Dear Readers, With the start of the new year, it was also time to start a new history unit, and as preparation, we had a discussion on single stories. Single stories are the stories our culture supports - our stereotypes, media exposure, and surface assumptions we all tend to make without even realizing we've done such a thing. While single stories are often infused with a thread of truth, they do not tell a complete story, and unfortunately they often leave out the humanity

We’ve been up to something extra fun down in the woods lately... FORT BUILDING! A few weeks ago, students began designing and building their own woodland forts. Winter is actually the perfect season for this kind of project. There are plenty of fallen branches to use, fewer leaves on the trees, and less wildlife to disturb. It also means no surprise snakes hiding under logs. Students have absolutely loved this project. Fort building naturally invites collaboration, and the ki

What a wonderful ending to our holiday unit! They did such a lovely job, and wanted to share. Quaid-e-Azam Day, Pakistan Ramadan, Senegal Coming of Age Day, Japan Christmas, Estonia Waitangi Day, New Zealand New Years Day, Argentina

The Longest Night Is Coming… But there is no need to fear—the light is returning. For thousands of years, people across the world have marked this moment in time. The Winter Solstice. The moment that light wins over darkness. In the Northern Hemisphere, this occurs around December 21. As Earth orbits the sun, its tilt causes us to experience changing seasons and varying amounts of daylight. The solstice marks the turning point. It is when we stop moving deeper into darkness

Dear Readers, It's that time of year where chaos threatens our sanity and the frenzy of a multitude of holidays makes learning even more challenging. Luckily, we are at DGS where our days adjust to the needs of students, and in middle school that equates to pausing history topics for a unit study of global holidays. Blending our small group discussions and flowing through our mornings. Balancing play practice with academics. Essentially making sure we breathe. As we wound up

Hi Everyone, Ms. Katie put together some brief highlights from this week and of course, lots of pictures! Enjoy it all below! Mr. D * * * This week in a nutshell: Getting to know each other :-)  Intercession has begun, so lots of play practice and running our lines!  Journal writing about our favorite parts of Thanksgiving break Lessons have been presented to individual children on multiplication bead board, subtraction strip board, stamp game, golden beads The kids continued

Our 5 sweet little chicks have officially made their way around the school—and have now graduated to the great outdoors! Each classroom had the opportunity to care for our chicks and watch them grow, with their tour mirroring the age of the students they visited. The chicks began their journey in Primary, where our youngest students reside. It only made sense for our baby chicks to be nurtured by some of our youngest friends! Their days started with songs and ended with story

Hey everyone, We wanted to share some pictures from this week! Some of the things you'll see/that have happend this week... 3rd graders having Racks and Tubes lessons with Ms. Shannon. 2nd graders getting fraction lessons and checkerboard and stamp game division lessons. 1st graders having a lesson on time,  building numbers and static and dynamic golden bead addition lessons. They've all had grammar lessons and individualized spelling lessons as well. Plus!! They all got the

We are thankful for so many things. We are lucky to be here together at DGS. During November, we study leaves, the United States of America, mammals, Native Americans, and the history of Thanksgiving. We identify leaves: Maple, Tulip Poplar, Ginkgo, Sassafras, and Oak. We learned how to say Good Morning in Cherokee: Osda Sanalei ( O sda sa na le e). We also drew Native American symbols. While studying the United States of America, we recited the Pledge of Allegiance and

Dear Readers, Students recently finished our origin themed novels, and their final projects showed such creativity and intention. While a few students chose to write short stories, many chose to create a piece of artwork. I am sharing the artwork here, but I encourage families to ask their student to read them their story if they wrote one. It was engaging to see how they interpreted the writing prompts. The three options within the reading groups included: Graffiti Art - Res

This month, the Primary parents shared our first evening of Montessori and Friendship. We shared a potluck dinner and had an opportunity to get to know each other. It was a beautiful night for building community. We used a slideshow to discuss Montessori in the Home and learn just a little bit about the Montessori philosophy. It was a lovely evening, and we hope to repeat this event in the spring. Not pictured: Giang Tang, Guigui Zu, Ms. Jennifer, and Trish O'Grady, our

October has been an exciting month. We have opened the porch for individual snack time and planted for winter. Our garden is prepped for Spring. We planted Crocuses, Tulips, and Daffodil bulbs, as well as colorful pansies. We are excited to see which flowers appear first, giving us the first signs of Spring. We are also waiting for moths and butterflies to hatch when the weather warms. Here are a few sets of pictures of us on the porch and in the woods. Front Porch is o

We welcomed chicks to DGS! During the month of October, we opened the map of North America, studied pumpkins, and mammals. We explored the countries of Mexico, Canada, and the United States of America through our suitcase of items, animal matching, and book reading. We kicked off our study of flags with the countries of North America. Matching, naming, and marching with the flags has been a treat. We learned the characteristics of mammals. They have hair, are warm-bloode

On Monday, we spent time examining the history of Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples’ Day.  As we explored the significance of each, we focused on an important theme - the necessity for complete and honest history.  This is the only way to make truly informed decisions about how we feel about a topic.   We learned about the Native American practice of honorable harvest, which encourages a reciprocal relationship with nature.  Some of the principles include taking only what y

Yesterday, Upper Elementary reignited our partnership with Habitat for Humanity. Last year, UE facilitated a book drive to support the non-profit and their mission to build homes, community and hope. Our first project of this school year was painting baffles which will be used to keep insulation in place, making the homes more energy efficient. In addition to buying these houses, homeowners invest hundreds of hours of personal labor. They will get to see the artful panels

Pairs of students are given budgets and must shop for a week's worth of groceries. Some pairs have an abundance of finances while others are unable to meet basic needs. Between middle school diving into a unit on the Great Depression and Sustainability beginning with global goal, SDG 2 - Zero Hunger, students have been immersed in the topic of need. Through photography, engaging activities, and field trips, students have explored various elements of the Great Depression. In a

Our little hive is buzzing with activity. September quickly morphed into October, and as always, time is flying by. The children have...