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Words as Boomerangs

Every year, and more than once a year, we facilitate discussions at school to help children understand the power of the words they use. Last week we asked children to consider the following quote. This discussion involved the entire school and had children in all grades participating. Words are alive. They shoot out like boomerangs Read More >>

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Women’s Hall of Fame

As part of our social studies unit on Government, the oldest students went on a field trip to Seneca Falls to learn more about the Women’s Rights Movement. They visited the Women’s Hall of Fame, which was opened in 1969. The Hall of Fame’s mission is to recognize the contributions made by women to our Read More >>

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Government and Social Justice

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” In class we discussed the meaning of these words from the Preamble to the Declaration of Independence. We then brainstormed Read More >>

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Rain Forest

The eleven youngest students started the year learning about the Rain Forest. New concepts and vocabulary were introduced as they listened to and discussed the content of many books on the subject. If I Ran the Rain Forest by Bonnie Worth and Rain, Rain, Rain Forest by Brenda Guiberson helped the children learn about the Read More >>

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Equalizing and Word Problems

Evan and Glady are participating in a math class together. They are working in DMP (Developing Mathematical Processes) topic 27 Representing Other Equalizing Situations. Working with addition and subtraction facts 0-20 they create and validate math sentences using pictures and manipulatives. They have began reading and solving math word problems, focusing on the language that Read More >>

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Electromagnetism

Last year the teachers began a long term project that integrated science, technology, social studies and language arts. As teachers we began by jointly reading an inspiring book called The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. We were able to ascertain that a young people’s version of the book would be issued in February 2015. Once Read More >>

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End of Year Traditions

We end the school year with many lovely traditions. Tradition #1. Children draw names out of a hat and secretly make a gift for a fellow student. Then using materials at school, the children spend many hours creating just the right gift after thinking about what makes that person unique. Sitting in a circle, one Read More >>

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Advocacy in Action

Sriharsh Gowtham, a young activist, visited the New School at the end of the year. He came to share his political experiences in New Hampshire where he worked hard to change laws in regards to political campaign donations. Harsha shared information about how much it costs to run a campaign and how important it is Read More >>

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The Three Branches of Government

The older children have been learning about the three branches of government. At the end of the year we went on three field trips to observe the legislative, judicial and executive branches in action. The City of Syracuse was amazingly hospitable and willing to enrich the learning of our students. On May 5 we took Read More >>

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Cooking

Our students like to cook, so that has been a choice at Investigations. We made cheese quesadillas with pico de gallo. When students noticed chives growing on the creek bank, we made biscuits with chives and cheese. With no oven available, we “baked” them in a skillet. We made apple crisp, cooking the apples in Read More >>