials that are available for use.  The maker space will be used by classes for a wide range of activities and construction throughout the year.

We look forward to mazes being built for programmable robots, reading responses created to depict connections to the text, and inventions that have purposes yet to be determined.  Opportunities will exist for students to build and refine their projects.  We are so excited about our new space!

Fourth Grade Art

We have had a fabulous start to the school year in the Lower School art room. The fourth grade artists are engaging in exciting activities in preparation for their upcoming shore trip. We are focusing on observational drawing and started the year by carefully drawing seashells. The fourth graders added watercolor paint to their drawings, learning four different watercolor techniques, which they will utilize in their shore trip paintings.

 
 
We also practiced painting outside, en plein air, one afternoon by taking the opportunity to draw and paint trees on campus after learning about the wonderful tree tagging project that is taking place here at AFS! The fourth graders will continue to explore the rich connections between art and science throughout the school year.

First Graders are having FUN with the alphabet!

 Our new Fundations program has been great fun as we use a multi-sensory approach to teach the reading, spelling and writing of sounds, letters and words. We have been reviewing all letters and their sounds as well as learning the proper formation of each with daily drill and practice. This ability to name the letter and its sound and write the letter automatically is necessary when reading and writing. Once this is mastered, first graders are freed up for more advanced written work. We love using our magnetic boards and letters to show knowledge of alphabetical order and have been tapping CVC (consonant, vowel, consonant) words and making them with our letters tiles. Some words you can practice tapping and writing with your first grader are map, lit, job, cat and fun. Trick words (words we cannot tap out phonetically) that we are learning are the, and, is, his and of. We are practicing these with our slap and clap game and by writing, reading and spelling them. Soon we will be sending our trick words home for practice as well as home activites for reinforcement and practice of our new skills. Remember, keep it FUN!

First Coffee and Conversation of the Year!

Please join us for our first 

Coffee and Conversation on Friday, September 25th at 8 am

We shall offer coffee and breakfast treats in the Lower School Lobby, 

and younger siblings are welcome. 

We really hope you can join us!  

AFS Home and School Committee

Fourth Graders Explore Attitude and Growth Mindset in Math

We have had a wonderful start in fourth grade math!  Along with some beginning of the year math tasks, we have also been discussing the importance of attitude in math and the idea of a growth-mindset.  A growth mindset is the belief that one’s abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work.  This is so important in math because there is often an idea that some people are “math people,” and others are not.  This is not true!  Just like a muscle gets stronger with exercise, the brain actually changes through grappling with math problems.

One of the first activities we worked on, after a discussion of how we treat each other when working in a group, was called Four 4s.  In this activity, students were tasked with finding every number from 1 to 20 using only four 4’s – all four of the fours had to be used each time – and any mathematical operation they knew was available to them.  The students did a great job working in small groups and worked in a really focused and enthusiastic way.  It was wonderful to see the excitement of students as they worked to find solutions for different numbers and how well they listened to and supported each other. 

If you want to try Four 4s at home, it is a lot of fun!  Just jot down the numbers 1 through 20 on a piece of paper and get started!

Fabulous First Grade

We're not in Kindergarten anymore!!  First Grade has gotten off to such a smooth start!  We are learning the ropes so quickly and having a great time exploring our new classrooms and the "big kids' playground."  It has been so much fun reconnecting with old friends and making new friends in this brand new grade.  We are looking forward to the new challenges in math, language arts and social studies and expanding our past experiences in our resource classes. These first weeks have been a joyful time getting back into our AFS Community!!

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¡Bienvenidos!

¡Bienvenidos familias, amigas, y amigos! Welcome family and friends! Our Spanish program for the 2015-16 school year got off to a great start! This year we have a new space for our classes and we couldn’t be more excited. After working hard to decorate it with homey touches, pleasing sounds,  smell, and a friendly pet named Felipe, a warm and welcoming environment was created. When the students enter the classroom, they are motivated to engage in the learning process.

Our most important objective en la clase de español is to provide a nurturing environment where everyone feels comfortable learning a second language and to encourage all to develop an openness, understanding and appreciation for other cultures. Since the start of the school year, everyone has enthusiastically expressed their joy in Spanish class as they engaged in playing games, greeting puppets, listening to storybooks, singing, and role playing.

From our youngest students to our oldest Lower School students, children have joyfully engaged in many saludos (greetings) and conocerte (getting to know you) activities. One loved by all was stating their name, Me llamo ___________ (My name is ______) and tossing el globo mundial (the globe) to a peer.

Another activity enjoyed was Busca a alguien que.... este verano (Find someone who .... this summer). Students used a checklist as they walked around the room trying to find a classmate that comió mango (ate mango) or nadó en el océano (swam in the ocean).

Some students had an absolute fun time practicing from a written dialogue in Spanish for greeting each other. What made even more amusing was using a puppet.

We have certainly gotten off to a wonderful start. I look forward to the many, many adventures and experiences ahead. Hasta nuestra próxima noticias (until our next news), ¡Adiós!  

Paz,

Alicia