Autumn Approaches!

It’s that time of year again! From here on, the class prepares for the upcoming Fall events: the Pumpkin Hunt and the Fall Market Days.

“During this wonderful month of October, we begin to see changes happening in the environment around us: the trees turn bright orange and then to red, the fallen leaves start collecting in piles, and the air gets much colder.

“A change is also seen in us humans. We develop more of a festive mood, as is evident by the pumpkins by the front door, the spooky decorations in the front yard, and the stockpiling of apple butter and pumpkin pie in the fridge. We start to enjoy ourselves a little more, perhaps by taking a walk out in the cooler weather, preparing a homemade meal in the kitchen, or finding some straw and doing who-knows-what with it.

“And the holidays. Who can ever forget Halloween and Thanksgiving? A festive, spooky event outside in the cold winds of the night, dressed in costumes and begging for candy at the door. A relaxing, warm, and friendly occasion when you welcome friends and family relatives to the dinner table as you feast on a great big turkey. Perhaps afterward, you might sit down on the couch and watch the NFL with your uncle and grandfather, or you might catch up with your aunt and grandmother at a nearby table.

“Autumn really is a special season.”

— Carson

Week in Review-October 12, 2018

What a fun/exciting/busy week! The AP students welcomed CMS and OakHaven 6th year students into their new environment at the GTC on Tuesday and Thursday, and the entire upper elementary visited the Land Campus today to participate in a plant and tree identification scavenger hunt. On Wednesday, the AP students canned over 80 jars of apple butter and made over 100 buttons for the CMS Pink Tower Campaign. We modeled exponential growth with m&ms and skittles. We discussed the elements of a piece of horror fiction through Roald Dahl’s Royal Jelly and A.A. Jacobs’ The Monkey’s Paw. We wrote stories, developed characters through physical characteristics, and studied the use of the transition word ‘however’. The class finished Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma and decided on their occupations group project for the T1 Presentation Day.  Next week, we switch back into our humanities studies as we begin to prepare for individual and group research projects. Have a great weekend!

Week in Review: Friday, October 5

Mathematics: Binomial theorem, probability, factorial notation, permutation, constructing regular polygons, describing ellipses, factoring, exponential growth/decay, direct variation, scatter plots, collecting data, and capture/recapture population estimates.

Language: Transition words, supporting answers with evidence from text (introduce, cite, and explain), COMMAS!, selecting research topics, Dr. Maria Montessori’s From Childhood to Adolescence seminar, introduction to Rhetoric Analysis, exercises in finding Ethos, Pathos, Logos, introduction to Gothic Literature

Occupations: Seminar and research on fertilizer, Omnivore’s Dilemma seminar, garden clean-up, cool-season vegetable planting, analysis of ingredients in processed food

Expressions: “I am” project, plant identification field guide, Land Campus Map, Community Lunch

Micro-economy: Market Day Prep (apple butter, Pink Tower buttons, honeysuckle tables), Pumpkin Hunt planning