Dispatch from Deborah: At one point today (4:00pm to be exact) I was standing in the playground and I could see children everywhere fully engaged in the workings of a farm; some were in the horse pen cleaning and preparing to ride Daisy, the horse, some were up on the hill in the distance, herding the cows, others were in the garden picking vegetables for our dinner. Chickens were tottering around my feet, the sheep were baaing, the sun was shining, all was well.

So many moments on the farm. We look forward to sharing them with you! We miss you and will see you very soon!

In the meantime, see below for some poetry/reflections. More to come at our farm breakfast…

Grasping Grips

Grip and

Grasp, grasp and grip

Plip, plip, plip

Undo

The glue

Uck some green

Uck some blue

Jumping all around

Up and down,

All around

Mucky muck

Gluie glue

Undo the

Glue, if

You can,

Undo

The ucky, mucky

Splishy splashy

Messy

MUD

Better than Day 1

Today I picked lots of leeks

I saw the trees atop the peaks

And made soup with potatoes

Tomatoes and all of the above

And got hit in the face

Playing tetherball with gloves

I had fun being done

After milking the cow

Oink, neigh and moos

Made like we were in a zoo

I was right because after day one

I knew it would be a lot more FUN

7:05: Looks like you can see the sun setting on the trees (looking at the foliage first thing in the morning).

7:25: I smell good food! (while walking past the dining hall).

7:30: I feel like all animals love me (while petting the sheep).

7:45: With our population and with the way we treat the earth, we are going to make some sacrifices (at breakfast).

10:15: It’s Gouda for you! (while touring the creamery).

3:00: I love being dirty – it’s so much better than clean (while herding cows in the mud)

4:00: Are these synonym apples or cinnamon apples? (during snack)

5:00: All of the chicks are together! (while feeding the chickens in the chicken coop).

5:15: I don’t want to grow up. I don’t want to be a moody teenager (as we walked to the pigpen).

6:15: This is so bougie (during dinner as we were placing our napkins in our laps).

6:20: I am a vegetarian except I eat bacon (during dinner).

Farm Trip Day 1:

We had a meandering start to our day but when we finally arrived at Hawthorne Valley Farm, everyone hit the ground running. Below are some samples from the students’ evening journal writing session, which hopefully gives you a glimpse into our very exciting, beautiful, and yes a bit tiring but in a good way, day.

Zara: Well, my day didn’t go as planned. I got to school late. Well to be exact, five minutes late.

So, first of all this wasn’t even my fault so technically, it was the train’s fault because I left early.

Selah: I went to school and found out that my bus partner was Zara! Yes!…So my bus ride? Well, Zara slept most of the time.

June: We then lined up and departed our classroom! We walked down the stairs and when we walked outside, all of the parents started clapping. Then we got on the bus and I chose a seat near the front because I get carsick, but luckily I didn’t get car sick!

Nico: About two hours into the ride, one of our teachers, Deborah, noticed we were going the wrong way. So we had to turn back and ride for another hour and a half. When we turned around we saw metal spaceships in a yard.

Lila: Then our day really started! We had a tour of the farm. It was really smelly! When we got to the sheep I found out their names and one of them is even named Lila!

Shaffer: We ate lunch, it was salad, rice, radishes and much more. (For dinner) I made soup and thirty people ate it. I cut an onion and my eyes blew up.

Emilia: The lentil soup was fun to make and gross to eat.

Skylar: I went cow herding and stepped in mud and cow poop. It was fun cow herding because they kind of listen to you. Also you get to boss them around. The hills were amazing.

Ziva: I enjoyed getting expired food and giving it to the pigs because pigs eat anything and they liked it. When we put the liquids into one it looked disgusting.

Lily: After lunch we separated into groups and did different activities. My group was the “Piglets” group. We made butter and we had to herd the cows and bull. We had to walk through mud and poop which was in my opinion, fun!

Dante: I stepped in horse poop. Is that good or bad? I am soaked to the skin with mud. And I fed pigs bread, tortillas, ravioli, kombucha, juice, milk, sour cream, noodles, yogurt, salsa, and hummus.

Cydney: First, me and Selah (we were always partners) washed the vegetables. There were so many carrots! Then we put together the spices. The smell took over!

Sawyer: After lunch, my group, the calves, were with the horses. We rode them and cleaned their poop.

Paloma: First we took a tour and then we went to the horses. We learned the safety rules, then we got to brush them (I brushed Sam). After we cleaned the poop, I was the last to ride (I rode Daisy).

Will: Last, we herded the cows and the walk to the cows took seven minutes and it was muddy and sticky. When we got there, we had bamboo and we were putting our arms straight like a fence. It took awhile to get the cows back to the farm.

Penelope: I rode the horse, Daisy, backwards. It was weird because I had never done that before.

Julian: At free time we ran races and we had races climbing the rock wall. The we had a great dinner. It was hard boiled eggs and salad. At the end of the day we got our pajamas on and brushed our teeth. Now we go to sleep!

Vincent: After we finished dinner, we, me and the waiters, cleaned up after dinner, swept the floor, stacked the chairs, and cleaned the tablecloth…I found my friend Tyler’s lost stuffed animal from the last trip (wedged in between the mattress and the wall).

Ivy: At dinner we ate eggs a special way. We also ate lentil soup, which one of the other groups made. Then I found out that I have morning chores with Penelope and have to wake up tomorrow at 5:45!

Dear families,

Thank you so much for enthusiastically joining us on Curriculum Night. It was a pleasure to get to know you all better and to share with you our hopes and dreams for this school year. Below, we have posted a link to the slideshow presentation.

In collaboration,

Deborah and Alicia

_Deborah Alicia Curriculum Night 2018-1hfiutu

We had a spectacular evening sharing with families the work that goes on inside the classroom and what it means to be a fourth grader. It was a joy to share the work our class has accomplished so far and show your artifacts of the students’ learning. Even though teachers guided parents through an activity done with students and prepared a presentation, nothing conveys the experience Fourth Grade better than the words of a fourth grader. The following link is a video compilation of student interviews reflecting and looking ahead after the first three weeks of our year together.

Fourth Grade Thoughts (video)

For specific curriculum information, a .pdf copy of the presentation shown at DS4 Curriculum Night is provided below. Along with the details, insights into our reasoning, intentions and teaching practices are peppered through the overview.

Curriculum Overview