// Curriculum Update: Week of Jan. 14 //

What a wonderful Work With Your Child Week we have had with you all!

Thank you for taking the time to visit and spend time working with your child (and their peers— especially if you were reading stories!) this week! What a pleasure to see you and your child sharing work and smiles together :-)

This week, we introduced some solar system works into our science area, because while we do plan on diving deeper with continent studies this winter and spring, it helps to know more about where we are in space, too! New solar system works range from books and DIY-booklets to puzzles and matching activities.

Although our morning work cycle has involved our local planets, moons and stars, the Kindergarteners also helped with a more terrestrial service project: peeling open the dried marigold flower heads harvested by the middle school ecology group this fall and harvesting the seeds from within. In tandem with the afterschool stewardship group, the Kindergarteners are packaging the seeds now so that we can distribute the seed packets to all the HPMS classrooms and staff next month. Our hope is that LOTS of marigolds can pop up around our neighborhoods this summer and fall. Not only do marigolds make for pretty fall bouquets,  they release compounds that are helpful to neighboring plants,  they attract beneficial insects such as ladybugs, and are a valuable source of late summer nectar and pollen for area pollinators!

We had two Books of the Week this week: we returned to Strictly No Elephants, by Lisa Mantchev, a favorite from the fall, and The Story of Martin Luther King, Jr., by Johnny Ray Moore. Both of these books facilitated great conversations about fairness, justice and finding ways to make the world better for everyone.