Hi families,
It’s hard to believe how much we’ve packed into just one week! Between celebrating Earth Week and Read-a-Thon Week, our classroom has been buzzing with energy and activities. From thoughtful conversations about our planet to readers theatre, author visits, and a field trip, it’s been a full week!
Throughout the week, we’ve been talking about what it means to take care of our planet—how our everyday choices can help protect the Earth. One of the highlights was our field trip to Coyote Hills Regional Park, where we learned how the Ohlone people lived in balance with nature by using every resource to the fullest. Nothing was wasted, and everything had a purpose. We also learned how Native people, past and present, have a deep understanding of their environment and use plants in many ways. We got to see and touch traditional baskets that were used for catching fish, making acorn soup, and gathering food. It reminded us how much we can learn from Indigenous knowledge and ways of living with the land.
In the classroom, we got crafty by repurposing preloved t-shirts into reusable bags. We were surprised to learn that the fashion industry is the second-largest polluter after oil and that a single t-shirt is typically worn only 7 to 10 times before being discarded. Our t-shirt bag activity helped us not only reduce waste, but also practice our fine motor skills—there was lots of knot-tying and careful cutting involved!
We also gave back to our community by heading to Strawberry Creek Park, where we helped clean up trash around the creek and playground—two places we visit often and are thankful for. It was a great way to show appreciation for our local green spaces!
Another Earth Week highlight was performing our Reader’s Theatre skit, The Forest of S.T. Shrew. The story follows a student who doubts there’s much animal life in her local park, only to be taken on a journey from a shrew’s-eye view to discover the incredible variety of living things and habitats that exist within forests. We had so much fun performing it in front of the Blackberry class! Ask your student about the character they played in our performance!
Read-a-Thon Week is always a highlight of the year. We shared some of our favorite books, had classroom read-alouds, and took part in the book swap, discovering new titles and getting excited about reading! We also welcomed two amazing authors, Marie Chan and Mượn Thị Văn, who spoke to us about their writing process. We were amazed to learn that it often takes about four years to bring a book from idea to publication! Marie Chan shared the powerful story of Mamie Tape, a young Chinese American girl who fought for her right to attend public school in San Francisco. We were especially surprised and excited to learn that Mamie lived much of her life right here in Berkeley. In class, we also created our own “Would You Rather” mini books and continued working on our Tree Equity persuasive essays. And to wrap up the week, we transformed our classroom into a giant, cozy reading fort—filled with blankets, pillows, and, of course, books. We spent the day reading together in our cozy space, and enjoying getting lost in a good book.
As always, I’m so thankful to spend my days with your awesome kids! Please ask them to reflect on an activity from this week!
With love and appreciation,
Aly
