Architecture Promotes Joy

What would school be like without walls and classrooms shaped like big boxes? What if kids could learn outside? Japanese architect Takaharu Tezuka answers these questions and more. How would you design a school?

Prepping Our Veggie Bed

While clearing and tilling our vegetable bed, John discovers the first segmented resident.

 

Sa'riyah finds another.

Gakadein's newfound friend navigates gloved fingers.

Niko and Madison dig deep to remove this one.

 

Making Paper Pots

Stacy Smith (our neighborhood environmental education advocate extraordinaire) joins the class again for a lesson on soil, seed germination and how to make paper pots.

The lesson begins with a variety of seeds to examine. Sa'riyah and Ben admire dandelion wisps.

 

Batiste and Trinity poke around the nooks and crannies of a longleaf pine cone while Stacy explains the relationship between the longleaf pine tree and fire. The extreme heat of annual fires in the Coastal Plain releases seeds from cones. Without fire, there wouldn't be any new longleaf pine trees.

Next, Stacy demonstrates how to make paper pots out of old Flagpole Magazines.

Everyone chooses seeds to plant in their pots, including watermelon, okra, tomatoes and jalapeno peppers (yum).

In addition to paper pots, Stacy teaches us how to chit potatoes. Chitting potatoes simply means leaving them out in a warm/sunny spot. This jump starts the sprouting process. The photo below shows curious alien sprouts after two months. The purple organic spuds from Daily Co-op are sprouting the most.

Now they're ready for planting!

Ben the Naturalist

This year's inaugural naturalist develops a sense of place while sharing neighborhood flora and fauna. Enjoy Ben's explorations.

Ethan Returns as the Classroom Naturalist

The students voted for Ethan to have another go as the Classroom Naturalist. Enjoy his springtime discoveries, and stay tuned for Carolina's next week...

Spencer the Naturalist

The latest classroom job requires a strong sense of wonder, curiosity, and respect for the natural world. Wielding an Audubon field guide, journal, pen, and camera, Spencer heads over to his grandmother's garden to explore. Enjoy!

Ethan the Naturalist

The latest classroom job requires a strong sense of wonder, curiosity, and respect for the natural world. Well, it's no surprise then that the class voted for Ethan as the inaugural Classroom Naturalist. Wielding an Audubon field guide, journal, pen, and camera, last weekend he headed outside to explore local flora and fauna. Enjoy!