Crazy Professor Reading Game

It’s been a long, but productive first week back in the classroom.  To end the week in a new and different way, the students were surprised this afternoon when they came back from recess and discovered the coaches in the front of the room wearing beads, leis, and party hats. After many predictions, they [...]

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Science Court: The Case of the Leaking Pipes

Learning about the water cycle has been part of the fourth grade curriculum for many years. In our classroom we have an enclosed plastic model of a river valley which continually amazes everyone with how quickly the water condenses on the lid when hot water is poured inside. This year we have added a new [...]

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The Grace, Elegance, and Beauty of Kung Fu

This afternoon we were treated to a special assembly put on by Wah Lum Kung Fu, located in West Concord and owned by Mary Driscoll and Andrea Sheffield. The program started with a traditional Chinese New Year lion dance. The lion dance which shows the different attributes of the lion: happy, curious, sleepy, [...]

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Tea Party at the Orchid Pavilion

It was a frosty cold day outside, but inside our cozy treehouse classroom, the students were deeply immersed in a new Ancient Chinese poetry lesson with our poet in residence, Steven Ratiner.
Steven began the lesson with a discussion about the cult of friendship.  In Ancient China, as in China today, friendships are valued.  Back then,  [...]

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Market Day in Ancient China

“This is unbelievable!”  “You mean we get to keep what we buy?” These were some of the many comments made today after turning our classroom into  a market in Ancient China.
At one time there were four main currencies in Ancient China, thus the class was divided into four groups.  Each group was given their own [...]

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