Science is a HOOT!

Last week our upper grade classroom transformed itself into a science laboratory and our students became detectives.  The mission: to learn about an owl's diet.  

Students worked in small groups to dissect owl pellets. What exactly are owl pellets? They are the regurgitated remains of an owl's meal, including all the bones of the animals it ate (usually small rodents). 

Owls swallow their food whole, digest the edible parts, and then expel the indigestible parts through their mouth as a pellet. It might sound gross, but this was a science class that our detectives truly enjoyed! 

In fact, we would say, mission accomplished!

100th Day of School Celebration!

Last week marked the 100th day of school at EFDM. Better yet, it was the 18th 100th day of school celebration and if you really like data like we do, it was the 1800th day of school at EFDM! 18 years and moving right along!

Students at EFDM commemorated the big milestone with plenty of special activities and projects so let's give you a quick snapshot:

GS/CP started the day by creating their own crowns, because no party is complete without one! Then, they did many activities centered around the number 100. They also created collections of 100 different objects: pompoms, paper clips, beans, game pieces, pearls, googly eyes, etc. They had to work in teams to build a construction of their choice with 100 pieces of Lego, 100 cups or 100 geometrical shapes. They completed 100 piece puzzles. And finally, they drew 100 funny characters in less than an hour!

Make sure you take a look at their creations and collections on display in the hallway and at the entrance of the classroom.

Finally, the day ended with a group picture with the students of grades 2-3-4, shaping the number 100 of course!

Preparing for handwriting

Students in Early Childhood are preparing for handwriting and at the same time, having a lot of fun doing it!

Cork and Q-tip Painting

Early childhood students have certainly had the creative energies flowing this week! This painting project was a three step process where students used cork and q-tips to create beautiful black and white designs.  Stay tuned...these works of art will be on display soon!

Pizza anyone?

Our budding chefs in the Early Childhood classroom have been having a great time practicing their culinary skills.  Students have been following a recipe to make pizzas. Stay tuned...delivery may be coming soon to your area!

Making music....

The Grade 2-4 students have enjoyed music class where they are currently exploring instruments from the brass family. The brass family members that are most commonly used in the orchestra include the trumpet, French horn, trombone, and the tuba. This family of instruments can play louder than any other in the orchestra and can also be heard from far away. Although their early ancestors are known to have been made of wood, tusks, animal horns or shells, today's modern instruments are made entirely of brass.

Music, music, music...

Monday mornings are a great way to begin the week.  Miss Maggie makes music so much fun!

Kandinsky and Wescoat

There is new artwork now on display near the Early Childhood classroom that will surely brighten your day.  

These projects were inspired by Wassily Kandinsky and Natasha Wescoat.  In art class, students learned about these artists and then created pieces inspired by these artists. Bravo!

Inventor Project

In English Language Arts class, our 4th grade students have been studying an inventor of their choice.  This week, students presented their inventor to the 2nd and 3rd grade students.  This project consisted of a research paper, a presentation, as well as a 'slice of life' project illustrating the inventor's life.

Kitchen play

Rather than purchasing play items for the 'kitchen' in the Early Childhood classroom, students made their own!  

Students followed a recipe to make salt dough and then after that they used a model to make various pastries that included croissants and brioche au chocolate.  

The final product is certainly mouth watering, but not for eating!  Bravo! 

How high can you go?

Early Childhood students have been enjoying using building blocks in class for various challenges throughout the year.  This week, students worked in partnerships to build a tower that was taller than themselves.

Building with blocks provides one of the most valuable learning experiences available for young children. Block play stimulates learning in all domains of development, intellectual, physical, and social-emotional and language.  

Cards anyone?

Students in the Kindergarten classroom have been having a great time playing card games with their classmates.

Studies show that card games greatly deepen mathematical learning and skills. There are many cognitive benefits to playing card games, which include strategies for using mathematical information, categorizing patterns, sequencing and sorting. Playing with cards can build number confidence, encourages number fluency, improves memory, develops quick thinking skills, encourages number talk, and encourages risk taking.  

Not to mention playing cards with friends is FUN.  Get your deck and play some games with your child today, 'en français, s'il vous plaît!'  

Maine Mariners Game

Congratulations to Shaina's Strings and our EFDM violinists for kicking off the Maine Mariners hockey game last Saturday night with a beautiful performance of  'God Bless America'.  After that, two of EFDM's Casco Bay Bruins hockey players rocked the ice with an intermission game.  Congratulations to Laird V (goalie) and Dylan V (forward) for a fantastic performance.  Huge thank you to all of our EFDM community members and students that attended the game in support of our students.  Bravo and merci!

Radio station visit

This week, our upper grade classroom visited 5 different radio stations at One City Center in Portland where the met various DJ's, visited production rooms, interviewed radio hosts, and even watched an on air show.  The tour was led by radio host, Herb Ivy, otherwise known as 'The Captain' on WBLM.

(Herb Ivy, aka 'The Captain' on WBLM, Sophie, and Lori Vorrnas from 97.9 with EFDM students)

Recess Please!

The snow is endless fun...  Always a treat to be the first class to make their mark on the playground after a storm!

Chinese New Year

On Monday, our community gathered to share a meal together in celebration of Chinese New Year.  A very special thank you to our Friends at the Chinese American Friends Association of Maine for speaking about Chinese New Year during our meal. 

 A heartfelt thank you to all of the many helping hands that helped make this meal run so smoothly.  Merci!

Language in our Lives

This week we concluded our 'Language in Our Lives' unit in English Class, where students reflected on the languages that are a part of their lives.  During the final class, students shared information gathered from interviewing a family member as well as making a 'language self-portrait'.

Huge thank you to Michael Erard (linguist, writer and proud parent of Iver) who created this unit of study with Kelly. Merci Michael!