Dear Friends,
My titles for these emails are becoming a bit threadbare.
But the native plants are happy for the weather,
as are the cold weather agricultural plants: lettuce and kale and chard and spinach!
This week's ecology schedule is another 5/5,
five trips in five days.
May the heavens hold the rains till the afternoons.
Last Friday our 6th graders, after a picnic lunch, found themselves on a giant grassy field with time to spare, but no soccerball, football, no frisbie or nerf ball.
The grass had just been cut. And in no time they organized themselves to collect reat armfulls of the fragrant stuff into a gigantic pile which they then burrowed into. They threw piles of it at each other and rolled and lolled and buried each other in it, under the shady arms of the gigantic trees.
It reminded me of a recent Joffrey Ballet, about a Midsummer celebration of Nature and Love. It began with 50+ dancers on stage,
in synchrony,
grabbing,
swirling,
tossing giant armloads of fresh hay into the air and at each other.
It was lovely,
and they captured the energy and spirit of our students beautifully.
The Joffrey hay-throwing was interrupted by a thunderstorm.
Ours was not!
Monday, May 21, 7th Grade Room 301, will take the CTA to Montrose Point to study lake ecology, go fishing, and do some work/art at the sand dune. We leave at 9:00 a.m. and get back at around 3:00 p.m. Please consider joining us. Bring a lunch and bundle up because it will be chilly out there,
Tuesday, May 22, 2nd grade, Room 111, makes the trek to the Berteau Street site of Riverbank Neighbors, to get to know the spring wildflowers, migrating birds, and the meek creatures that occupy the bottom muds. We strike off at 8:30 a.m. Join me by the fishtank after drop off for a description of the specifics. Back at 10:30 a.m..
Wednesday, May 23, 3rd Grade, Room 202, is off to Sauganash to get their first look at our native ephemeral flora, and to learn how to draw and weed without damaging these rare and precious relects. Meet at the fishtank at 9:00. Bus leaves at 9:30 a.m. Picnic lunch, and back to school at around 1:15 p.m..
Wednesday evening is our weekly Garden Night, 5:00 p.m. until dark. This week we have the special Literacy Night at school. We will have piles of picture books available for parents and kids to take to the garden to read. We'll have a jolly fire going. We will also have a table of garden / ecology / science give-away books for adults and kids.
Thursday, May 24, 4th Grade, Room 207, will visit Sauganash to look look closer into the morphology of our spring flowers to discern the similarities in the patterns of their design, and to pull invasive weeds that are crowding them into extinction.
Meet at the fishtank at 9:00 a.m. Bus leaves at 9:30 a.m. Picnic lunch, and back to school at around 1:15 p.m.
Friday, May 25, 6th Grade Room 305, returns to their Mighty Acorn stomping (not actually stomping) grounds, Sauganash, to conduct water quality tests, to assay the benthic animal community, and to stroll through the preserve and journal about their thoughts about the state of our River.
Meet at the fishtank at 9:00 a.m. Bus leaves at 9:30 a.m. Picnic lunch, and back to school at around 1:15.
Saturday, May 26, Riverbank Workday from 12:00-2:00 p.m. A chance to plant and weed, to draw and learn, to make friends and witness the unpredictable wonders of the riverbank. All welcome to join us.
Mr. Leki
My titles for these emails are becoming a bit threadbare.
But the native plants are happy for the weather,
as are the cold weather agricultural plants: lettuce and kale and chard and spinach!
This week's ecology schedule is another 5/5,
five trips in five days.
May the heavens hold the rains till the afternoons.
Last Friday our 6th graders, after a picnic lunch, found themselves on a giant grassy field with time to spare, but no soccerball, football, no frisbie or nerf ball.
The grass had just been cut. And in no time they organized themselves to collect reat armfulls of the fragrant stuff into a gigantic pile which they then burrowed into. They threw piles of it at each other and rolled and lolled and buried each other in it, under the shady arms of the gigantic trees.
It reminded me of a recent Joffrey Ballet, about a Midsummer celebration of Nature and Love. It began with 50+ dancers on stage,
in synchrony,
grabbing,
swirling,
tossing giant armloads of fresh hay into the air and at each other.
It was lovely,
and they captured the energy and spirit of our students beautifully.
The Joffrey hay-throwing was interrupted by a thunderstorm.
Ours was not!
Monday, May 21, 7th Grade Room 301, will take the CTA to Montrose Point to study lake ecology, go fishing, and do some work/art at the sand dune. We leave at 9:00 a.m. and get back at around 3:00 p.m. Please consider joining us. Bring a lunch and bundle up because it will be chilly out there,
Tuesday, May 22, 2nd grade, Room 111, makes the trek to the Berteau Street site of Riverbank Neighbors, to get to know the spring wildflowers, migrating birds, and the meek creatures that occupy the bottom muds. We strike off at 8:30 a.m. Join me by the fishtank after drop off for a description of the specifics. Back at 10:30 a.m..
Wednesday, May 23, 3rd Grade, Room 202, is off to Sauganash to get their first look at our native ephemeral flora, and to learn how to draw and weed without damaging these rare and precious relects. Meet at the fishtank at 9:00. Bus leaves at 9:30 a.m. Picnic lunch, and back to school at around 1:15 p.m..
Wednesday evening is our weekly Garden Night, 5:00 p.m. until dark. This week we have the special Literacy Night at school. We will have piles of picture books available for parents and kids to take to the garden to read. We'll have a jolly fire going. We will also have a table of garden / ecology / science give-away books for adults and kids.
Thursday, May 24, 4th Grade, Room 207, will visit Sauganash to look look closer into the morphology of our spring flowers to discern the similarities in the patterns of their design, and to pull invasive weeds that are crowding them into extinction.
Meet at the fishtank at 9:00 a.m. Bus leaves at 9:30 a.m. Picnic lunch, and back to school at around 1:15 p.m.
Friday, May 25, 6th Grade Room 305, returns to their Mighty Acorn stomping (not actually stomping) grounds, Sauganash, to conduct water quality tests, to assay the benthic animal community, and to stroll through the preserve and journal about their thoughts about the state of our River.
Meet at the fishtank at 9:00 a.m. Bus leaves at 9:30 a.m. Picnic lunch, and back to school at around 1:15.
Saturday, May 26, Riverbank Workday from 12:00-2:00 p.m. A chance to plant and weed, to draw and learn, to make friends and witness the unpredictable wonders of the riverbank. All welcome to join us.
Mr. Leki
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