RCS Update for October 2017
Roots Community School Updates for October
The Roots Community School students dove into their second month of school with great enthusiasm! Kids and adults alike are thoroughly enjoying themselves and learning along the way as this innovative new school plants its roots in the community. Students are owning a respectful environment by working quietly and calmly, and attempting to problem solve on their own. Older students mentor and demonstrate care towards their younger peers, and they all do so with joyful hearts. It’s been a great pleasure to watch in the unfolding.
Theme of the Month
Through the month of October the primary focus was based on Washington State early history & geography. Kids artistically created salt dough maps to understand the geography and history of our glorious state. 
Kids are reading to themselves shooting for 20 minutes per day, 4 days a week. During this highlight of the day students are paying close attention to the types of connections they make as they read. Students are realizing that personal connections between their lives and a main characters life helps them infer what the characters feeling and predict how the character will respond as the story unfolds. In informational text they are recognizing unfamiliar vocabulary, identifying the main idea of an article and paragraph, and locating supporting facts.They continue with their Salmon alphabet books where they are focusing on writing longer sentences that include adjectives, adverbs, prepositional phrases, building vocabulary, and practicing quality work.In handwriting students are focusing on correct pencil grasps and caring how our writing looks. Kids work slowly and mindfully with classical music playing in the background.In writing they continue journaling, reflecting on their experiences throughout the day. They are writing personal narratives or true stories about their lives. Students are moving away from “telling” what is happening to “showing.” This gives the story a real time feeling as it helps the reader to “experience” the narrative while appreciating each child’s unique style. Our classroom is filled with young writers who are enjoying having a “voice” through a written medium.
Hands on Learning: Field Trips!
The first field trip of the month kicked off at a honey bee farm where they engaged in the process of extracting honey and the importance of honey bees in agriculture and sustaining life on earth. New appreciations for these little creatures were found! A big thank you to Seth Christian and family for sharing their home and knowledge with these young minds.Deep into harvest season, students visited Rachel and Al Robison’s Apple Orchard to learn the workings of an orchard, pick apples, and make their own Cider (quite a hit!) Room to Bloom preschool students also attended and each child was assigned a “little buddy.” The kids eagerly guided their new friends and practiced reading stories aloud one on one to their younger peers. Fun was had by all, thank you Rachel and Al! 
A hike was most definitely called for to observe the changing of the seasons as we head from the end of fall to early winter. Kids and families headed to our local state park and hiked Little Bear soaking in the beauty of our valley and then watched Salmon spawning! Great excitement for the kids as they have been learning about Salmon since early September. The entire day was spent outdoors learning, playing, and exploring in nature.
Last but not least a visit to Annie’s Fun Farm in Wenatchee to celebrate harvest season and Halloween. The students brought along their little buddy’s and they engaged again through hands on exploration.
Art, & Yoga!
On Monday’s students split into small groups alternating between art and yoga. In art they learn to look at themselves as creative beings, building confidence as little artists and creating unique and impressive pieces of art. Leanne Uttech is a wonderful art teacher inspiring each student to tap into 
their innate creativity.In Yoga students are focusing on balance and connecting breath to movement. In these mindful practices they begin to tap into the built in tool we all have to find our place of calm – the breath. As the yoga guide to these young humans, its been a gift to watch them quietly attune to the quiet place within, improving balance and body awareness. Brain gym exercises are incorporated to balance our analytical left brain with our imaginative right brain setting them off on their school day set up for success. Ask them to show you at home, these exercises are simple and a great benefit to all!On Monday November 20th students will have an opportunity to show off their hard work to the community. They are working diligently on finishing up projects and displays for their work. We encourage family, friends, and community to check out what Roots Community School students have been up to! Each child holds a prideful heart for what they have accomplished thus far.