March 2025
"Happiness? The color of it must be spring green."
-Francis Mayes
Water Clan is making friendships with the older kids at school. I’m enjoying observing younger kids engaging in in-depth play with some Earth Clan kids. We are enjoying our new student, she started school when we had that bitter cold snap and what a trooper she is! The warm sun has coaxed her sweet personality right out!
Earth Clan had a beautiful wintery month in the forest. It flew by so quickly! We journeyed
through many geological studies, from fossils to earthquakes and tsunamis. These science units
have been a blast with hands-on learning and experiments. We will continue our geology
studies as the year continues. Our clan has continued to grow in our social and emotional skills. We
have practiced student-led problem-solving, empathy building, and building bonds within our community. It's inspiring to watch them all continue building their resilience and grit during these cold months. I look forward to watching the forest begin to bloom
with them over the next several months!
Hello again Air clan families, it’s hard to believe it is March already! As we continue our overarching theme this year of the wonders of Earth, we are learning about natural disasters (tsunamis, earthquakes, and extreme erosion) and this past week we were able to explore the first hand results of erosion due to the rain and wind. It was great seeing the kids explore! As we continue in geology on Mondays, we will be learning about volcano types and doing some art and experiments about them. Landforms, rocks, and minerals are also coming up on geology Mondays. We are continuing to do our academic blocks with reading and math on Tuesdays and Wednesdays adding in handwriting and word work in our morning rotations along with stories and our class meeting on Wednesdays and Thursdays are still ancestral skills, which have been so fun! In class meetings we are continuing to practice listening to everyone, exploring what made us upset and working through different choices for the next time it happens, and on the other side, complimenting each other and sharing things that fill our buckets. It’s an ongoing process and we’re still learning. Please reach out if you have any questions or concerns and enjoy the beautiful sun while we have it!
The Fire Clan has worked hard the past few weeks on their interactive Geology Notebooks (studying the big bang, plate tectonics, fossils, tsunamis, earthquakes and erosion), etymology (the study of words), starting our third read aloud of the year, and extensive journal writing. They’re continuing to foster relationships with other kids in the school and are stepping into leadership roles.
I was planning on going to the library this past month, but it’s not the right time with where we are in our studies. So instead, I’m planning two field trips in the next few months for the Fire Clan. One to OMSI and the other to Powell Butte - both to support our Project Based Learning about the earth.
Chasing Childhood - Free Movie Screening this Thursday
March 6th at McMenamin’s Kennedy School
Doors at 6 p.m.
6:50 p.m. Intro
7:00 p.m. Movie Starts (85 minutes running time)
Panel Discussion following
Please pass on to your friends!
Equinox Celebration - Thursday March 20th
Volunteers needed, please reach out to Heidi if you can help with the following:
Make Nettle Pesto the day ahead of time for us to taste.
Harvest Nettle and dehydrate at home the week before.
Bring in a baby animal.
Make Nettle Tea day of and help serve students.
We are looking for someone to dress up as our Nettle Queen!
All School Guided Field Trip Rice Museum of Rocks & Minerals - Friday April 4th
Save the date for an all school field trip! Check out the Rice Museum website here! This field trip is optional and open to all families. It falls on a Friday, and teachers will not be attending. This is for parents who would like to extend their child’s learning and be in community with one another!
3rd Annual Fire Clan Campout May 8-10th
Fire Clan families, save the date for a backpacking trip led by Brad and Heidi. Please be on the lookout for an email from them with more information.