First Grade

Our first grade class had a wonderful and exciting December! We worked with the letters, S,T,V,W. We read stories, explored the sounds and words that begin with our letter of the day. We then took out our main lesson language book and drew the letter carefully, shading in behind it in a artistic way. Some of us chose rainbow patterns and others the peace sign. All were individual and thoughtfully done. We celebrated Saint Lucia Day with gluten free buns and a beautiful procession of 2nd and 3rd graders dressed in white. We also celebrated Cora's birthday and enjoyed hearing about her life. At the assembly, we sang a french song taught by Ms Jessica, with the rest of the school. Cooking class with Ms Stephanie was also on the menu for the 1st grade. The last highlight of 2018 was the Winter Solstice camping trip!

As we returned for 2019 there was a excitement in the air. We had started the story Stuart Little, by E.B. White, and the children enjoyed hearing about Stuart's adventures as a mouse. We also learned that this is the same author as Charlotte's Web, that we had just finished reading. During January we also started a book that our classmate Rowan brought in about a cat called Fluff. It was very exciting and we enjoyed immensely. We started math in January and learned about Milton Multiply. We learned using a story about Milton. Milton would hand out a certain number of gems for each kernel of corn that a fairy brought in the store to trade. It went that, for every kernel of corn, Milton would give a fairy 2 gems. Through this, we learned the 2 times table. Some days Milton would give 3 gems for a kernel of corn and then we learned the 3 times table. We played some math games as well. We took dominos and turned them face down, then would pick one each and add the two sides together. Who ever had the largest number won all the dominos from each player. We broke into pairs and played this game too. We learned about odd and even numbers and identified what numbers are odd and which are even. We enjoyed that very much with a knee tapping game to count out the odd and even numbers and to cross our mid line with each tap. We weren't finished with math though, and met our friend Desmond divide. Desmond likes to divide things and wanted to hand out gems evenly to the fairies that came by. We learned how to divide gems and needed to make sure that they were even, which we learned means that everyone receives the same number of gems. That is something, that we as 1st Graders are interested in. When we finished learning about Desmond Divide and Milton Multiply we added some lessons from the board and pictures into our math book. We weren't finished with math yet and learned about Roman Numerals. We learned how to make the symbols for the roman Numerals and that sometimes they are used as numbers for chapter books. The numerals we learned were from 1-12. We wrote these in our Math books and played a game where a Arabic number(1,2,3 etc.) is put on the board and we would have to make the corresponding Roman Numeral. We played a few additional Math games like bean bag math, such as tossing the bean bag into the air. Skip counting, counting to 100 and connect four math were also other math games we enjoyed. Connect four math is a sheet with random numbers on it, in a row. With the solution of each addition and subtraction sum you find the number on the sheet and when you get 4 across it is a connect four!

We finished math and moved onto form drawing. We explored running forms and with each form we heard a story that would have the form in it. For example we heard a story about a castle and the form was a castle top. Form drawing is a wonderful way for children to develop their eye hand coordination and a sense of concentration as these forms are done slowly and with care. After form drawing, we explored the last three consonants of the alphabet X,Y, and Z. We listened to the story that went with each letter and drew that letter on one side of our language main lesson book and drew a picture from the story on the other. Remembering to take our time and shade in the entire picture.

We continued to have our specials with Ms Jessica(French and Gardening), Ms Natalie(Meditation), Ms Stephanie(Cooking), Ms. Carmen(Spanish) and Ms. Laura(Handwork). We were excited to be able to pull and eat our carrots that we had planted as seeds in Gardening! Learning about themselves and others in Meditation and cooking up good things to eat like carrot muffins for a community lunch. In handwork, we finished our knitting needles and have learned how to cast on. Soon we will be knitting!

During main lesson we have been practicing the pentatonic flute. We are working with our left hand only and practicing the scales. We are excited to learn how to play hot cross buns which will be our first song. Last but not least is one of our favorite activities, painting. We have been using two and three colors to make other colors. Each week we paint and use different colors to explore. One week it is exploring two different blues and another week we use one of the blues with lemon yellow. Each of these paintings is a new relationship with color and mood.

This month we also had to say goodbye to our dear friend Nico. He was visiting for only a short time ,but we came to love and honor him as a part of our class. We will miss you my friend and hopefully wait for you to perhaps return next year for another visit.

Best wishes, Ms. Laura

Second/Third Grade

The second graders have been exploring numbers. Counting steps, to the playground, to the tree, across the room, searching the campus to see how high we can count, walking around the block to find their number of the day. Our daily math practice has been mostly with times tables. Rhythms and games in unison, and solo challenges have been a lot of fun. They have begun making their “House of Numbers” cards, that they are excited to complete and take home to practice for their first “homework”. I have also introduced an easy spelling test that they can try if they are comfortable with the words that day.

Fables continue to be a part of our week. Drawing a picture in their books, alongwith a few words that we “read” later during review. On occasion we model beeswax to accompany a story, such as The Horseshoe Nails. We have been exploring words also each day. Games, silly sentences and word bingo are helping the children to be more aware of the words around them and encouraging them to read, whatever their ability is.

The children have enjoyed learning their first simple songs on their flutes. We practice nearly everyday by singing the song first, then playing all together. We are looking forward to playing for the school at the closing festival. Everyone is also trying hard to complete knitting a flute case for their performance, and are looking forward to showing off their new found skills!

~Mrs McMillan

The third grade has been busy working on various aspects of English language development. They've been working on recognizing and utilizing long vowels, building vocabulary, and breaking words down using syllables. We just finished a segment on the Creation Story, from Adam and Eve to Noah, where the students created artistic renditions of the themes and lessons gained from the narratives. We frequently play games such as word scramble, Boggle, and Scrabble to engage students with vocabulary and spelling. They have also been discovering the rudiments of sentence construction through diagramming sentences and frequent practice with games such as Mad Libs. The third graders have also been developing their math skills in multiplication, division, fractions, and counting money.~Mr Geoff

Fourth/Fifth Grade

During December Grade 4/5 completed their first North American Geography block. While exploring the Atlantic Coast and Northeast Woodlands, the children read The Sign of the Beaver and learned of the Peacemaker of the Haudenosaunee People. We then marveled at the Great Lakes and concluded with a study of the expansive Great North American Prairie. The children have enjoyed first learning about the resources and geography of the land, and then guessing how the land has shaped humans culturally as well as economically. They have continued enhancing their map drawing and composition skills, with an emphasis on proportion and details.

Our first Ancient Civilizations block greeted us as we returned in 2019. We began with the story of Manu leaving Atlantis with a group of people and landing in Ancient India. Here life was quite different as they met three gods, Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. We made the connection that the instrument we used in music class last year, the tamboura, was said to have been invented in the court of Vishnu. The children met the Five Sons of Pandu and listened to portions of the Bhagavad Gita. Shared were the stories of Rama and Sita, the ever-faithful Hanuman, the embodiment of love Krishna and his beloved, Radha, as well as stories of little Gopal and his love of butter. We met the remover of all obstacles, Ganesha, along with his parents Shiva and Parvati. Brahma, Saraswati, and many more beings lived their lives watching and incarnating as humans. We learned of the Ancient Indians’ emphasis on devotion and calling on their gods and goddesses for help. We concluded this portion by learning about a man, Sidhartha, who learned to overcome darkness and ignorance not with a sword or arrows, but with a mind filled with the light of the highest wisdom. By devoting his many lives to compassion, forgiveness and alleviating the suffering of all sentient beings, Sidhartha became a Buddha. The children composed original versions of several myths, as well as had a go at dancing and singing in Sanskrit, listening to modern Indian devotional music, and practicing walking in the footsteps of the gods and goddesses with their associated astrological influences.

Next we turned our attention to Ancient Persia, a land where the fierce cold and extreme heat shaped the lives of Persians much differently than their neighbors in India. Ahura Mazda, the God of Light, taught the people how to fence in herds of animals, transform evil into good, how to create and use fire, and to grow grains. Zarathustra was born into the world in a time of great darkness. He was taught by Ahura Mazda the rules of good thoughts, good words, and good deeds, which Zarathustra passed on to his fellow humans. Through his devotion and willingness to be an instrument of Ahura Mazda, much light was brought to counter the darkness on the earth. As we saw people becoming more at home on earth in Persia, we also to looked more deeply how the people worshipped the light upon which all life depends. The simple teachings given at this time were to value light of the sun in order to later, when ready, value and worship the inner light of the soul.

From here we traveled both further west and later in time to the place between two rivers, Mesopotamia. The children met Ea, the God of Wisdom, who taught the Babylonians how to make bricks. With these bricks they built towers and the first great cities. It was the priests of Babylonia that studied the heavens from the towers, learning of the rhythm and order of the heavens. The priests learned to divide time into years, months, minutes, seconds and so forth. The priests learned of when to grow crops and much more all from watching the sun, moon, and stars. We also naturally learned of parts of the life of Gilgamesh through the inscribed clay tablets from 5,000 years ago. Gilgamesh tried very hard to find the secret of living on earth forever, and in the end had to accept that all humans must one day drop their bodies.

In our music studies we have shifted our attention away from singing to a study of rhythm. With the cajons built with Mr. Eric, we have been learning musical notation, learning rudiments with the assistance of the syllables of words, and creating compositions in order to train ourselves to memorize short patterns as well as train the ears of others to hear specific rhythms. Learning to play multi layered rhythms as a group is our next aim.

We have traveled quite far in the last month. It is a joy to witness the children recognizing parts of themselves in the myths of these ancient civilizations, along with seeing how the wisdom of each civilization shows up in our modern lives today. While they still love entertaining stories, there is more processing happening at deeper levels. More uncovering. More understanding. What powerful children!

In Gratitude, Mr. Jon

Sixth/Seventh Grade

We continue to grow in all directions! The winter brought us inward at first, looking inside the human body for the first time. This gaze of inner life, also gave us a basis for revisiting the three fold human being presented in Zoology years ago, in a much deeper manner, reflecting the more complex thoughts and feelings of these teens.

We first examined the metabolic system, which we introduced with a quiet meditation time. After we were proficiently centered and focused, the questions was posed: What are you aware of? We were keenly aware of the sounds we hear or the sights we see such as described in Physics last year, but what about inwardly? When we really focused we could feel our heart beating, or the sensations on our skin. Only when someone revealed they were hungry did we become aware of anything below our hearts. Then we realized only when there is discomfort, such as hunger, stomach ache, or nerves can we really feel inside our bodies. Thus, this particular system of the body is what we are most “asleep” to, so this is where we began, to awaken our consciousness to what we have perhaps taken for granted. In addition, the adolescent students are also awakening to eating, so they were intensely interested in how we process food! After our discussion, they began a food journal over several days. They were surprised by what they found their eating habits to be! Not only what they eat, often weird combinations, as they wrote everything they consumed, but how often and erratic times.

Once looking at the digestive system itself, the question was posed, when does it begin? They first answered that when food enters our stomach, this is where it is broken down. I presented them with crackers, and we found that when we placed the cracker in our mouths, this food actually starts to break down without us doing anything at all. We spoke about what happens in our mouths - the salivary amylase that begins breaking certain foods down when it is in our mouths. So perhaps it begins there? Maybe, but do we only have saliva activated when we put food in our mouths? When else does that happen? As it turns out, when we smell certain foods, the saliva can fill up our mouths! After some contemplation we realized that when we see food, either in person, or even a picture of food, our digestion can also begin. Then we realized that when we even think about a food, we can suddenly become acutely aware of our hunger. Thus our digestive system can be stimulated by outward sensory perceptions, and the process begins much more outside our bodies then we at first assumed.

After examining the anatomy of our mouths - tongue, teeth, tastebuds, we continued looking at the digestive process beyond the mouth, and we found the rhythmic side of this system, as the chewed up food, or bolus that is worked over by our teeth and saliva is then pushed into our esophagus by our tongues, and then with the epiglottis protecting the windpipe, through rhythmical contraction, called peristalsis, is brought down the narrow tube to the cardiac sphincter, where the bolus must be body temperature and of the correct size and shape to pass into the stomach. The stomach liquifies what we eat, with gastric juices mixing with the food; the overall environment is very acidic with a mucus coating to shield us from the strong acidic contents. Some mentioned that they may have felt that acid come up before, and how it burns! From the stomach, food meets the pyloric sphincter to pass into the small intestine, which is very alkaline and filled with important bacteria. Here the bile created in the liver and stored in the gallbladder, and enzymes from the pancreas pass into the small intestine, and nutrients are absorbed through the villi, which increase the surface are available for nutrient absorption. We learned about the special function of the appendix just recently gaining recognition, as more than just the thin tube where the small and large intestine meet, but also a safe house for good bacteria if one experiences depletion. Then finally we reached the large intestine, beginning with the ileocecal valve, which prevents re-entry into the small intestines. As we gained an understanding of what functions the digestive organs fulfill, the students were intrigued by the intricate nature these all come together, and something like the small intestines, stretch to about 20 to 25 feet long, our ecosystem of a large intestine stretches to be about 5 feet, storing thousands of types of helpful bacteria. Students had the option of writing out the journey of food through the digestive tract expository style, or more creatively from the perspective of the food itself.

We also discussed nutrition, and what it means to say “You are what you eat.” We learned about the “shelf life” of various cells, such as a stomach cell, which is maybe a day or two, or a skin cell, which is perhaps a month. They were shocked and perhaps a bit worried to learn that each day our bodies are making new cells to replace those that have expired, and how healthy the cells are is directly determined by how well you been eating (and digesting!). We are also repairing existing cells, that are damaged through stress, pollution, exercise, a skinned knee, etc. They realized that a diet filled with processed food does not give their bodies much to work with in terms of building materials. We also spoke out about the science of the billion dollar flavor industry, which sends false messages to our digestive system, and can dull our sense of taste and smell, thus affecting our digestion. In addition, the impact of preservatives, colorants, trans fats, and texturants on our bodies, in terms of digestion, but also inflammation were also given some attention.

In conjunction with this part of the block, Aneta Lundquist of 221 BC Kombucha, came to visit us in class to speak to us more about our microbiomes, how they communicate with us, and just how much of use they really are. She brought the students different fermented foods to try, and showed us a part of one of her scobys. This was a great throwback to last spring when the students were able to visit the Kombucha facility and see how the products is made, including the fermentation tanks the size of swimming pools!

The Rhythmic system was next in terms of their consciousness. They are more connected to their breathing, and can easily feel themselves out of breath. We looked at this system in a few different ways, first taking an awareness walk and then suddenly sprinting. When we spoke about what that felt like, we learned about what is happening in our bodies, and why that action causes the various feelings the kids picked up on. The blood needs to move rapidly to our muscle to fulfill our depleted glucose, and therefore our heart is beating more quickly. What else do we need more of? Oxygen(!), and this is why we start to breathe faster, taking in more oxygen. Once that was clear we looked at circulation in various orders of animals - for example, the fish. Here we saw a rhythmic pulsing, but no separation of venous and arterial blood. Then we looked at the lower reptilian heart, where we could identify a slight separation in the blood, but an animal that can’t generate its own warmth. Once we looked at the bird or higher reptiles began to see something of true heart chambers. At the same time, when we compare these animals, we also see a hierarchy in terms of the capability of nurturing their young, and the communication of their inner life, as their hearts become more complex.

When looking at the mammalian heart, the students learned the basic anatomy as well as the flow of blood, and the types of muscles present (both striated and non-striated, voluntary and involuntary). We learned about the four chambers that act in concert to receive and eject blood, and what is happening when we hear out heart beat, when the valves in the heart close. The LUB is in the beginning of ventricular contraction, forcing the valves between atria and ventricles to close. The DUB is when the ventricles just finish contracting, and the blood from the existing vessels (the aorta and pulmonary artery) push the aortic and pulmonary valves close. Thank you to Ms Shivani for lending her stethoscope to allow the class to listen to their heart beats!

Wondering why the heart muscle would be voluntary was an interesting question that we discussed, along with the life of feeling and how we can use feelings to help us to control our emotions. Why do we use hearts to symbolize love? They are capable us such compelling musings now!

We also looked at the heart rates of various animals, small to large, including humans, which takes about 1 minute for all of our blood to move throughout our body. The students quickly saw that larger animals have slower pulses, and smaller animals have higher ones. We also spoke about professional athletes and stamina.

Next we looked at the lungs, the inner tree that carry oxygen to the blood and carbon dioxide to the air. The students knew this already, but hadn’t really seen what bronchioles looked like, again, this is a true awakening to the inner workings of these new bodies. Lo and behold, they saw trees! We learned about how each bronchiole leads to a cluster of tiny sacs called alveoli, which are the site of gas exchange. This system of branching tubes is called the bronchial tree and increases the surface area available for gas exchange. Mammals such as humans are generally larger, warm-blooded animals that have much higher energy demands than other animals, and this large surface area of the lungs helps meet these demands. The blood vessels lining the alveoli are part of a transport system that delivers oxygen to cells and returns with carbon dioxide to the lungs to be exhaled. We also discussed the importance of oxygen and iron, and the carbon dioxide that nourishes our plant world.

It is important for them to not only learn structure and function, but to gain an understanding of the larger picture, and to ponder the philosophical aspects of having a human body. We tried being mindful of our breath, wondering if we ever feel ourselves breathing quickly without realizing it. We practiced slowing our breath if we feel rushed, holding our breath and what that feels like. How long can we hold our breath, how long can we release our breath? Why do we try to control this vital life system? We spoke about hibernating animals and how they are able to slow their breathing, or even hibernating humans, such as the ancient Indian yogis we learned of long ago, sharing the quote, “When you own your own breath, no one can steal your peace.”..a thought provoking gem.

From our breathing we went to our sensory system next, or nerve sense, inarguably what they are most awake to. This was introduced by having the students try to do a mental math session without being able to see. All problems were read to them, and they were able to answer. It wasn’t as easy as having sight, but they managed. Then they tried to do math problems being able to see but with their ears carefully covered so they were unable to hear me. They were surprised that this was more difficult than they expected. They found there was a sense of disconnection with a lack of hearing, not really knowing what I was saying or who I was talking to. It was interesting, because at first they really felt sight would be the great loss, but they found the lack of hearing to be surprisingly disorienting. When they couldn’t see, it was much easier for classmates to try to help them verbally, but when they couldn’t hear, it was harder to help each other. Given how much they like to talk to each other, this was not a complete surprise to me, but it did surprise them!

Thus we began our study of the sense with the ear - working our way in from the outer ear. We opined about the purpose of its shape, structural integrity and position on the side of the head. It is a very sensitive organ, one that needs to be covered in order to protect it. Why cartilage, why would it need to be flexible? We also spoke about the sympathetic vibration of the larynx when we hear speech. Next we looked at the fine hairs that filter dust, and the glands that produce fat and wax as a protective agent. We looked at a drawing depicting these, as well as the middle ear and ear drum. We talked about the function of the eardrum and how the contraction of the muscles surrounding the tympanic membrane cause the skin to stretch tightly to prevent from excessive vibrations.

Many important discoveries in anatomy occurred during the Renaissance, such as the ossicles - the incus, malleus,and stapes of our middle ear. We learned of how some of these discoveries were made, and why it took so long - given the miniature inner anatomy it is no surprise. From the ear drum the ossicles take the sound vibration to the cochlea of the inner ear. Here we find thousands of tiny hair cells that change the vibrations into electrical signals that are sent to the brain through the hearing nerve, after which our brain tells us what we are hearing. This was an intriguing process to think about, the rate at which this happens! We also spoke about the importance of protecting our ears, for example in the case of headphones or earbuds for listening to music. Each hair cell has small patch of stereocilia sticking up out of it, which rocks back and forth in response to sound. If the sound is too loud this can bend or break the stereocilia, which will cause the hair cell to die, thus no longer sending sound signals to the brain. In our ears, once a hair cell dies it will not grow back, and the higher frequency hair cells are the most easily damaged, which is why those with this type of hearing loss will often have trouble hearing higher pitched sounds, such as bird language. We also learning about the non-hearing function of our inner ear, that of our vestibular system, which is the function of our semicircular canals. These three tiny fluid filled tubes of our inner ear act kind of like a motion sensor for rotational acceleration. Lined with cilia, they sense the movement of the fluid and communicate our position to the brain. Also related are the utricle and saccule, which are responsible for detecting linear acceleration, or movement in a straight line. Their hair cells of the also have a jelly-like layer with tiny calcium crystals. When the head is tilted or the body position is changed with respect to gravity, the displacement of the crystals causes the hair cells to bend, and this is communicated to the brain through the vestibular nerve. Once understood these inner workings the class had great fun experimenting with different sounds, as well as positions to feel these processes at work.

The next major sense was presented first as a riddle - like poem by a mystery author: “Who would believe that so small a space could contain all the images of the universe? O Mighty Process! What talent can avail to penetrate a nature such as these? What tongue will it be that can unfold so great a wonder? Verily, none! This it is that guides the human discourse of the considering of divine things. Here the figures, here the colors, here all the images of every part of the universe are contracted to a point. O’ what point is so marvelous!” ~ Leonardo

After hearing this with no context at all, other than it was a riddle, the students guessed at what this person may have been referring to. They guessed things like laptops, smart phones, finally someone guessed a camera. I said it a few more times before they realized that it was the human eye to which this person was referring. However when they thought about it they were able to fully realize just how much information comes to the brain through the eyes. Judgement of size, texture, object distance, for example. We learned that 10 million cells activated by light turn a perceived image into nerve pulses that are transmitted to the brain, and 70% of our sensory receptors are concentrated in the eyes. This was intriguing to them, to think about what their eyes sense.

Then we focused on what we could see in each other’s eyes, starting with the external anatomy. What do you see? Eyelids, eyelashes, tear ducts, all visible and well understood. What about the actual eyeball? Most knew the iris and pupil. Overwhelmingly they felt gazing at someone's eyes is very intimate, and an entry point to their soul. They didn’t realize that it is a window to the brain as well, and can tell us a great deal of what is happening in our brains by looking at the eye. We also talked about the color of our eyes, and the function of the iris. They did not know that those with blue eyes actually don’t have blue pigment in their eye, but rather the light is reflected back as blue because they lack melanin, which creates the brown pigment.

We also learned about the importance of blinking and the harshness of the light, whilst doing a staring contest! We spoke about the metamorphosis of the human eye from before birth, the hyaloid artery which reach from the lens to the blind spot, spreading out in the back, like a microcosm of the womb. Before birth, it is filled with blood, but stops sending blood after the umbilical cord is cut, and slowly disintegrates as the lens is able to function independently.

We then looked at the anatomy of the eye beginning with the cornea. Smooth and clear as glass, strong and durable, this outside cover, protects against germs and dust. It contains no blood vessels but receives nourishment from tears and aqueous humor, which refract light. Even the tiniest blood vessels would cause opacity . We spoke the actual connective tissue of the sclera as a protective element of the eye.

Then we looked at how the eye functions. Light enters through the pupil, then is refracted as it passes through the crystalline lens. The lens changes shape so that the image you are looking at is focused, upside-down, onto the retina, which is at the back of the eye. The retina is covered in specialized cells called photoreceptors (think of this part of the eye as the film of a camera where the picture is captured). Photoreceptors gather information from the light and send it to the brain to be processed into the image you see. Each eye sees slightly different images, with visual field overlapping. We also saw that we have a blind spot, after doing an exercise that brought a small dot into that small area, on both of our eyes. Watching this spot disappear from our field of vision was quite astonishing.

Going back to the photoreceptors in more detail, we discovered the rods and cones microscopically, and what they are responsible for. The rods control our peripheral vision, night vision, but not color. The cones are more responsible for day vision and color. Their structure is kind of curious, with an outer segment, that looks intestinal in nature, a slender connecting stalk, that acts like a bridge with tiny hairs to process, and the basal portion, which contains the mitochondria or energy source, much like a microcosm of the three fold picture of the human being. We will explore our various vision capabilities more on our next night hike!

Also related to vision, after the break, we next immersed ourselves in perspective drawing. Rudolf Steiner, the founder of Waldorf education, contended that the official beginning of the Renaissance occurred in 1413, when the laws of perspective were discovered, so it is especially appropriate for us to delve into perspective drawing this year, when we will also study the Renaissance. It is also a nod to learning to view things from various perspectives, rather than concluding that only one point of view is correct. They are at a point in their development where they can acknowledge that one can have mixed feelings, and see things in more than one way, so this concept of viewpoints is nourishing on that level as well; finding the viewpoint in art can mirror their search for their own viewpoint in their lives. We began with a simple rectangle, and divided it through bisection. They found all sections of the rectangle were equal using this method, not matter how many they did. Next we applied the same concept to the trapezoid, but found that the sections became smaller and smaller, thus a succession of lines in perspective. Then we created another trapezoid, again bisecting it, but this time I asked them to figure out how they could extend the diminishing sections of the trapezoid outside of the shape. First we drew a straight line through all of the points where the diagonals cross,then, it took them some time but they realized they could draw a diagonal through the second to last vertical line, to extrapolate the lines beyond the original shape, and thus continue the sections beyond the trapezoid. As they continued they found that eventually this was nearly impossible to do, as they sections became minute. Thus they found their first vanishing point. They could then transform this drawing into a fence line or a row of trees. Next we created a single vanishing point to the horizon, which became a hallway or road. From these exercises they can begin to establish rules which can inform their drawings both in school as well as their personal drawings, utilizing artistic composition as well as mathematical accuracy. In the coming weeks we will add technically demanding drawings such as staircases, cityscapes and interiors spaces, as well as freehand perspective drawing.

Related to this block they also began a new class with Architect and Mangrove Dad, Mr Dominic. The ultimate in learning by doing, he expanded on their study of perspective in real time, by exploring the grounds of Emerson Point Preserve, and finding the hidden lessons in the natural landscape and simple structures, helping them to see the natural vanishing points and converging lines before them. The ultimate goal: designing a sustainable structure for our landscape, under his guidance! We are so grateful to allow them the opportunity to understand how this process works, from napkin sketch to model to reality!

In addition to perspective drawing we also ventured outward in our study of the Age of Exploration, awakening to the huge shift in consciousness that occurred at this time in history. We began with the various factors that brought us to this point, influencing and inspiring people to venture out from the familiar, into what became what was referred to as the “new world”. We went back to the time of Marco Polo, and his unique family that did venture out, the knowledge that was brought back, as well as the time of the crusades and thought about some of the items, ideas and tools that began to open people’s minds again. We saw how the influence of trade, such as with spices and silks brought a great deal of motivation to Europe to find a direct route to India and China, particularly a sea route as the Ottoman Empire had made the land in Southeastern Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean dangerous to travel through. We looked at the evolution of maps over time, and the changing perspective of the world, as well as some rumored very early exlporations that preceded this time period. We learned about some of the central figures in early European exploration and their achievements, such as Prince Henry the Navigator, of Portugal who has been said to have initiated this time period, his sponsorship of the exploration of the West Coast of Africa, innovation in ships, as well as the establishment of a navigation school in Portugal. Prince Henry helped unlock the secrets of Africa and employed cartographers who created the most sophisticated maps of their time. The maps made it possible for sailors to learn from previous expeditions, thus after his death, Portugal's advancements continued. Until Henry's time, Cape Bojador remained the most southerly point known to Europeans on the desert coast of Africa. Superstitious seafarers held that beyond the cape lay sea monsters and the edge of the world. In Henry's time, the Portuguese circumvented the Muslim land-based trade routes, making Portugal incredibly rich, and eventually, after Henry's death, Bartholomeu Dias proved that it was possible to circumnavigate Africa when he reached the southern tip of the continent, now known as the “Cape of Good Hope.” Ten years later, Vasco da Gama was the first sailor to travel from Portugal to India. Henry also has the dubious distinction of beginning the Atlantic slave trade.

We dispelled myths of Christopher Columbus and came to an understanding of his luck, his flaws, as well as the impact his travels had on the curiosity of others that came after him. We compared these two early figures to each other, as well as Spain and Portugal, and their interests. Columbus’ proposal was denied by Portugal; they felt that with the discovery of the Southern tip of Africa they knew they could reach India that way. We saw that the flat earth theory was in fact not common at that time, and that advisors to the Spanish monarchy, who had an accurate size of the planet, felt he would end up in the middle of the ocean starving to death. We discussed his multiple journeys in detail, what he brought with him, and what the journey must have been like. In March we will visit replica ships docked in nearby Palmetto, to get an idea of the feel of being at sea for over month in these vessels. The students completed a hypothetical journal from the perspective of either that allowed them to step into their shoes for a moment and imagine what their experiences were like. This block is wonderful timing for these adolescents, themselves standing at the edge of the world, the familiar, sticking one toe out in the water of the unknown. Next month we will weave in the varied physical and cultural geography of South America over time as we learn about the vast resources that attracted many explorers, including Pizarro, Magellan and Desoto, familiar to us due to our own geographical place in the world, and our study of local geography years ago. Thus, some of this is a “prequel”, so to speak. We will also learn about the indigenous peoples, of these areas including the well-known Incas. As a way of recalling we introduced a new trivia game with this block, that was great fun and just the right medium for these teens.

In math we added algebra word problems, as well as ratios and proportion. Ratios are also essentially about relationships, and with the emphasis on relationship of the adolescence, this is quite fitting at this age.

As they awaken to so many burgeoning capacities, the students independence and creativity came through with the Deep Sea Abyss at our Mermaid Faire - designing, building, and executing a mysterious labyrinth, and a rare chance to be in actual dark, along with curious underwater experiences. They were thrilled to create an experience for older kids that could be a bit edgy. They also designed and built a bridge for their beloved horses at Prospect Riding Center.

Next month we continue with the aforementioned South American Geography, after which we will build on our principles of Physics that were introduced last year and expand our perspective drawing rules.

Onward with enthusiasm!

With Gratitude, Ms Erin