Community Explorations and Salmon Eggs
/What an exciting and busy couple of weeks it’s been in our classroom. We’ve been fully immersed in our study of community—learning about the many people and places that help a community thrive.
Our community adventures have taken us all around town! We visited the Forest Grove Police Station, where officers taught us how they work to keep our community safe. We learned that their job involves a lot of problem-solving and written reports too! At the Forest Grove Library, Ms. Carolina gave us a behind-the-scenes tour, including a sneak peek at the renovation plans for the new children’s area (they look amazing!). We even got to see brand-new books that haven’t been released to the public yet and learned what happens to books after they’re returned in the drop box. Today, we toured the Forest Grove Post Office and discovered how mail is sorted, organized, and delivered—all the way to the outskirts of Tillamook! Students loved learning how important addresses are in helping mail reach the right people and sitting in the driver’s seat of a mail truck. We also explored the important role that farmers play in our community. After reading Zora’s Zucchini, we discussed how sharing food brings people together and helps communities grow stronger.
Last week, we hosted our Celebration of Community. Students were so proud to show their loved ones around the classroom, share their work, and talk about what they’ve been learning. It was heartwarming to see families connecting, exploring, and celebrating all the hard work our Otters have been doing.
Our classroom visitors have made the past two weeks extra special…
Ms. Kai-Wei taught us about Chinese calligraphy, and tomorrow Ms. Christina will visit to share about her work as a NICU nurse and how she helps families in our community.
Retired NASA engineer, Mr. Peter, has been working with our young engineers in the engineering area of the classroom and helping our mathematicians deepen their thinking.
Ms. Rebecca has been working with small groups on photography, guiding students through capturing and editing beautiful fall photos.
Ms. Lucy and Mr. Gary have joined us to lead studio explorations, supporting students as they create wire and collage compositions in our classroom studio.
To add to the excitement, our salmon eggs arrived last week too! We have approximately 200 eggs in our tank and are observing their development closely. Students are using math to calculate thermal units and predict when they’ll hatch—a thrilling blend of science and math in action.
It’s been an incredible (and busy!) stretch of hands-on learning, exploration, and artistic endevours. We can’t wait to see everyone in their fun Halloween costumes on Friday.
