Kindergartners have been learning about bridges. The children learned the name and structural style of a few different bridges: arch, beam and suspension. They read a few versions of Three Billy Goats Gruff, about three hungry, billy goats and a troll that lives under a bridge.
The children, using one of the class tables as a bridge, acted the story. One afternoon, they walked to the bridge on the walking path behind Saklan. The children trip, trapped over the bridge, looked for a troll beneath it, and identified it as a beam bridge. A few even noticed the beams were cylinders! Finally, the children built their own bridges using Duplos, Legos and blocks. Little engineers at work!
The Kindergarten has been working on a project in music centered around Camille Saint-Saens’ work Carnival of the Animals, a collection of music based on the movements and behaviors of many different wild animals. This Thursday, the project culminated with a trip to the Oakland Zoo.
Our Kindergartners re-listened to each song on a Bluetooth speaker, and used the musical clue to figure out the animal they were looking for. They then collaborated together with basic map skills to find the animal. Once there, they observed the animal and decided whether it’s behaviors were consistent or different from those expressed in the music.
This outing allowed our students to unify teamwork with excellent listening and observation skills by using their natural curiosity and love of animals. When the students return to class, they will finish with an in-class art project. Stop by next week to see the finished products!
Author The Saklan School Friday BlogPosted on October 12, 2018 Categories Kindergarten, Specialists	
The Saklan School recently held an election for Student Council. The students campaigned by writing speeches and presenting them at Flag. The students voted later that day. We announced the results of the election to the middle school students on Tuesday. Here is a list of the elected officers.
Author The Saklan School Friday BlogPosted on October 12, 2018 October 12, 2018 Categories Fifth Grade, First Grade, Fourth Grade, Hoot Owls, Kindergarten, Middle School, Owlets, Second Grade, Third Grade	
September’s theme in Kindergarten was ”Circus.” A circus theme was a great way to introduce colors and shapes. Kindergartners had fun making tents, clowns, circus animals and reading stories about the circus. They also played circus BINGO.
One PE class, Mr. Crabtree taught the children how to juggle. Yesterday, the children put on their own circus with tricks, “animal” acts, and a special clown treat.
Their last circus event was to read the story, Twenty-One Elephants and Still Standing, about the Brooklyn Bridge and Phineas T. Barnum of Barnum and Bailey Circus. This book is the introduction to bridge building which they will be studying in October.
This month, Family Groups discussed collaboration: working as a team, taking turns, listening to ideas, doing your best, and encouraging others. Students read the book: The Dot, where a girl is encouraged to find out she is actually a great “dot” artist. She ends up encouraging others to find out what they are good and what they bring to the community. Students were then asked to create their own dot with something they are good at and bring to their community. Each family group worked together to build paper and sticky dot towers.
Author The Saklan School Friday BlogPosted on September 21, 2018 September 21, 2018 Categories Fifth Grade, First Grade, Fourth Grade, Kindergarten, Middle School, Second Grade, Third Grade	
This week, the 5th graders worked on their final project of the year in Maestra Padilla’s Spanish class.
The students made piñatas using balloons and paper mache. The process involved blowing up a balloon to the desired size, cutting up paper, and then using a mixture of flour and water to dip the pieces of paper in the concoction and wrap them around the balloon. They learnt that it’s important to put several layers of paper strips so that when the piñata dries it will be sturdy and not fall apart.
The students enjoyed this fun cultural project. They will take their piñatas home on the last day of class.
Author The Saklan School Friday BlogPosted on June 1, 2018 June 1, 2018 Categories Kindergarten, Specialists	
This week, we celebrated Earth Day with a series of activities at school that involved our Family Groups. The program included a presentation by Classroom Safari – an educational and entertaining adventure into the wild. The animal ambassadors shared interesting facts about the animals diets, enemies, and special adaptations that help them survive. The students were excited about learning conservation and seeing animals from around the world. After the presentation, the students in Family Groups discussed what the idea of Responsibility has to do with animals and Earth Day.
Earth Day was organized by our wonderful Science Teacher, Vickie Obenchain, and supports our program of environmental education to make Saklan students aware of the issues that are confronting our planet.
Author The Saklan School Friday BlogPosted on April 13, 2018 April 13, 2018 Categories Fifth Grade, First Grade, Fourth Grade, Hoot Owls, Kindergarten, Middle School, Owlets, Second Grade