First Thanksgiving WFS Style

Each year the K-8 students come together to prepare a Thanksgiving feast. All of the dishes are chosen and prepared by the students. This year we decided to match our meal with our history curriculum and tried to only prepare items that could have actually been served at the first Thanksgiving! This meant that we had to leave out some of our Thanksgiving favorites, like potatoes and pie! In fact, our meal did not include beef, potatoes, tomatoes, bell peppers, dairy, wheat, or soy because these items were not available in Plymouth at that time. Our menu did include: Bake Salmon, Roasted Turkey, Duck with Apples, Stewed Chicken Legs, Roasted Acorn Mash, Garlic Pumpkin Seeds, Three Sisters Soup, Fried Corn Mush, Native American Corn Muffins, Venison Stew, Roasted Pumpkin, Fresh Garden Green Salad, Spiced Apple Cider with Popcorn and Berry Salad for dessert!

Salty Fingers

Earlier this week our students were salt writing! Let's hope her fingers didn't go into her mouth...*lemon face*

After the Rain Comes the Rainbow

The WFS kids were super excited as they witnessed a real rainbow!

...and they proceeded to draw their own rainbows to immortalize the event.

3D Christmas

Our students used value to create the illusion of three dimensional Christmas ornaments. We mixed blue or purple with varying amounts of black and white and then painted a line of each color in value of order. Finally, we blended our painted lines with a dry brush. Creative?... we think yes!

Still Life

   The WFS kids were at it again but this time, they created a different kind of art!

Can you Paint with all the Colors of the Wind?

The WFS kids were exploring shades and tints earlier in the week. Mixing colors with white and black, they used only their imagination and their little fingers to create these beautiful pieces of art! 

HallowRead!

This Halloween, our students were given the theme of Literature. The students were to dress up as a character from their favorite book and along with their costume, they brought their books. They had quite the night of treats!

Listen to Your Heart

Why does our heart speed up when we jump? Why does it slow down when we sit still? The WFS kids played doctor earlier this week and found out for themselves! 

Feeling Slugs in the Garden

Earlier this week, our kids at WFS were exploring their sense of touch with slobbery slugs! They had some pretty funny things to say.

Halloween Fun!

Last week the WFS kids carved pumpkins! They cut out the bottom first and then they worked their way towards the inside...they had a blast! 

                                                                                                                                             

Are We There Yet?

       Are we there yet?! The elementary class had a blast earlier this week as we took them on a scavenger hunt around Uptown Whittier. This lesson combined social studies, community service and PE. The students were avidly using maps and following directions to get to their awaiting prize. For the first prize they needed to find a location labeled on a map of Uptown Whittier and on the way, they helped make Whittier just a little bit cleaner. The second clue used  cardinal directions to lead them to their prize. The third prize, a trip to Starbucks for ice water and chocolate milk, required them to follow Google Maps style directions. Once we left Starbucks the students were given the cross street location for the fourth prize and they had to determine the location on the map and the best way to get there. Finally, the students found their way back to the school for one last treat: pumpkin carving.

Tanaka Farms Pt.2

And after a day filled with fun they were exhausted! October is always a memorable month, I bet they can't wait until next year!

Theatricum Botanicum

 The 4th-8th graders went to Will Geer's Theatricum Botanicum in Topanga Canyon to see Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew." During the question/answer portion of the show several of our students asked poignant questions, including how the actors memorized their lines.

Adventures in Tanaka Farms

             On Thursday October 3rd, the elementary class set out on an adventure to Tanaka Frams. We picked deliciously fresh radishes, green beans, carrots, onions, and pumpkins!

J: "I wanted to buy a pumpkin, but it got rotten so I picked a new perfect size one. My favorite part was the carrots. You had to wiggle them out. That was the best!" MQ: "The farms are cool. They have pumpkins which are fruits. They have corn around the fence. My pumpkin was too big!" MH: "I had a little pumpkin. It was so hard. It was really tiny and it was green. I'm getting a lot of carrots. Then I got some onions. I was really careful." E:"It was fun! I loved picking out the pumpkins. There were so many to look at. I really appreciated coming." D: "My favorite part was when we climbed up the pile of pumpkins and the pumpkins fell down. My favorite vegetable is carrots. You have to grab it, twist it, and pull!"       S:"When I was walking and playing with my friends I felt like a little girl again. When I got to pick my pumpkin, there were so many i couldn't decide."                                                           ... an October to remember.

What Does it Feel Like?

Earlier in the week, our students were experimenting with their sense of touch. We let them have fun and get a little messy with water and shaving cream. "What does it feel like?" was all we asked and they had some pretty interesting responses.

B: "It feels like cookie..it feels like peanut butter.. it feels like pizza!"
L:" Like cookie and peanut butter."

A said: "It feels like...soft. It feels like under with your hands."

L simply said: "Soft."

L: "...it feels like... cold. I feel like apple juice and water."

G: "It feel so cold!... It smells like snow."

R: "It feels so cold and so sand."

S: "It feels cold...soft and cold."

S:"It's sticky and soft."

R:"like...like cream. It smells like cream!"

Z: "Soft!"

   
  

"It feel soft and it feels sticky..."

A: "...it's turning to a ghost!"

L: "Soft!"