Spanish

For our last week of Spanish, los toros locos were so impressive with their project presentations and finishing up their fables. They created beautiful stories and translated well and quickly. We had fun going to Canasta del pan, too (sorry for those we missed—hopefully I can urge the Spanish teacher next year to go there early in the year!). Thank you for a wonderful year. The toros are ready for growing even more in Spanish! Happy verano!

Farm & Garden Year-end Summary

The growing season ended and the school year began with the introduction of Chuck Norris' Midnight Snack: a root bake served at the annual Harvest Party. Through the winter, los Toros were the keepers of the chickens, attending to their daily needs. They also brought their alpaca husbandry experience full circle, through the exploration of their wooly fiber as they learned to make it into yarn with a drop spindle. The winter also brought a chance to spend more time in the kitchen as well as time to explore the wonderful world of bees, as we dipped our own beeswax candles in honor of the winter solstice. In the spring, we began to explore ideas for the brand new garden, trained fellow Mustangs on how to care for the chickens, and started an indoor "garden" of tomatoes and basil that will make their home this summer in the brand new greenhouse.

Spanish

This week, los Toros Locos did a wonderful job completing their bilingual fables, which will go into a completed book next week.  We look forward to showing off our Teton Valley bilingual informational posters on Tuesday, May 27 8:30-9:30am at the Yurt, please come by! We will also be going to Canasta del Pan on Main St. Thursday, May 29 8:30-9:30am for breakfast, so bring about $5 to buy what you’d like! Worksheets for the summer will also be going home with the Toros next Thursday. These will be very helpful for next year, especially for those going to middle school. Gracias!

Farm & Garden

This week the Toros got busy in the garden planting potatoes. They learned a bit about these interesting tubers and how the actual potato is the plants way of storing energy for the next growing season. We examined the "eyes" of the potatoes and observed new growth that emerges from them quite naturally to all potatoes this time of year, as they begin to get ready to produce a new plant. The Toros also began to brainstorm some ideas for a welcoming and beautiful entryway to the new garden.

Art

As we near the end of our weekly art class, Toros puppet project is nearly complete.  Students are adding finishing touches to their puppets.  Next week students will introduce their puppets through an informal, fun and spontaneous presentation!

Outdoor Education

Today in Outdoor Education we combined forces with the 3^rd and 4th grade class for multiple rounds of a large group game of ‘Lava Monster’: an active version of tag involving quick movement between ground level and obstacles.  Students also brainstormed ideas for Field Day activities.  Each class will contribute a favorite game/activity to the day and introduce this to the whole school to play!

Spanish

This week, los toros locos did wonderful work on their fables, which they will be putting into a collection to present on their project fair day, Tuesday, May 27 8:30-9:30am, along with the poster projects on Teton Valley’s animals and activities. We also had a great time playing a review game with Charades and other fun work!

Outdoor Education

Today in O.E., each individual completed an introspective exercise relating to qualities/skills/attributes of a leader.  Students split into pairs and discussed their personal findings; also answered discussion questions about what defines a leader.  Then, experiential learning outdoors in the rain, wind, and snow with a very athletic student selected game of ‘Sharks and Minnows’.

Spanish

Los toros locos are enthusiastic about their assessments for the end of the year. Sixth graders especially are getting their verb conjugations solidified in their minds and can come to me for more practice work for the summer if they want more preparation. I cannot wait for them to show off their Teton Valley and fable projects at the end of May. It’s been great working with you!

Science

Art

Today in art, Toros artists painted puppet heads, continued researching individual artists, constructed interesting berets, chose what period of the artists’ life the puppet would represent...  Students are selecting a famous art work of interest by their artist to replicate and add to their overall puppet presentation.

Outdoor Education

As a component to the Toros class project on ‘Survival’, we began a focus on leadership today in O.E.  Each student filled out a sheet ranking his/herself on 10 different qualities of being a leader.  We discussed certain responses and as a group offered feedback to each other.

We discussed what leadership means; listing such traits as honesty, desire to succeed, intelligence creativity, kindness, being a role model.  Also, what leaders do (that is appropriate to this age group);  not following the crowd, standing up to bullies, doing the right thing, helping others, compromising, taking responsibility, setting a good example, and being a good listener.

A great start to learning more about leadership!  -With goals of  how engaging the group in leadership activities/learning can help boost self-esteem, improve communication skills, teach the students to identify personal strengths and weaknesses and encourage them to learn how to work with others.

Spanish

Hola a los amigos y la familia de los toros locos! Bilingual presentations and posters on Teton Valley should be ready by mid-April. Come learn about skiing and animals in Teton Valley from los toros, who can tell you about these aspects of our home in ingles y espanol. 

Science

Art

Today in art, the Toros worked to complete their checkerboard games.  High firing the game pieces produced vibrant results.  Students sanded the bottoms of each ceramic disc and completed various details on the boards.  A multi-faceted mixed-media functional art project; the games are ready for play!

Spanish

Our ceramic checkers pieces had been through their initial bisque firing, and today the class dipped each piece individually in selected high fire glazes.  On to the final kiln firing, we are getting close to a real game of checkers!

Farm & Garden

This week with Full Circle Education, the Toros did some seed shopping! We reviewed and discussed seeds that fit our climate and ways we can extend our growing season. Then the students got to work browsing seed catalogues for exciting varieties of vegetables they had previously picked out for their garden.

Spanish

Los toros locos are working hard to get their informative, bilingual projects about Teton Valley finished before Spring Break. We have mostly focused on informing others about animals in our valley, including why some are endangered, and one project on skiing in this valley. I cannot wait for them to show off their work right before Spring Break on Thursday, March 20^th 8:30-9:30am. Nos vemos allí!

Science

Though we are sad to see our music teacher, Jack, leave, we are excited to have time each week devoted to scientific inquiry!  Chrissy and Tobi, two Americorps volunteers, are working with the students to carry out inquiry-based scientific explorations.  This week, our new teachers spent some time getting to know the Toros.  We also explored the question, "What does a scientist look like?".  The Toros also brainstormed topics they would like to explore in depth this spring.  The Toros really want to delve into engineering and the mechanics of engines and other machines.  I can't wait to learn with the Toros!

Art

Toros continue work on their decorative checker boards this week.  Painting squares, fabric collage, and establishing finished lines using ribbon.

Spanish

Hola Toros Locos! I’ve really liked how much the Toros Locos gotten into completely new songs in Spanish and are learning how to make projects from the words they know like menus and small books. They do a great job being enthusiastic about new songs, food words, and doing the actions well. These last few weeks, we’ve focused on food vocabulary, what foods we like, and how we say “buy food,” “prepare food,” “count food items,” and “eat food.” Also, make sure to use that Phrase of the Week with your family and friends: Checalo!! - Kristin

Art

Today in art students completed the ‘self’ investigation portrait and writing project, caught up on the final finishing touches of past projects, worked on the cover designs for individual art folders, and spent time drawing per interests. - Tonia

Spanish

Los toros locos continue to love enjoying singing their Spanish songs, understanding read-aloud stories in Spanish, and playing games in Spanish. They remembered a lot about their colors, greetings, weather, phrases of the week, and more over the break. This week, they learned names of fruits and how to say they buy them (comprar), fix them (arreglar), count them (contar), and eat them (comer). In the coming weeks, we will be working on getting through longer stories in Spanish, learning new songs, and brainstorming for their end-of-the-year projects. Dale, Toros Locos!

Music

Art

Outdoor Education

Spanish

Los toros locos impress me every day with their Spanish knowledge. They have had fun going through all the songs we know and new songs while keeping up with our words of the week, too! This week’s word is: “Que lastima!” A fun one to know and use when things just aren’t going your way. We’re also practicing kinds of clothing and furniture this week and over the break. Que tienes en la casa de tu abuela? (or whoever’s house you visit over the holidays J and how can you use these words?) We’ve had a great time reading Las Mujeres Astutas and are gearing up for the holidays by making sweet tamales today! - Kristin

Art

Today this industrious group continued application of torn and cut canvas pieces onto individual ceramic dinnerware pieces, creating texture with layering, folding, and even using the fabric threads.  Then, relating to their selected theme of ‘nature’s seasons’, students painted onto the canvas surfaces with acrylics. - Tonia

Music

Students are practicing their songs in preparation for the music performance next week. We hope you can make it to hear the kids sing!

OE

Incorporating games from around the world into our busy regimen, the class learned a game from Pakistan- ‘Ounch Neech’.   A variation on the game of tag where the play environment involves different levels: ounch meaning up, and neech meaning down.   The game provided lots of laughs, quick transitions, and creative strategizing.

This transitioned into a game of lava monster, and then a very entertaining game of S.P.U.D.! - Tonia

Spanish

After a week off for the holidays, los Toros Locos are back at full power in Spanish. They’ve enjoyed learning more about Spanish grammar, playing “Simon dice,” and reading from our new favorite book, Cuida con mujeres astutas. This week, we learned a new phrase: Dime (dee-may). A way to use it with your child? Tell them: “Dime” what “dime” means and they will (even though you may have already figured it out). We also had fun learning our newest song about getting up in the morning and putting on our camisas, pantalones, calcetines, zapatos, y chaquetas. We’re most looking forward to a special visitor next Tuesday, December 10, who will make tamales with us as a traditional Mexican holidays’ treat. Let me know if you’d like any extra materials for your child(ren) over the break to keep up with their espanol! - Kristin

Art

Welcome back to Art!  After broadening our horizons at the Fiber Arts show in Driggs, we are primed to delve into a unique fiber arts project here in class.  Today we began a ‘canvas dinnerware’, contemporary sculpture project.  Students are exploring textural possibilities in relation to a selected theme- ‘nature’s seasons’.   Each student starts with a large ceramic plate, and layers pieces of cut or torn unprimed canvas on the surface of the piece, creating textures that become part of their envisioned imagery.  The textural component ties in to how students choose to paint their pieces.

OE

The class worked through a challenging teamwork initiative today- ‘acid river’.  The instructions direct the group to cross an imaginary river of acid, bringing all of the materials they use for crossing with them to the other side and none of the materials or group members may touch the water.  The natural outcomes this initiative provides:

    -focus on planning, problem-solving and decision-making.

   -illuminates communication skills and styles.

   -assesses leadership and communication styles.

   -how deadlines affect group dynamics and/or quality.

   -highlights dysfunctional behavior patterns amongst the group.

   -highlights participant roles.

A framing/debrief of the activity provided students opportunity to reflect and discuss the experience.

This group has incredibly creative ideas, energy, and true zest for attacking the problems presented!

We learned a new game –‘Norwegian ball’, a running, kicking, throwing and catching game where participants develop team cooperation, strategy, and competition.

Spanish -

Buen día de acción de gracias! This week, we learned a new song about table manners and how to say parts of our family in español. We now have two words of the week to try while we’re on vacation: “Basta!” And “Pasame.” Both can definitely be used during Thanksgiving festivities or just over dinner. Ask your child what these mean and how to use them with hand actions. We are regularly reviewing our colors, weather, days of the week, parts of the body, and months of the year. Los Toros Locos also answered the question: “Para que estas agradeciado?” Ask what this means to find out their answers! As we get into the holidays, I will be looking for ways to celebrate navidades and dias festivos in different cultural ways. Let me know how you celebrate your cultural holidays this time of the year! I hope you all have wonderful descanso, viajes seguros, y días festivos! - Kristin

Music-

This week in music Jack brought out all sort of percussion instruments. They also began devising a place for the Holiday Concert.

Farm and Garden -

Wednesday Los Toros celebrated the season by preparing pumpkin chocolate chip pancakes. Unfortunately, Emily couldn't "remember" which of the four recipes she brought was the correct one, so we had to experiment. One recipe was missing oil/fat, another leaven/baking powder, another the eggs! The students happily prepared and observed the differences between their pancake creations, discussing how a variety of ingredients contribute to a baking recipe.  The best part of course was eating them up!  

Here is the recipe: 

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup light brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (i made this up with (cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cloves)

Pinch of salt

1 1/2 cups milk

3/4 cup (canned) pumpkin

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

Art -

Today in art we took a field trip to the City Gallery in Driggs to view the Teton Arts Council Fiber Arts show on display there.  We will be incorporating work with fiber during our next project, so this provided a great opportunity to become more familiar with the many options this medium supports.  The term ‘Fiber Art’ encompasses a wide variety of mediums including; weaving, quilting, felting, knitting, papermaking embroidery…..It includes textiles, wearable art and pieces that take advantage of the surface design of the medium.  Fiber arts include more traditional folk art works as well as art produced with a more contemporary style, purpose, and meaning.  This show is on exhibit through December 3! - Tonia

Garden  

This week in the garden, Los Toros took advantage of a run of warm November days to get the garlic in the ground. Students quickly tilled up the soil with their shovels, demonstrating to each other the most effective methods of shoveling up the now compacted soil.  We brainstormed where to plant the garlic, based on its needs (it doesn't win in a competition with another plant or weed and it doesn't like to be in the same spot twice).  A few brave toros tried the garlic raw during planting and their reactions said it all: los toros will likely be enjoying their next meal of garlic sauteed or baked instead.

Grades: attached, although the key doesnt really make sense in two of the three categories. You've seen your kids at F anf G- so let me know if you agree with what I went with. Feel free to let me know if you think I am being too hard or too easy relative to your typical grading. 

Music

Music class followed two main themes today; focused listening and lyric writing (songwriting structure).  We listened to "Sittin' on the dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding and then discussed the instrumentation used as well as lyric structure and storytelling devices.  We listened to a few other songs with a critical ear and discussed what we heard.  The rest of class was spent writing a song and bouncing themes, rhyme schemes, and word choice off of one another. 

Spanish

Saludos a los Toros Locos y sus amigos! We had a great week learning our newest song about the days of the week and how to talk about the weather. In clase de espanol, we're really working toward knowing all the songs we've learned (10 in total!) along with our phrases of the week very well before the holidays come upon us. We will be reading a folktale chapter book, Mira a las Mujeres Astutas and learning about clever women in popular Spanish stories. If you would like a copy of the main CD used in class, please let the Spanish teacher, Kristin Ladd kristin.ladd@tetonscience.org know, and she will gladly make you a copy! Keep an eye out for cooking recipes and holiday tamale-making in the near future. Also, don't forget to ask your child the phrase of the week! What could "Que lindo" mean? Thank you for your support and we look forward to another great week next week! - Kristin

Music

We kicked off music class today with a focused listening exercise using the song "Oye Como Va" by Santana.  What instruments are being played? Who is the leader? What do the lyrics mean?  We spent the remainder of class working on one of the pieces we will be performing for the winter concert. - Jack

Art

This week in art the class learned about Surrealism and the famous artist Salvador Dali.  We watched a short video- ‘Get Surreal! With Salvador Dali’: an informational video by kids for kids; learning about Surrealist techniques and styles.  We followed an online tutorial that introduced and explained the concepts of juxtaposition, transformation, dislocation, and metamorphosis in Surrealism, and Dali’s own paranoic critical method.  An artist profile on Dali proved very captivating.  Students  began creating their own ‘Dali’, incorporating cut out imagery and drawing techniques to illustrate how common shapes can be distorted and subject matter can show the world of dreams and fantasy mixed with the real world.  - Tonia

O.E. started off with the ever popular Kickball game.  Extra bouncy playground balls and strong wind provided excellent opportunities to catch fly balls.

Next the class engaged in a game of ‘Fantasy Tag’, a version of tag involving students writing descriptions of something they have always wanted to do, with one group trying to identify who belongs to a specific fantasy, and tagging selected individuals who then join the guessing team.   The game ends when all players end up on one team.  Teams planned and worked through strategies to tag and subsequently gather up as many members of the other side as possible.  - Tonia

Spanish

Esta semana fue muy especial porque celebramos Dia de los Muertos! This week was very special because we are celebrating Day of the Dead! Dia de los Muertos or Day of the Dead is a holiday from Mexico that is now celebrated in many parts of the US that comes the two days following Halloween. We have used this past week to prepare for Dia de los Muertos by making skull masks, a traditional costume for the holiday and reading a book about the holiday. There is much to celebrate when it comes to knowing our ancestors and family members we miss dearly. I encourage students and families to get to know more about the holiday and how celebrating the past can help us enjoy the present! Here is a great website if you are interested in knowing even more: http://www.mommymaestra.com/2010/11/brief-history-of-dia-de-los-muertos-for.html. Celebrations in the community will be held November 1 & 2 with food, traditional altar decorations, kids' activities, and cultural dance at Driggs City Hall as part of the Art Walk and its own celebration through the Hispanic Resource Center. We are SO excited that our Tigre-Lobos were able to help on Friday with those decorations and altar set-up. What a wonderful way to remember those who have passed away. - Kristin

Music

We started off music class today with a Spanish song called "La Flaca" by a band called Jarabe Del Palo.  We sang along with the track and then translated what we could from the lyrics.  Switching back to a song in English we sang "Friend of the Devil".  Next we spent some time with cups learning the song "Cups" by Anna Kendrick.  Many of the students were able to sing the melody while maintaining the rhythm of the cup sequence.

Art

Today a focus on paper craft – the class split in three groups and rotated through different stations to work to construct different 3-D mobiles that required cutting strips, folding specific ways, using a compass to draw circles, and attaching various pieces together to create interesting hanging shapes.  Some of these mobiles assumed an abstract Halloween style of sorts. - Tonia

OE

Today the class worked through the initiative-   ‘The Blind Polygon’:

Equipment:  About 100 feet of heavy rope and enough cloth to blindfold the entire team.

Object:  To establish the need for communication, leadership and followership.

Procedure:  Instruct the team that they will be given a multi-sided geometric shape which they are to outline using the rope.  They will not be permitted to remove their blindfold. 

This was a lot of fun for the class. We also tried variations where each individual could see but could not communicate verbally. - Tonia

Spanish

Saludos y besos a los toros locos! The Toros Locos have learned their Spanish songs so well this month! I praise their enthusiasm and participation in getting to know vocabulary and phrases for numbers, colors, greetings, parts of the body, and, our newest addition, feelings and needs. I appreciate that many Toro Loco families are using our words of the week as well. Our newest is: “Chocala!” Give a high five this weekend for all the great things your kids do! Hasta luego! - Kristen

Not to mention the fabulous visit from the latino families who put on a Ballet Folklorico for us at school! Be sure to check out the pictures!

Garden

Los toros had a funeral in the garden this week, mourning the loss of all the wonderful plants that thrived there all summer. Kind words were shared until the sadness suddenly dissipated as the group realized that these dead plants were the building blocks of next years soil! We learned the nutrients in the soil must be recycled over and over. Our task: to build the compost pile up again. We added garden scraps and lots of alpaca manure. Looking forward to seeing how it all breaks down! - Emily

Art

Students continued working on the torn paper portrait project.  Those who completed it worked on a quick value review exercise.  Some students will be bringing their portrait project home to complete and return next art class.

Spanish

5-6 grade

Hola a los padres y amigos de los tigre-lobos! Hi parents and friends of the Tiger Wolves! Spanish Enrichment continues with our daily songs that you are hopefully hearing around your home regularly about greetings, numbers, colors, and parts of the class. This week, we learned how to say parts of our bodies and played Simon Says and partner games to have fun with our new words. We're also learning how to write and read Spanish alongside our English reading comprehension. Our phrase of the week is: "Chido!" Ask your child to use it sometime this weekend and teach you something way cool and new! Join us in celebrating October as Hispanic Heritage Month with some of our events:
Tuesday, October 22, 12-1pm, Ballet Folklorico (traditional Mexican dancing) Performance
Friday, November 1 Dia de los muertos (see arts & crafts your children bring home and stop by Driggs City Hall the evening of November 1 and/or all day Saturday, November 2 for Dia de los muertos celebrations put on by the Hispanic Resource Center!) - Kristin

Music

This inaugural week in music class we became familiar with the acoustic guitar, as that is the primary medium through which I will be teaching the students.  We started the class off by breaking into 3 groups, each with a responsibility of singing a different part of the round on “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”.  Then we discussed what kind of music everyone likes and what approaches and subjects would be most interesting, fun, and educational for the enrichment class.  The rest of the class session focused on rhythm through clapping, dancing, and playing the tambourines.  - Jack

Art

The 5^th and 6^th graders continue their ‘Torn Paper Portraits’.  In this activity, students ‘paint’ with torn paper using a limited number of values found in a grayscale image.  Using torn paper instead of direct painting requires them to visually divide the gray areas into separate shapes and define each shape individually.  Students work directly on a piece of styrene over the image; this keeps the image constantly in front of them so they can match the values.  Creating this style of portrait gives the students a chance to study the placement of features, facial planes, shadows and highlights, rather than a focus on line and color.  The end results in an interesting collage sealed with a gloss medium.

****Save the Date***** There will be a ‘Meet and Greet’ the artists involved in the art box project on Friday Nov. 1 from 5-8:00 at the Teton Valley Chamber of Commerce, 57 S. Main in Driggs.  All participating artists are encouraged to attend and enjoy light refreshments!  A great opportunity to meet and talk with other artists and interested public about this project!  This will coincide with the First Friday Art Walk of November.

OE

The class joined with the 3^rd/4^th graders for a large group game of ‘Freeze tag’, and also enjoyed an old favorite famous for organized chaos, running and fun – ‘No Name Game’.

We discussed the importance of trust and how to build and experience trust through organized learning activities.  The class participated in three different ‘trust’ activities- the ‘Trust Fall’, ‘Wind in the Willows’, and the ‘Flying Carpet’. 

-Trust is an essential attribute that builds up a strong bond and is significant in the success of a team.  Trust building exercises in O.E. foster a feeling of comfort and safety in the group.  The development of trust and its presence in a group allows positive actions to occur.

Today a discussion of the elements of art refreshed for us their significance – importantly, how each element, when incorporated into a work of art, creates the language of the piece.  We talked about how knowing what the elements of art are enables us to:  1) describe what an artist has done, 2) analyze what is going on in a particular piece, 3) communicate our thoughts, appreciation and findings using a common language, and 4) how knowing these elements is useful as we create art ourselves.  We agreed- a person can’t create art without utilizing at least a few of these elements.  Each student received an art folder for writing various art notes/vocabulary/information we will be learning and also for compiling sketches throughout the year.  Today we sketched self-portraits utilizing small mirrors as guides.   We began a project with a focus on ‘Value’ – a torn paper portrait value study.  Today this involved taking individual photos in black and white, and mixing tints and shades with black and white to achieve a grey value scale. - Tonia

Spanish

Hola a todas partes de la familia de los Toros Locos! This past week, we reviewing our songs from the past four weeks, learning how to count in Spanish, and celebrating Harvest and Grandparents' Days with farm and family vocabulary, which the students have practiced by making family trees and playing games. We also enjoyed re-learning our colors in Spanish and our new phrase of the week, "Orale!" Ask your child what it means and encourage them to continue using our phrases from the past month of Spanish:  "Por favor," "Gracias," "De nada," "No se," "Mira!" and "Ven aqui!" We hope you've learned something new, too!

Art

Our public art project is complete!  Today this group applied finishing touches and of course signed their names.  The art box project culminates October 4 during the First Friday Driggs Art Walk.  There were 9 artists/artist groups selected for the project, and the decorated boxes will be part of the Art Walk tour.

We discussed the definition of public art- differentiating between public art created specifically for a certain place;(for example by considering its audience, environmental conditions, and history), and art in public places.  Students shared descriptions/stories regarding various public art – murals and sculptures, even graffiti as public art that they have experienced outside of Teton Valley.  We took a look at the goals of this particular public art project as they relate to enhancement of aesthetics in our community with imagery designs reflecting and celebrating elements of our surrounding natural environment.  We also discussed reasons why public art is important.

We also enjoyed a fun tour of Driggs to view other project participants’ works!

OE

What is an initiative challenge?  - A set of stimulating activities that are ideal for developing teamwork and leadership growth, not designed to be competitive or to be a race against time, they emphasize  important objectives of leadership, problem solving, communication, self-esteem, trust, decision making, and teamwork.

Today we challenged our cohesiveness with:

‘All Aboard’:  The goal is to get the entire group on top of a small platform without any person or materials touching the ground while supporting each other for a specified period of time or until a specified task is completed.

     Natural Outcomes:

-Stresses teamwork, cooperation, group problem-solving, communication and listening skills.

-Opportunity to take risks.

-Builds trust.

-Is creative and fun.

     Considerations:

-No one is to be supported on another person’s shoulders.

-We are aware of each other’s comfort with physical space and touch.

-The object to board is manageable, but challenging.

     Framing/Debrief:

-Did you have a plan and did everyone know what the plan was?

-How many solutions did the group throw out before it settled on one?

-How did you physically care for one another?

-How did our team find balance with each other on the platform?

We also learned a fun Australian game- ‘Down Down Down’ that emphasized balance and coordination.

The class played soccer as well

- Tonia

Spanish

Hola padres, abuelos, y otra familia de los Toros Locos! We had a great week revisiting our "Buenos Dias," "Como te llamas?" and "ABC de Colibri" songs. We also learned a new song, "La Clase," that is helping us learn parts of our classrooms. Next week, we'll be learning counting in Spanish and trying to use the phrase "No se." Ask your child what the phrase means! Finally, we introduced a new book this week to prepare for Grandparents' Day and the Harvest Fest. We hope to see you all at our special day!

Art

A sun break provided the opportunity to continue painting our scenery in Driggs.  Notable today was experiencing the difference in how paint reacts at different temperatures, and how we must adjust how we apply it in changing conditions.  The class made substantial progress with everyone contributing to different areas. 

OE

Our biking unit is on hold (hopefully for just this week!) due to snow and cold.  Today, feeling the need to keep warm, the group chose a high intensity active game of ‘Capture the Flag’- full of suspense and sprinting!

Spanish

Hola a los padres de los toros locos! Hello to the parents of Los Toros Locos! This past week, we had a wonderful time reviewing our "Buenos Dias" and "Como te llamas?" songs while also getting the chance to add a new song: "ABC de colibri" o "El alfbeto en espanol." We now remember from last year how letters sound in Spanish and that there are four more letters in the Spanish alphabet. We also outfitted the parts of our class with Spanish labels and played games with our new vocabulary words. Do you know how to say "stairs" or "library" in Spanish? Your child sees it everyday, so ask him or her to tell you! Don't forget to have them also look up two adjectives in Spanish that describe their character or physical characteristics! - Kristin

Art

Exciting news!  Our application and design for the DDCA art box contest was approved and we were selected to paint electrical box #2 at Clubmoss and Highway 33.  The imagery is a focus on aspens trees rendered in a contemporary style celebrating the colors presented in the natural setting.  Today –lucky with sun and warmth for this exterior community art project, we made our initial paint strokes on the primed surface! - Tonia

OE (Outdoor Education)

We are fortunate with warmth and sun to continue a bike unit!   Using activities from the ‘Bike smart on bike’ curriculum guide, we practice bike handling and bike safety skills.  The class rode awesome singletrack in Victor as well as the cyclecross course.  The ‘Cross’ series starts tomorrow –Sat. 21^st!  Kids races are scheduled and information can be found at Victor Velo and Fitzgeralds. -Tonia

Farm and Garden

This week I got to meet EVERYONE at the school for the first time! After getting to know the 'Toros', we brainstormed some ideas about what their class wanted to cook for the harvest festival which is coming up in a couple of weeks. After some great ideas surfaced, including Tibetan momos and potato chips, we headed off toward the garden. Once in the garden, we harvested carrots, and zucchini and then processed them washing off the carrots and shredding the zucchini to be frozen. Next week I'll return and we will begin harvesting the ingredients for Los Toros dish for the harvest fest - Emily 

Spanish

Hola padres! I had so much fun with Los Toros this week and was excited to see that they chose a Spanish word for their class name! I started out our week by finding out what kind of vocabulary the kids remembered from past years of Spanish. They remembered all sorts of things like their colors, numbers, phrases to describe the weather, and so much more. After singing some songs together, students chose new Spanish names for themselves and practiced describing their personality traits. This is a super fun group of kids and I can't wait to come back next week and work with them again! Hasta luego! - Kristin

Art

An exploration of the block printing process begins!  In art class today we continued an interesting journal/book making project the students have been working on in class with Natasha.  Each student has bound a personal journal/notebook using linoleum as the cover.  Today we sketched  ideas, then transferred these onto the linoleum, and began the carving process.  We discussed the positive and negative space this process presents, and experimented with different size carving tools to achieve different results. - Tonia

OE

We took off to the bike park this week while the weather was still good. I had a hard time keeping up with this speedy group of kids as the wizzed all over the place on their bicycles. We had a good time and got some great exercise this week in OE! - Tonia

Farm and Garden

TVCS formed a partnership with Full Circle Education in 2006 to implement a comprehensive Farm and Garden Program at TVCS. All children attending TVCS participate in planting the campus garden and greenhouse in the spring, composting and mixing soil, selecting, maintaining and harvesting crops, cooking garden meals, preserving food, and caring for the farm animals (chickens and alpacas). A Harvest Party luncheon is prepared by the students in the fall, and preserved garden produce is cooked into a “Love your Garden” soup for Valentine’s Day. Through this program, TVCS children gain first-hand experience in sustainable food production, healthy meal preparation, humane farm animal care, and ecological land stewardship.

Art

The TVCS art program presents the basic elements of art (line, shape, form, color, value, and texture) through medium submersion. Each project explores a particular medium, such as watercolor, in all its variations. Students have opportunities to explore and use a wide variety of materials. Creativity and experimentation are our priority and project ideas often come directly from the students or the projects they are working on in their classrooms. Learning how to engage in constructive art criticism and appreciation of unique points of view is paramount to the TVCS art program. The program culminates in the annual Art Show each May.

Outdoor Education (OE)

This program taps into Teton Valley’s unique natural environment for outdoor adventure and teaches students about sportsmanship, teamwork, and various types of movement. We begin the year with a unit on team sports. K – 6^th grade students explore the rules and skills for a variety of sports, while learning how to be a part of a team. When the snow begins to fall, we do a unit on snow and ice. Students cross-country and downhill ski, snowshoe, ice skate, and learn about avalanche and snow safety.  In the spring, TVCS offers judo, movement (dance), and yoga. Hiking and biking are also included in the OE program at various times throughout the year.

Performing Arts

All students at TVCS are exposed to music on a daily basis through listening to a diversity of musical genres, formal instruction, workshops with local musicians, and an annual tradition of writing and performing an all school song at the end of each school year. TVCS uses an approach to teaching music that treats music as a basic system like language and believes that every child can learn music through exposure and a gentle and fun approach. Basic rhythm instruments are used as well as xylophones and glockenspiels to foster a joy of music in every child. During the theater unit, students build self-esteem and communication skills while practicing abstract thinking, conceptualization, problem solving and other academic skills. From improvisational drama to Broadway musicals, students participate in rich arts-integrated experiences.