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Another year is upon us, full of exploring your interests, gaining new skills and diving deeper into old concepts. I look forward to welcoming all of you into our awesome learning community. I hope you're as ready for a great year as I am! Annie Gerstner annie.gerstner@tchlearners.com “The secret of good teaching is to regard the child's intelligence as a fertile field in which seeds may be sown, to grow under the heat of flaming imagination. Our aim therefore is not merely to make the child understand, and still less to force him to memorize, but so to touch his imagination as to enthuse him to his innermost core” ~Maria Montessori (To Educate the Human Potential 11) Room Parents |
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Classroom Highlights
April 15, 2025
The children have had a wonderful few weeks since spring break, diving into exciting new topics both in geography and biology. In geography, we've begun exploring the fascinating "Work of Air," while in biology, the children learned all about the essential needs of plants, focusing on the "Plant Food Factory" — a concept that's quickly become a favorite in the classroom. This afternoon in music, the students were introduced to the life and music of Beethoven through the story Beethoven Lives Upstairs. The book sparked a lot of curiosity and led to thoughtful questions about his life and his compositions. Questions you could ask your child… What did he do to his pianos? What was the name of the symphony he wrote? What was the name of your guest teacher today?
Due to bus scheduling conflicts, our Empire Beach phonology field trip has been moved to Monday, April 28th. We will observe Lake Michigan and South Bar Lake, sketch and describe our surroundings using our senses, learn about spring, build sandcastles, identify rocks, and play!
Details:
- Monday, April 28th, 2025
- Empire Beach: 10484 Niagara Street, Empire, MI 49630
- Time: Depart at 9:15 am via TCAPS bus. We will arrive back at school in time for lunch.
- Please bring a water bottle.
- Please check the weather and dress appropriately.
- Your children will be accompanied to Empire by Annie Gerstner, Jaime Janiszewski, Jana Gray, and Jodie Tasch.
The children are getting excited and talking more about camp LOC. This is a treasured time together each year. We have made some modifications for the overnight. Please see Michele’s note below. More details to follow in early May. Please let me know if you have any questions.
After much discussion and deliberation, we have decided to change the overnight approach with our Lower Elementary students at Camp LOC.
This spring, third years will stay overnight both nights of camp, May 28 and 29. Second years will have the option of staying overnight May 29 or being picked up at the Long Lake campus after dinner (transported by LOC bus) and returning to camp on the morning of the 30th. First years will be returned to the Long Lake campus after dinner on 5/29, and head back to camp on the morning of the 30th.
In the future, third years will be the only students with overnight stays as part of their LOC experience, and first and second years will enjoy two full-day trips.
In honor of Earth Day next month, the students will be heading to the Boardman River Nature Center. 1st and 2nd years will be learning about the life cycle of plants. 3rd years will be joining the 4th and 5th years to plant trees. Below is a letter for both 1st/2nd and 3rd year families.
Dear Families,
On Friday, May 2, 2025, first- and second-year students will travel by TCAPS bus to The Boardman River Nature Center, 1450 Cass Rd., Traverse City, MI 49685, (231) 941-0960.
The children will learn about the Life Cycles of Plants. It is a fun and diverse program that focuses on three components; the needs of plants, the life cycle of plants, and that human activity can affect the life cycles of animals and plants.
We will leave at 9:30 a.m. and return by 1:30 p.m. Jaime Janiszewski, Annie Gerstner, Jana Gray, and Jodie Tasch will accompany your children.
Please help your children pack a lunch and water bottle and choose appropriate clothing and footwear for a morning outside. After our morning workshop at the Boardman and eating lunch, the children will return to school.
For more information on the program, click here!
Warmly,
Jaime, Annie, Jana, Jodie
March 14, 2025
Thank you so much for attending conferences. It was truly a special time to connect with each of you and share the work and stories of your children from our classroom. The excitement surrounding spring break is evident, and many of the children have been eagerly talking about their upcoming time off. Some have even asked if they can take a journal to document their adventures—whether by writing or drawing pictures. For those who would like to create one, we will provide an opportunity for them to make a journal in class next week, regardless of whether they are traveling far or staying close to home. I can’t wait to hear all the wonderful stories when we return!
As spring approaches, the weather is warming up, but the playground may still be quite muddy. I would like to encourage the children to bring rain pants and raincoats to help keep them dry during outdoor play. Additionally, all items in their cubbies will be sent home next week before we head off on break.
Our Ruby Bridges project, which aims to support the TC and TCH community, has been a heartwarming experience this year. As part of this initiative, the children have started reading to the students in the Iris Primary classroom. This collaboration has been absolutely beautiful, and beyond reading, the children have also been involved in supporting various baking projects and other classroom activities. It’s been wonderful for the children to create meaningful connections.
The Shel Silverstein poetry book Where the Sidewalk Ends has become a favorite in our classroom. The children have enjoyed reading these whimsical poems so much that several of them have been inspired to create their own poetry books! We’ve also been exploring the poems as a class, doing group readings where each child contributes a line, creating a shared experience of the poem. It has been a fun and enriching activity, and I’m excited to continue bringing more poetry into our classroom in the weeks ahead.
February 18, 2025
After last week's fun activities and long weekend, it is nice to return to a normal routine. Our 100th-day activities and Valentine's exchange were so lovely! Many children asked if they could give themself a valentine that they made. This sparked a conversation about loving and being kind to ourselves. It's important to remember that talking to ourselves with kindness, just like we would to a friend, helps us feel better and stronger. When we use positive words and show compassion to ourselves, it can make a big difference in how we feel every day!
We have our 3rd phonology trip planned for February 21 at Empire Beach. Unfortunately, we need to cancel this trip due to unsafe weather conditions (winds, ice, etc.) Instead, we will stay on campus and spend the morning doing planned activities outside.
Swimming is wrapped up, and it was amazing to see how much the children's confidence grew over the five weeks of lessons! Each week, the Y instructors taught us about staying safe in the water before the children got into the pool. For the last lesson, we learned about ice safety, which is important as the lakes and bay are freezing over.
Parent Visiting Day is coming up soon. Our classroom holds parent visiting day over two days, with half the class scheduled each day. We would like to invite you to come and work in the classroom with your child on February 26th and 28th. The children are looking forward to sharing their hard work with their loved one! While I ask that you try and make the assigned times work, we want each learner to have the opportunity to share their work and growth with a significant adult in their life, so if there is no way you can make the assigned time, feel free to reach out to me directly.
Human Growth and Development for 3rd years - March 7th, 12:30-2:00.
Conferences - week of March 10th. A sign up will be sent out soon!
January 15, 2025
We’ve had a great start to 2025! The children have come in, eager to engage and settle back into the routine. It has been a smooth return back to the classroom.
Last week, we had a great time discussing New Year’s resolutions and the positive habits we want to bring into our classroom for the year ahead. The children were ready to reflect on what they’d like to work on, and it was inspiring to see how excited they were to think about how they could contribute to making our classroom an even better place to learn. Some loved this exercise so much that they even started thinking about new habits they could begin at home, too! It’s been wonderful to see the children take ownership of their goals and develop a sense of responsibility for their growth in school and life. We created a post-it note wall of our positive habits to look back on.
The children have been working hard to finish their current studies and present to the class. Some have begun researching a new study topic, beginning with the note-taking process. Allison has done a wonderful job helping the children create their vision for an art project alongside their study.
In the science area, we are diving into a chemistry unit, starting with different combing methods. The children have learned about the impression of a solution, the impression of a mixture, and, coming up, the impression of a suspension. These presentations allow for further follow-up work using a command card for the experiment.
Questions for your child
Share one fact about Frida Kahlo you have learned from your new read-aloud.
What is special about the song Ging Gang Goolee?
The lower elementary group has been having a nice time the past several weeks playing a parachute game called shark attack. The parachute also provides a great opportunity to discuss interdependence. Being independent is valuable but, we also need to be able to rely on others at times so everyone can be successful.
Steve
The kitchen classroom has been doing a lot of baking with lower elementary students lately, since swimming has started and the kids need a hearty morning snack. Our friends at Loma Farm have recently started selling their buckwheat, cornmeal and whole wheat in bulk, which means we’ve had local, fresh whole grains to bake our muffins, cookies and quickbreads.
Andrea
In Art, lower elementary classes have been working on a color theory unit. We started with a warm and cool color abstract tree lesson and have now moved into paint and learning how to mix secondary and tertiary colors properly. The current lesson they are working on is mixing all 6 tertiary colors and then tinting them by adding white. The end product will look like water drops on painted tiles!
Alison
December 17, 2024
Thank you so much for the items donated to Safe Habor. I am truly grateful to each of you for the thoughtful donations. I am so proud of our students for their compassion and willingness to help others in our community.
As the nights grow longer and the days shorter, the children have been enjoying the winter weather, with snow on the ground perfect for building snow forts and sledding. At this time of year, we focus on special classroom projects, and recently, we've been immersed in our Festival of Lights study. The students were grouped together and each group explored a different festival celebrated around the world. The festivals they studied included Diwali, Hanukkah, the Chinese New Year Lantern Festival, Las Posadas, Christmas in France, Kwanzaa, and the History of the Christmas Tree. As part of their learning, the children also created their own lanterns, which now light up our classroom and serve as a beautiful reminder of the diverse ways people celebrate light during the season.
This week on Friday, we have our seasonal sing. The children have been practicing a couple of songs that they will perform for you. We will come together as a school community for a shared time in the gym at 11:00 am. School closes when the Seasonal Sing is over.
I want to give you a heads-up that on January 8th, we will start swimming lessons at the Central YMCA and will go every Wednesday for six weeks. Here are the dates- Jan 8, Jan 15, Jan 22, Jan 29, Feb 5, Feb 12. This is an annual favorite for all lower elementary students. More information to come!
As we head into the winter break, I want to wish you and your family a safe, restful, and joyful holiday season. I look forward to seeing our students return in the New Year, recharged and ready for more learning and growth.
What holiday books did the mystery reader share with the class?
Warmly,
Annie
November 21, 2024
It was lovely meeting with each of you during your child's conference. Thank you for taking the time to discuss your child's progress and goals. Your involvement and support are key to helping them achieve success.
Thank you to all the parents who helped out with Pumpkin Fun Day. The children enjoyed the afternoon, filled with pumpkin decorating, an obstacle course, ghost bottle bowling, apple stamping, and more! The children look forward to this annual event. Thank you again for making it happen.
Last week, we learned about Ruby Bridges by reading two books: This Is Your Time, written by Ruby Bridges herself, and The Story of Ruby Bridges, written by Robert Coles.
She encourages children to make a difference in their community through small and large actions. We joined the other elementary and primary classrooms for a walk to honor and reflect on the impact of Ruby Bridges. After the walk, we discussed the ways we can create positive change in our own community. The children came up with a beautiful list of ways we can support the TCH community and the Traverse City community. We landed on four projects, two of which will happen in December and two of which will happen in the New Year.
December- Writing holiday greeting cards for the members living at the Pavilions.
December- Organizing a supply drive for Safe Harbor. I reached out and was given a list of items that Safe Harbor needs for their guests. A letter with a list of items will be coming home soon.
After the New Year- Reading to the primary children in the Iris classroom.
After the New Year- Delivering springtime cards and poems to the Meadow Valley Senior Living Care community next to our school.
I look forward to working with the children on their ideas.
Thank you so much for the books from Horizon. It is so fun to have these new books in our classroom!
Harvest Feast is coming up next week, and we recently read Petoskey Stone Soup. The story ends with the villagers of Grand Haven coming together and adding what ingredients they had to a soup that started out with just water and Petoskey stones. The message from the story is that when everyone gives just a little, magical things can happen! We began working on cards of gratitude. The children will share their cards before our Harvest Feast next Tuesday.
What makes Stone Soup special? What does gratitude mean?
October 16, 2024
We look forward to heading to the High Rollaway Observation Deck this Friday, October 18th. Our first trip a few weeks back was gorgeous. The children enjoyed listening to a story about the four seasons and taking some time at a sit spot to draw and observe the Manistee River and beautiful woodland. We ended the morning with some free time playing in the woods. It’s a great spot, and I’m sure your child would love to take you there and show you around.
We heard our third great story last week, The Story of the Coming of Human Beings. This story is quite special and I thoroughly enjoyed sharing it with the children. This story poses a question in the beginning. What is it that makes us human? What is it that makes us special? Is it our body shape? We certainly look different than the rest of the animals! It talks about humans coming to Earth with 3 special gifts, a mind that can think and imagine, a heart that has a great capacity to love and care for others, and hands to work and build with. I would love for you to ask your children how they can use their minds, hearts, and hands to help others.
We heard the fourth great story this week, The Story of Communication and Signs. The story opens the door to language because it reveals to the child the beginnings of the alphabet, without which we would not read and write as we do. When I heard the story for the first time, I was blown away! Our follow-up to the story will be a mineral pigment, pictograph project. A special guest will accompany us with this project and share their anthropology and rock art expertise!
Della Terra is underway and your children have enjoyed working with Brooke. So far, children have explored parts of the plant, dissected a flower, learned about plant propagation in soil and water, and created seed balls learning about seed disbursement.
Questions for your child
What is on the placement you are painting in art? What is the name of the robot in your new read-aloud? What was your favorite living thing on the Timeline of Life?
September 16, 2024
I look forward to our class picnic next week at F&M park and having the chance to chat with all of you. Thank you Abby and Karen for organizing this event!
It has been so lovely getting to know all the children in the Birch environment. Building community is an important part of these first couple of weeks. We read the book “The Day You Begin” which delivered a beautiful message about celebrating our unique differences and finding your voice to share your stories. Some of our time has been spent working with one another in different ways. The first week of school the children found things they had in common by means of a partner scavenger hunt. They then had the chance to share these findings with the group! The children created a beautiful classroom sign that will be hung up for these next few weeks (see picture below).
We have also been working on establishing routines and expectations these past couple of weeks. We have begun our weekly math work and the children are eager to get new lessons and practice their favorites from past years. We joined the Willow classroom in the gym to share the first Great Story together. Ask your child what they remember from the story or an experiment that was presented!
This past week, Kitchen classroom began. I know helping prepare our school lunches can be a highlight for your child. Each week a new group of children will be helping in the kitchen. They finish the week by baking cookies and enjoying them together as a group.
We had our first friendship group led by Trisha Short, our mental health consultant Trisha will focus on social-emotional learning and bring activities, role-play scenarios, stories and fun to our classroom once a month. This week she read the story “Today I Feel… : An Alphabet of Feelings” Your children learned that there are over 200 emotions and as a group, started to create a list of all the emotions a person may feel. Ask your child to tell you some emotions they learned. Maybe you can create a list at home!
Your children had a wonderful time at LOC last week. From singing songs on the big blue bus to participating in team building activities, the day was filled with nature walks, building gnome homes on the beach and enjoying lunch in the great house!