Dan and Ella's Blog
A Fourth Grade Experience

As we return to school, we wanted to share with you some miscellaneous photos and videos from the last few months.

In the following slideshow and video, you will see students:

• playing with their Kindergarten buddies
• at work in writing, math, science, and music
• sharing farm articles with family
• welcoming special guests (both human and piglet)
• visiting Plymouth Church, the New York Times, the Schomburg Center, and Weeksville

Enjoy and happy new year!

Thanks again to all of you who were able to attend and contribute to the farm breakfast!
For those who couldn’t make it–or for those who want to relive the experience–here are the videos and photos we shared.

Video:

Slideshow:

Audio slideshow explaining the process of writing our farm articles:

The Flickr Set

Exploring in the museum

Dancing with Ranger Doug

Getting Ranger Doug’s autograph.

Learning about the burial mounds.

Learning about the memorial.

Inside the memorial, Ranger Doug shared some difficult truths.

Learning about the symbols of the memorial.

Who’s ready to become deputized as a junior park ranger?

Helping out Ranger Doug

By the power invested in me, I pronounce you deputy park rangers!

Huzzah!

For a snippet of Ranger Doug from the National Parks documentary, watch the video below.

For even more photos, check the slideshow.

Dear Families,

We’re sure you’ve been hearing a lot at home about the exciting work the students have been doing the past few days in school. We have a lot to share with you in the next couple of days. It has been great to see the students’ enthusiasm for their work and the election in general.

Just a few quick examples… Several students brought in this morning’s newspaper to share. We were thrilled to see them spontaneously pouring through the paper to break down and better understand the results of last night’s election:

After watching parts of Romney’s and Obama’s speeches, we discussed what it means for “Red States” and “Blue States” to work together. Many students spoke to the importance of collaboration. One student talked about how the president has to work together with congress in order to get things done, even if they disagree. Another mentioned an argument at a dinner party with the understanding that it would have been more effective if the conversation was cordial. One commented, “After the [American] Revolution, we came together. After the election, we should come together too.”

In the coming days, we’ll share more with you about the mock election and exit polling. For now, if you haven’t already, check out our Instagram feed.

Getting to know each other, deconstructing newspapers, researching the presidential election, visiting the farmers market, and making apple crisps!