Dear Families,

Although our school week was shortened by  a day because of snow, Spring is coming and the transitions of the season are reflected in the work the children have been doing lately.  Our wintry, white art work is getting painted with bright watercolors and the children have planted wheat grass seeds in dark soil, PaperWhite bulbs in colorful bowls of ‘treasure’ and even the melting remnants of snowball forts have been transformed by the children’s artistry.

 

Paper White bulb.

 

Looking closely. Noticing details. Drawing.

 

Bulbs on a bed of treasure. We hope they grow!

 

Daffodils and Forsythia branches.

 

Scooping dirt to make a nice soft bed for baby seeds.

 

Sprinkling seeds.

 

“Here’s your first drink of water, baby seeds.”

 

Snowy white marshmallows (left over from Alaska Day) transformed into…

 

…a springtime garden!

 

Carefully painting a fragile, dried, flower petal.

 

White snowball with watercolor.

 

Rainbow snowball.

 

Kindergartner:”It’s a coral reef snow fort.”

 

“The big kids see our snowballs!”

Next week we are going on a special field trip to experience more evidence of the shifting season.  The sap is running and on Wednesday we will attend Darrow School’s Maple Festival! We will leave BCD promptly at 8:30 so we can enjoy a pancake and maple syrup breakfast.  We will see how trees are tapped, sap is collected and boiled and enjoy hayrides, a bonfire and games. At 11:30 we will return to school for lunch.  If anyone would like to take part in this wonderful trip, please let me know. The grounds may be muddy, so please dress your child in warm clothes and bring good boots for tromping through puddles.

Our field trip last week to the Berkshire Museum was great – we learned about dinosaurs, dug for bones, learned about bats, saw photos by Ansel Adams and Andreas Feininger and looked at all sorts of interesting collections and creatures that live in the museum, like turtles, frogs, and snakes.

 

Thanks for chaperoning, Kim!

 

Ansel Adams

 

Seashells and buildings by Andreas Feininger.

 

Little jungle for tree frogs.

 

B3s and Pre-K with Wally, who we learned had a brain the size of a walnut.

 

 

I am available after school for conferences on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and can also come in early to meet with you at 7:30 any day next week. Another possibility is during the school day when the children are resting, sometime between 12:30 and 2:00. I am sorry for the inconvenience of needing to reschedule, but look forward to getting the chance to connect, hopefully before our break begins.

One other exciting piece of news: The B3s have been invited to be the featured artists at Ralph’s Pretty Good Cafe on Main Street in Chatham, New York! Their show will be up from April 15th until May 15th. I would love to have a celebration/opening party of some sort at the cafe and will figure out details soon. No cheese and wine, but Ralph has a lovely selection of food, like wraps, salads, soups, quesadillas, mac n’cheese, bagels, etc.

All the best,

Sarah