Little Class

The New School Classes
Younger Class
(teacher: Susie Van Meter)

Subjects:

Art:

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Projects:

Round Project: The Round Project Page

Water Project:

"Water, water everywhere and even some to drink!" May 1st marks the culmination of a two-month long in- depth exploration of water by the younger students (ages 5 - 8) at The New School of Monmouth County. As a climax to the project, for the past two weeks the students and teachers in this class have been setting up an elaborate water environment and writing a humorous but fact-based interactive presentation to share with their parents on May 1^st. For this presentation two student MCs will lead the parents through a series of experiments, dramatic presentations, songs and poems chosen developed and presented by the students all expanding scientific properties and literary impressions of that vital substance -- WATER. The setting for this presentation is a completely transformed classroom. The students and teachers have set up a real pond complete with water, waterfall, plants and fishes, and created with their artwork a surrounding environment including recorded sounds . Another area of the classroom has a sand table where various water formations made by erosion are demonstrated in the sand. A rain-forest experience can be encountered in yet another area -- again created with artwork and sounds, and in another space a water table has been set up for various experiments demonstrating the properties and measurement of water.

Parents will be included in experiments, asked questions, invited to do a water tasting (Can you tell the difference between tap and spring water?) and join in with songs written by the students.

The students study and exploration of water has included field trips to follow a brook from its source to the ocean (visiting it at strategic points); comparing the ocean and the bay, studying various ponds and observing dams, waterfalls and reservoirs; recording their observations with drawings and photographs.

A visit from a water company expert provided the opportunity to ask questions about how the water gets to our faucets and learn about the process of water purification. Poems, stories and songs have been an integrated part of the project, balancing out the more scientific aspects and giving the students many opportunities for creative writing.

As with all the projects at The New School, emphasis is on the learning process, the involvement of each child in creating, questioning, and understanding and in making learning fun. Water Day in the younger class on May 1^st promises to be all of these things.

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Trips:

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Other Stuff:

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