March 2015

Although there was no snow in the Pacific Northwest, the Lila children got to experience their own winter wonderland through the study of Antarctica. With the help of a former researcher who visited “The Great White Desert” children listened to first-hand accounts of life at the South Pole. This provided an excellent starting point for the unit and overlapped with our study of penguins and their life cycle. In the area of botany, the children learned about the Antarctic Pearlwort and its different parts. They were able to see the similarities and differences of this plant in relation to plants they’ve already studied.

The children also strengthened their understanding of empathy and ways to better understand what others are feeling. Although we will be moving on to the virtue of respect for March, Lila children will continuously revisit the concept of empathy and use it to help them understand other virtues that require them to be attentive towards the needs of others.

With the clouds residing and the temperature rising, March will bring us to the study of weather and the water cycle. We will investigate why the seasons change and how that change affects our lives. We are also creating a classroom model of the water cycle to provide a visual for the children to help them understand how it affects weather and climate.