Alpha

This Week in K/1st

This Week in Our Big Backyard We traveled west! Along the way we stopped at the Llano Uplift and visited Enchanted Rock. We learned about the ancient geology of this place and how it’s part of what makes Texas special.  Next, we continued on into the Chihuahuan desert and found so many mountain ranges! Among the mountains we explored basins and canyons. We updated our state map as we went, using symbols for mountains and including the area’s major rivers, Pecos and Rio Grande. We began constructing our tiny West Texas world by laying down sandy, and at times rocky, […]

This Week in K/1st Read More »

Group of kids at part time school display drawings of foxes.

This Week in K/1st

This Week in Our Big Backyard We always start a new quarter off with our traditional round of Barnyard Babble, where Alphas discover who is on their new table team! This quarter we’re extending our study to the entire state of Texas, so we began by orienting ourselves by making a compass rose and learning about cardinal directions. Once we were familiar and resolved to Never Eat Soggy Waffles, we introduced the directions to our beloved peeps. They’ll be joining us on this tour of Texas! We started with Austin, and our hometown backyard – the Blackland Prairie. Next we

This Week in K/1st Read More »

Handmade owl project on display in basket at micro school.

This Week in K/1st

A note about next week: We’ve got lots going on! Our first field trip (to a neighborhood fire house) after lunch on Wednesday and a picnic at Shipe Park on Thursday! Please wear walking shoes and be sure to pack your water bottle… In Our Big Backyard… We learned about another landform: plateaus! We built some using teamwork. Next, we looked at the Edwards Plateau specifically. We learned that it was uplifted by tectonic plates ~100 million years ago – when the area was covered by an ocean. It’s composed largely of limestone, which forms in shallow water when water

This Week in K/1st Read More »

girl learning about nature

This Week in K/1st

This week in Our Big Backyard… We know we need air, water, and food in order to live and all our food depends on SOIL. We know soil is a mix of living and nonliving material – so – how did the Earth’s Crust go from solid rock to teenie-tiney rock and minerals? WEATHERING! Weathering can eat some rocks away because rain has a little bit of acid in it. Over many years, it can eat holes in to rock. There are many rocks in Texas that have been weathered! Ryan’s fossil bubbled wildly when we dropped it in a

This Week in K/1st Read More »

Alpha Sept 13

This Week in K/1st

Be sure to check out our brand new AHB Library! You and your child can check out books before and after school until 3:30. We have some Alphas who are already familiar with the check-out system! Finley and Paxton’s family helped build shelves for the books and James’ mom, a real live librarian, organized! A big thank you to you all! This week in Our Big Backyard… This week we took the Way-Back Machine to learn about our baby Earth and how its crust rose from the water that covered our planet. Some of us remembered from last year that

This Week in K/1st Read More »