Wishing You...

We wish you a peaceful Thanksgiving with time to connect with family and friends!

A Special Thank You

Annual New Toy Collection

We invite you to join us in helping bring children and families a more joyful holiday season and a happier New Year.

We are collecting new toys for Youth Service, Inc. a program that is dedicated to meeting the changing needs of children and families in Philadelphia.

 Youth Service, Inc. offers:

    * Emergency shelter for homeless and runaway teens

    * 24-hour emergency care for children

    * Foster care and placement services

    * Parenting skills and counseling

    * Truancy prevention

    * Family-based services in the home

A collection box will be located in the Lower School lobby entrance.  Please refrain from giving video games, DVDs, or toys that are violent. 

 For information about Youth Service, Inc., please visit their website: http://ysiphila.org/

PebbleGo!

Recently, we introduced PebbleGo! to our second grade students. Although in the future they will be using it for research, it is full of interesting articles, games and videos that are age appropriate for Lower School students. It is a secure site with no advertisements. Abington Friends maintains a subscription that students can access from home.

Just go to PebbleGo.com. The username is abingtonfs and the password is school. This site is great for learners in grades kindergarten through third, as it will read the words for our early readers. If your child is in third, fourth or even fifth, try PebbleGo Next! This site allows pupils to explore such topics as Native Americans, science and the states. The username and password are the same.

Kindergarten prepares for the Winter Program with Yoga!

Snake pose

Our Winter Program this year will feature a collection of stories and fables with life lessons. 

The theme for kindergarten's portion of the program is emotions and learning how to stay calm in difficult situations. Each Lower School class will present a different story or fable for the show. Kindergarten's story is The Elephant and the Frog by Anthony Joseph. In the story, Elephant becomes very upset when he loses his yummy stick on which he was snacking.

 It is not until friendly frog helps to remind him to be still and stay calm, that he is able to calm down and see the stick right in front of him!

As part of their preparation for this year's Winter Program, we invited parent, Courtney Gable to come in and teach the kindergarten animal yoga poses. We will incorporate these poses into the movement portion of kindergarten's performance. Check out the photos from our great experience with Courtney!

Stillness pose

Butterfly pose (with antennae!)

Language Arts and Reading Internet Sites and Apps

The following sites and apps are great resources for Lower School families. Enjoy exploring them!

ReadWriteThink Printing Press from the National Council of Teachers of English and the International Literacy Association has tools online for children to write newspapers, flyers, brochures and booklets. The web site is www.readwritethink.org

Additional web sites that promote phonemic awareness and phonics include: www.starfall.com, http://www.bugbrained.com/phaw.htm

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.visuallearningforlife.lettercrosstracking&hl=en

Letter Cross Tracking a free app with information about it found on the following page http://www.bestappsforkids.com/2015/letter-cross-tracking/

Children can listen to stories on line at www.storylineonline.net and http://www.storynory.com/.

A few sites that your children can use to research their interests are www.AJkids.com, http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/ , https://www.pebblego.com/login/ and www.enchantedlearning.com http://www.nwf.org/kids/ranger-rick/animals.aspx http://kids.sandiegozoo.org http://pbskids.org/wildkratts/habitats/

Scholastic’s web site is a rich source of books and activities for families. http://www.scholastic.com/parents/resources/article/developing-reading-skills/6-great-reading-apps-kids

The next several links center on reading lists and suggestions for parents about promoting reading.

http://www.readaloudamerica.org/pdfs/2016BookList.pdf

http://www.readingrockets.org/books/booksbytheme

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/03/books/review/best-illustrated-books-of-2016.html

Creative Retelling of History

Beginning with a field trip to Churchville Nature Center in late September, fourth grade students have engaged in extensive study of the indigenous people of Pennsylvania and their different interactions with the Europeans.

With many experiential projects, students have researched the Lenape Native American people, written about daily life in a Lenape village, gathered raw materials from nature to recreate a Native American village, and have been exposed to comprehensive historical resources that explain the history of the coming of the first Europeans through the lens of the Native Americans.  

This week, fourth graders excitedly began working on projects that focus on creatively retelling the story of the Native American’s first interaction with the Europeans. “That so many of the Lenape died of diseases is really sad,” said one student.

 

With many working in groups, students wrote scripts for dramatic performances, interesting newscasts, PowerPoint presentations and elaborate puppet shows. “It's sort of like a free, fun project because we get to retell a story in our own way!”  Another fourth grader added, “I love this so much. We get to do a play… fun stuff, while learning!”

Final projects will be (enthusiastically) presented to the class next week, bringing to close this important chapter in history as we move on to the Colonial era.

-Esmé Artz

Academy of Natural Sciences this Sunday!

Dear Families,

We are looking forward to a great day at the Academy of Natural Sciences this Sunday, November 20! AFS will host a special community event featuring the exhibit “Dinosaurs Unearthed." AFS will have a hospitality space located in the Commons Area from 10a.m - 2:30p.m.

If you did not reserve tickets, but were hoping to attend, please email Andrea, aemmons@abingtonfriends.net, and let her know how many tickets you need (up to 4 per family).  We still have some tickets left and would love to have as many AFS family and friends there as possible!

For more information about the Academy of Natural Sciences click here.

Directions to the museum and parking details can be found here. There is some metered street parking in the area that is free on Sunday. Look for signs that say, "Except Sunday."

Volunteers are still needed to fill shifts for such jobs as welcoming guests at the registration table and in the hospitality suite. Sign up here.

Come in your best AFS gear and share your school spirit. We hope to see you there!
-Andrea

Thanksgiving Meeting for Worship

Dear Lower School Families,

We warmly welcome you to our Thanksgiving Meeting for Worship at 8:20 on Wednesday, November 23.  We have been pleased in recent weeks to welcome many family members for the time we share together in the meetinghouse. Our Thanksgiving Meeting for Worship focuses on that for which we are grateful and includes the opportunity to share music together.  

We hope you can join us!

  

Just a reminder that Wednesday is a half day for all AFS students. Buses will run at noon.

We hope to see you next week!  If you have questions please contact Tricia at tcassidy@abingtonfriends.net.

Science Class Update!

FOURTH GRADE SCIENCE

Fourth grade is off to a running start preparing for this year's annual Mold Symposium in science class. The symposium will be hosted by Green Street Friends this year on Tuesday, February 2. Students have already prepared and are practicing making and recording observations of sample mold specimens. They have learned the difference between controls and variables. In all of their practice mold specimens, students used saltine crackers as their control. They were then give four different liquids to choose from as their variables (water, white vinegar, hot sauce, and lemon juice) as well as pipettes to decide how many drops of the liquid they were going to apply. Many students were feeling a bit more creative and added yet another variable, location. There are currently sealed mold specimens located in various places throughout the general science classroom area including; cabinets, the green house, window sills, shelves, and the wildlife habitat courtyard. As the students begin to prepare their actual specimens for the symposium, they will continue to observe the sample specimens while learning about good molds, bad molds, and cells.

KINDERGARTEN SCIENCE

Throughout our senses unit, kindergarten students have extended their knowledge the five senses. Students have explored ways in which we are able to complete tasks using secondary senses. For example, students built towering structures with wooden blocks and used keys to unlock different kinds of locks while blindfolded. They also wore earplugs and used their sense of touch to help identify objects sealed  in boxes by shaking and not seeing them. The students did a wonderful job wrapping up their study of the five senses with popcorn. In class we explored ways in which we are able to  use our senses to explore the world. Our kindergarten students thought of adjectives that best described the way buttered popcorn  and kettle corn feels, tastes, smells, sounds, and looks. The students came up with colorful words such as bumpy, squishy, smooshy, crinkly, cheddar cheesy, delicious, scrunchy, and munchie. One student even compared the look of the popcorn to falling snow as he had fun tossing it in the air to catch it in his mouth.

Help and Feed the Animals - From Cris and Jillian's Kindergarten

Homeless dog

                     

Lost kitty                           

Dear Animal Lovers,

We love animals and want to help them. They are cute and we are studying animals. We love them and sometimes they are lost and don't have homes. They have no one to take care of them. We would be so, so sad if we had no one to take care of us. They are living creatures and we can help take care of them by giving them love and things.

Please help us gather things like towels (gently used or new), boxes for donations, dry cat and dog food, newspapers, and things to clean up with like paper towels and bleach. The cleaning stuff is for the cages. The cats and dogs need homes and the things we can collect will help take care of them.

We want to gather so, so much to help the animals that need homes. The animals at the Montgomery County S.P.C.A. need our love and help. Can you help us too?
                            

Please put what we need in the boxes by the front of the Lower School near the office, where the shopping cart was. Look for our signs in the hallways and Friday folders. We will talk to Lower School classes about our animal collection soon.

Thank you for helping us help the animals that are homeless.

Love,
Kindergarten animal lovers
(written by Cris, Jillian and Theresa's kindergarten)

    

        Making donation posters

Writing

Drawing

A completed poster ready for publishing

   

Animal with a home-
our hope for all animals

Poema Diamante en tercer grado (Diamante Poem in third grade)

To complement third grade’s Moon Study, which connects with their social studies focus on Ancient China, the students have crafted a poem in español with the thought of sharing it during their Mid-Autumn Moon Festival celebration this coming Friday.

In their homeroom, the students have just finished an extensive study of the moon and its phases. Therefore, it made great sense to connect their learning with their Spanish class experience.  Since creating poetry is a wonderful way for students to share information they learn, we decided to form a poem using Spanish words that describe the moon.

There are many styles of poetry. One simple type is one invented by an American poet Iris McClellan titled “Diamante Poem,” a seven-lined poem. To start, we watched a PowerPoint that introduced us to the simple rules of this art form. This study helped us learn (and review) three parts of speech in español; sustantivo (noun), adjetivo (adjective) and verbo (verb).

A Diamante (which means diamond in Spanish) is an unrhymed seven-line poem. The beginning and ending lines (which are the subjects) are the shortest, while the lines in the middle (describing the subjects) are longer, allowing the text to form the shape of a diamond. Here’s a way to visualize this piece of art.

sustantivo

adjetivo, adjetivo

verbo, verbo, verbo

sustamtivo, sustantivo, sustantivo, sustantivo

verbo, verbo, verbo,

adjetivo, adjetivo

sustantivo

 

Once the third graders learned what a Diamante poem was, we began to list the words we could use.  With “moon” as the topic, we jotted down all the words that came to mind when they thought of this natural satellite.  To gather sustantivos, adjetivos and verbos the following questions were posed:

• ¿A qué se parece la luna? (What does the moon look like?)
• ¿Qué color es la luna? (What color is the moon?) 
• ¿Qué forma tiene la luna? (What shape is the moon?)
• Si visitas la luna, ¿qué harías? (If you visit the moon, what would you do?)

All the words gathered were then written on flashcards and categorized by each part of speech, with its Spanish translation. Then, both class groups (Grupo Azul y Grupo Verde) took turns at creating their own collective poem by choosing and voting on the words to use.

Once completed, all students practiced learning their group’s poem in Spanish, individually or in pairs. To help reinforce the learning of the newly introduced vocabulary, we played many games including piecing the poem together in small groups and ringing a buzzer when done. ¡Divertido!

The result of their work will be heard during the third graders’ Mid-Autumn Moon Festival celebration this coming Friday, 11/19.  I sure hope you can make it and hear the fabulous work they have created!

Cariños,

Alicia

A Festive Holiday Tradition from India

Developing an understanding and respect for the uniqueness of each of our classmates in first grade is a strand that runs through every area of our curriculum throughout the course of the year. Through shared stories, activities and problem solving the students get to know each other on a deeper level.

In Lower School this year we are also highlighting the diversity in all of our families and the importance of family in our students’ lives. First grade was honored today to have one of our classmate’s grandmother join us to share a very special holiday tradition from India, Diwali, the Festival of Lights, and other experiences that she had growing up there. We got to see how her name was written in her national language, her local language and in English.

While the students listened, first grade teacher, Susan Arteaga, showed slides from her trip to India last fall where she got to experience Diwali first hand. There was a rich exchange of information as the students asked questions and heard ideas from both Radha and Susan.

To extend our visit, we read a book about Diwali and also created a Venn diagram as we remembered the ways that Diwali was likened to Christmas. The students had several choices of Diwali pictures to color to help them remember this festive tradition.

Strings of lights decorating the town

Garlands of marigolds

A beautiful rangoli

Festive decorations for Diwali

Exploring Wingspan

This week during a math lesson, the second grade students began to investigate the concept of wingspan.  First, we brainstormed what that might mean, and because we have been immersed in our bird study, it was not difficult to reach a conclusion!  Next, students worked in pairs to use a measuring tape to measure each other's "wingspan." Even though we do not have wings, it helped us to think about how the wingspan measurement is determined.  Then referring to a chart of average wingspans for the birds they are each studying, the second graders created a paper model of their bird's wingspan.  Very soon, we will use these to compare wingspans and to create mathematical questions about our data.  In case you are curious, the bird with the smallest wingspan was the hummingbird at 4 inches and the largest was the California condor at 120 inches!

Ephemeral Environmental Art with 4th Grade & Middle School

Inspired by the artwork of Andy Goldsworthy and the natural beauty of the AFS campus, 4th grade students and middle school students joined forces to create temporary artwork in the great outdoors. Middle school art teacher Peter and his 6th grade art students came down to the lower school on Friday morning to team up with small groups of 4th grade art students.

Soon everyone headed outdoors with collection boxes in tow to gather natural materials such as sticks, rocks, leaves, acorns and even osage oranges. The teams each picked individual spots along the back campus that called to them, including the tree grove, spots along the creek, an inviting puddle and the firepit.

 

They set to work, using the materials that they gathered to create natural artwork, engaging in the present moment, knowing that their artwork would be ephemeral and that nature would soon take its course on their handiwork. A class of 7th grade art students later joined in to document the work that was happening using photography and writing.

 

At the end of the session, all of the teachers and students gathered together to view all of the groups' creations. Each team gave a short explanation of their work. Artworks were inspired by themes such as the four seasons and campfires. One group created a worm home, while another decided to make a structure that could float in the water. Teachers and students alike enjoyed taking the time to spend in nature, engage in making art and spend time with friends from different divisions. As everyone headed back inside students could be overheard saying, "I like that we did art all morning," and "that was just TOO much fun."

-Photographs by Alicia E. Fernández

Below are some of the photographs and written responses to the activity generated by the 7th grade students:

"My experience building this little teepee hut was really a blast. I got to build a piece of artwork out of nature, which was so amazing! This was also fun because I got to meet some new kids from lower school. "


"My experience with the fourth graders was a cool one. First building things out of nature was cool and it opened my eyes to new ideas. Second the fourth graders were helpful, creative, extremely talented, and I had a great time building a boat with them."

"I had a fun experience working with 4th graders on their Andy Goldsworthy inspired sculptures. Grace and I helped build a “campfire” in one of the “campgrounds”. All of the 4th graders were so creative and welcoming, I’m glad I got to work with them. "