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| Even the rest area had a small orchard! |
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I really appreciated seeing everyone last night. It's always rewarding to see how excited the students are to share their school experience with you. We had a fantastic time at the apple orchard yesterday. The crisp fall weather definitely helped set the tone for a great morning. The orchard arranged a fun-filled and educational morning for us, including everything from a cider press demonstration to a tractor ride through the orchard. We learned about the steps involved in making apple cider, and got an up-close viewing of how it’s done. Did you know it takes 40 apples to make 1 gallon of cider? After a short walk through the orchard, we learned how to properly pick an apple off the tree using the “eye to the sky” technique. This helps preserve the important parts of the tree that hold the apple buds and blossoms for next year's apples. Each student got a bag to fill with macintosh apples, which is just 1 of the 22 varieties present at Adam’s Orchard. After some apple picking fun, we boarded the tractor for a scenic ride through the orchard. We then enjoyed an outdoor lunch with Ms. Boyden’s 1st grade class from Fayston School. We ended our morning with cider samples and some group photos. We hope your child enjoyed learning about the Vermont tradition of apple picking, and we are excited to continue our Social Studies unit on families & traditions. Thank you to the parent chaperones who joined us and helped make our trip a success.
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| Working with our new friends in Tampa |
Every year, I use my social studies curriculum to teach an aspect of thinking globally and learning about others from different areas of our country and other countries too. This year I am using a company called Emaptico. This free online tool connects classes with others classes and allows them to jointly work on units of study together. This year we will be working with a 1st grade from Tampa. Florida. Mrs. Valdez's class has a much different ethnic makeup than ours(half her class is from Cuba) and it will be a very enriching learning experience as we compare and contrast our traditions and celebrations. Ms. Valdex and I are meeting once a week, virtually, to plan out activities and to make sure this is a valuable learning experience for all.
That is all for now. We hope you have a great weekend.
Peace,
Tommy & Sarah
