A Day in the Life - Emeryville Infant Community

I am glad that I get to decorate my own Christmas tree for the holiday season.

It's so satisfying to be able to design a Christmas tree all on my own.

It feels great to have the classroom decorated with our artwork!

A Day in the Life: Emeryville Children's House

This week, we have been sewing ornaments to give to our parents on the last day of the term. I am sewing sequins onto the felt. They look just like tiny ornaments on the tree. This needle is very sharp, but no one got poked because we were all so careful!

After we sew the sequins onto the felt pieces, we stitch the two halves together to make a little pillow. I am stuffing my ornament with soft craft filling.

My ornament is done and ready to hang up. All of our ornaments will decorate the classroom until the end of our open house next week, when we will give them to our parents. The hook is too high for me to reach. Please help me?

A Day in the Life: Emeryville Children's House

When I wash the table, I make careful circles with my scrub brush. Taking my time, I keep focused on what my hand is doing. 

I hold my teacher's special silver bell as I step on the line. My walk is steady to keep the bell from ringing. This is harder than it looks! If the bell makes a sound, I stand still and take a breath before continuing.

A Day in the Life - Emeryville Infant Community

I am happy to be able do many things by myself, such as helping set up the lunch table as a contribution to the community. I want to ensure that the pitcher is placed neatly next to the drinking glass. 

A Day in the Life: Emeryville Nido

I need to focus in order to successfully hold the mandarin with one hand and use the other to grasp the peel and pull it back. It looks delicious, but I have the self-discipline to save it for later. 

A Day in the Life - Emeryville Infant Community

"Let's work together to carry this table to the dining area. We'll then continue by setting up our lunch tables."

"I know exactly where to carry this chair. Between here and the dining area, I take careful steps so as not to bump against anything."

A Day in the Life: Emeryville Infant Community

"I am able to take care of myself. I especially enjoy combing my hair and checking what I am doing in the mirror."

A Day in the Life: Emeryville Nido Gratitude Lunch

It is so pleasing to eat together as a community. I'm practicing eating with a fork, as the older IC children do.  

A Day in the Life: Emeryville Children's House

I had my first lesson with the Stamp Game today! I figured out how to exchange categories all by myself.

I am practicing my reading. I am matching the labels to the pictures of food that will be eaten at the Gratitude Luncheon this week!

A Day in the Life: Emeryville Children's House

Lao-shi and I are having a reading lesson. I say the words out loud as I point to the characters. I remember most of the characters, but lao-shi helps me if I get stuck.

Today I counted the Thousand Chain for the first time. It is so long that it won't fit on the floor in our classroom; we have to lay a special mat down in the long hallway!

Emeryville Elementary Work

We're planting seeds for botany work and our winter crop.

We're creating rhythm patterns and writing them down using rhythm notation.

I'm creating solutions and precipitation from a geography command card.

Elementary Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead)

Here we are making traditional Mexican pan de muerto.

Cleaning up!

We made and decorated calaveras de azucar (sugar skulls).

Dia de los Muertos is for honoring our loved ones who have passed on with stories and ofrendas (offerings). Here we are decorating the altar.

Next we had a procession and lit the friendship candle. 

Time to eat the bread and drink some Mexican hot chocolate!

A Day in the Life: Grandparents' Day in the Emeryville Children's House

Today we invited our grandparents to visit us in the Children's House!

Yesterday, we got ready by helping clean up and baking oatmeal raisin cookies.

I shared a pot of tea with my Grandma!

After we showed our grandparents some of our work, we sang them songs and recited poems in English and Chinese. Here we are reciting a Chinese poem about the seasons.

Emeryville Elementary Work

Chinese calligraphy requires focus and control.

A Day in the Life - Emeryville Infant Community

  I want to make sure that I carefully peel the tangerines for our lunch fruit salad.

A Day in the Life: Grandparent's Day in Emeryville Infant Community

 

After slowly adding one more cup of flour, I can then start mixing the cookie dough.

Fabulous -- our butter cookies look nice enough to be served on Grandparents' Day!

We are so pleased in our neat and graceful serving table.

Let's serve our grandparents the lemon tea and butter cookies we prepared with love!

A Day in the Life: Emeryville Children's House

My friend and I are making peach bread together for this morning's snack!

First I mix the dough...

While she chops the fruit...

Now it is ready to put in the oven!

2017 EK/HS Fall Farm Camping!

Outstanding weather for our first trip to the farm in for the 

2017-2018 school year!

Last week, the EK/HS program enjoyed four days of hard work at Green Oaks Creek Farm in Pescadero. Harvest season is in full swing, so we were able to enjoy the fruits of the fields with our planned meals, harvesting, preparing and cooking produce like zucchini, lettuce, tomatoes, squash and other bounty. We worked hard helping to harvest fall produce, but also helped get the farm ready for the fall growing season by weeding and planting winter crops like collard greens, kale, cauliflower, and broccoli. A fabulous week working close to nature and enjoying the outdoors!

At Pillar Point Lighthouse en route to the farm

The tents are up! And we are ready for our week of work.

Cooking Mr. Renato's favorite dinner over the fire pit!

Learning about amending the soil in the garden with gypsum and oyster shells

Fertilizing each plant in the garden

A great lunch - lox and bagels with all the trimmings

Our visit to the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History - the life-size gray whale outside

Spaghetti and meatballs for dinner with garlic bread and salad

We are hungry after a hard day's work in the fields

Sun Gold tomatoes harvest

Sun Gold Tomato Salad - the fruits of our labors

More work in the garden - removing old mulch and fertilizing afterwards

Beautiful open fire made a great back-drop for our traditional annual "Talent Show!"