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James Pass Arboretum Project

Over the summer of 2014, teachers at The New School decided that the older students would take part in a year-long study of trees, where they would learn about tree identification, and how the study of a tree’s habit, its leaves, bark and fruit provide identification clues. As we researched our options of places we Read More >>

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Flying Airplanes!

How do airplanes fly? That is a question that our younger students (K-2) explored during Investigations. They made paper airplanes and tested them to see how far they could fly. Then they modified their planes to see if they could get them to fly farther. They compared their recorded distances to draw their conclusions.

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Mr. Wizard, aka Buzzy Dale, Mystery Guest

The New School now has its own Mr. Wizard! Buzzy Dale (Chloe’s father) is sharing his love of teaching science and knowledge as we explore electricity and magnetism. His first demonstration had the children enraptured as he demonstrated how electricity flows through conductors, and is stopped by insulators. He also demonstrated how materials vary in Read More >>

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Lego Class

In Lego class we have been learning about simple and powered machines using hands-on activities. We investigated structures and forces, incorporating both rigid and flexible shapes in our deck chair and drawbridge. Applying principles we learned about levers, we made a drumming machine and windshield wipers. Attaching a motor provided opportunities for further exploration.  After Read More >>

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Sam Van Aken and his Tree of Life

On Thursday, October 30, Sam Van Aken was our third mystery guest of the year. Sam created, using grafting, a tree that can bear 40 different kinds of stone fruits. The children asked their yes/no questions and quickly determined Sam had come to share something about trees. But then we challenged them, in the remaining Read More >>

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Layers of the Earth

The youngest group of students has been learning about the layers of the earth.  We started off our unit by reading parts of Gail Gibbon’s bookPlanet Earth/Inside Out and How to Dig a Hole to the Otherside of the World by Faith McNulty.  As we learned about the many layers, we made small models out of clay and Read More >>

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Highland Forest, October 2014

In many schools children are taken on camping field trips to celebrate the end of the year, as a reward you might say. At the New School we visit Highland Forest twice a year. The first time is scheduled near the start of school, and the second trip is within weeks of the end of Read More >>

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James Pass Arboretum and our tree unit

The older students (ages 9 to 12) have embarked on a tree exploration. They started out looking at how trees grow – by observing their rings. We soon learned that not only can you tell how old a tree is by its rings, but you can also determine whether it was a “good” growing year Read More >>

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Ramps

Children in grades Kindergarten through Second Grade have been exploring ramps in science one afternoon a week.  We started by discussing what a ramp was and what it might be used for.  Our first experiments looked at the different surfaces on our ramps and how that effected the distance our car would go off the Read More >>

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Little House and maple syrup

Our youngest eight students have been having a wonderful time exploring the time period of pioneers by using Laura Ingalls Wilder’s book Little House in the Big Woods.  We started by reading a biography about Laura and then started reading her first book.  As we explored the big woods with Laura and her family, we’ve also Read More >>