Upper Elementary Group
Period I (10:00 am - 11:30 am)
Literature Exploration
“[Honey is sweet] and so is knowledge, but knowledge is like the bee that
made that sweet honey, you have to chase it through the pages of a book.”
― Patricia Polacco, Thank You, Mr. Falker
Just as we developed a writing community during this school year, next year we plan on developing a reading community. We will read novels throughout the semester, exploring what makes great literature through discussion, hands-on activities, games, and writing assignments. Basic literary elements will be woven throughout, as students develop the ability to thoughtfully critique a novel. Outside work will consist of reading assigned chapters and preparing for class discussion through writing and projects.
Instructor: Kim Rodgers
Tuition: $420 (may be paid in full by 7/15 or three payments of $140 with the first due 7/15). Pay Kim Rodgers using PayPal.Me
Supply Fee: $10
Required Supplies: You will need to buy or check out the books we’ll be reading from the library. The books listed below are the books we’ll be starting with. After that the students will be involved in picking our literature.
Required Books:
The Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson by Bette Bao Lord
Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell
“[Honey is sweet] and so is knowledge, but knowledge is like the bee that
made that sweet honey, you have to chase it through the pages of a book.”
― Patricia Polacco, Thank You, Mr. Falker
Just as we developed a writing community during this school year, next year we plan on developing a reading community. We will read novels throughout the semester, exploring what makes great literature through discussion, hands-on activities, games, and writing assignments. Basic literary elements will be woven throughout, as students develop the ability to thoughtfully critique a novel. Outside work will consist of reading assigned chapters and preparing for class discussion through writing and projects.
Instructor: Kim Rodgers
Tuition: $420 (may be paid in full by 7/15 or three payments of $140 with the first due 7/15). Pay Kim Rodgers using PayPal.Me
Supply Fee: $10
Required Supplies: You will need to buy or check out the books we’ll be reading from the library. The books listed below are the books we’ll be starting with. After that the students will be involved in picking our literature.
Required Books:
The Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson by Bette Bao Lord
Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell
Period II (11:30 am - 12:30 am)
Junk Box Wars
"To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk." -Thomas Edison
This enrichment will challenge students to use their imaginations, scientific knowledge, and a box of "junk" to create a variety of devices that perform an assortment of tasks. The projects target technological design standards and incorporate others depending on the project. The Junk Box Wars projects are modeled after the Junkyard Wars TV show that aired on the Learning Channel network. Students will work together in small groups to design/build a variety of Challenges. Each challenge will extend over 2 class periods. The first class will introduce the parameters of the Challenge, cover related physics/engineering principles, and provide groups an opportunity to brainstorm general ideas. Students may continue to communicate and brainstorm designs the rest of the week but no Junkbox supplies will be provided and no pre-building at home allowed! The second class will consist of a 45-minute Build Time using Junkbox supplies followed by Competition.
Instructor: Jayne Besjak
Tuition: $250
"To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk." -Thomas Edison
This enrichment will challenge students to use their imaginations, scientific knowledge, and a box of "junk" to create a variety of devices that perform an assortment of tasks. The projects target technological design standards and incorporate others depending on the project. The Junk Box Wars projects are modeled after the Junkyard Wars TV show that aired on the Learning Channel network. Students will work together in small groups to design/build a variety of Challenges. Each challenge will extend over 2 class periods. The first class will introduce the parameters of the Challenge, cover related physics/engineering principles, and provide groups an opportunity to brainstorm general ideas. Students may continue to communicate and brainstorm designs the rest of the week but no Junkbox supplies will be provided and no pre-building at home allowed! The second class will consist of a 45-minute Build Time using Junkbox supplies followed by Competition.
Instructor: Jayne Besjak
Tuition: $250
Lunch Break (12:30 am - 1:15 pm)
For students taking our afternoon classes, there will be a forty-five minute lunch period. Students are responsible for bringing a nut-free lunch and beverage.
For students taking our afternoon classes, there will be a forty-five minute lunch period. Students are responsible for bringing a nut-free lunch and beverage.
Period III (1:15 pm - 2:45 pm)
Creative Thinking Circle
This is a hands-on problem solving class where the focus will be on creative, critical, and divergent thinking. These are areas rarely covered in a typical school setting, but highly sought after in the real world settings of business, academia, and modern high-tech industry. Each week students will be encouraged to solve challenging and complex problems individually and collaboratively in small teams where they will learn to appreciate each other's input and value alternative approaches. We will discuss multi-step and open-ended problems, brain teasers, math puzzles, and logic problems as students learn to distinguish what is relevant for obtaining a solution. We will even make mistakes and enjoy them!
For more information on the history of this approach (inspired by an ideology which employs more problem solving vs. computational or textbook math) please visit the web-site Mathcircles. We are using curriculum from Bright, Brave Open Minds: Engaging Young Children in Math Inquiry.
Instructor: Christine Coleman
Tuition: $210 for the 15-week semester (payment instructions will be provided once registration is complete)
This is a hands-on problem solving class where the focus will be on creative, critical, and divergent thinking. These are areas rarely covered in a typical school setting, but highly sought after in the real world settings of business, academia, and modern high-tech industry. Each week students will be encouraged to solve challenging and complex problems individually and collaboratively in small teams where they will learn to appreciate each other's input and value alternative approaches. We will discuss multi-step and open-ended problems, brain teasers, math puzzles, and logic problems as students learn to distinguish what is relevant for obtaining a solution. We will even make mistakes and enjoy them!
For more information on the history of this approach (inspired by an ideology which employs more problem solving vs. computational or textbook math) please visit the web-site Mathcircles. We are using curriculum from Bright, Brave Open Minds: Engaging Young Children in Math Inquiry.
Instructor: Christine Coleman
Tuition: $210 for the 15-week semester (payment instructions will be provided once registration is complete)
