March brought in the early signs of spring at ACS. Syrup season wrapped up at the sugar shack and the greenhouse took full bloom. We are planting lettuce and vegetables, hanging baskets for mothers day and violas to give away on Earth day. Outside the snow was melting and bulbs were poking through the cold soil. While March was still a ways off from the warmth we were looking forward to, it was still wonderful to see God’s promise of spring just breaking through around school.  

Kindergarten - Kindergarten really enjoyed the early spring. They spent time looking for signs of spring by searching for critters under logs and rocks as well as a search around school for all sorts of signs of spring. They also explored their science topics. They investigated movement by rolling balls down the hill and experimented with materials in nature by creating small structures out of materials in the woods.  

1st - First grade took time on one of the last cold days to do a winter scavenger hunt that explored outside using all their senses, not just sight. When it warmed we explored air and weather by flying the kites made in science as well as chasing bubbles. Another big highlight was taking home the tulips that they had planted to enjoy over spring break. We wrapped up by considering how spring was like the hope of the resurrection and then enjoyed finding signs of spring around school.  

2nd - In second grade the main focus was on direction and maps. Students searched for a treasure by using a compass and following directions. Later they used a map to play hide and seek with a partner. One person hid a rock and marked it on the map for their partner to find. Lastly, students used maps to work in small groups to find letters hidden around school to solve a clue. Right before spring break we introduced the rocks and took time to make art using only rocks as students made pictures from the resurrection story.  

3rd - March had 3rd graders digging into soil planting seeds and plants in the greenhouse preparing for Spring.  The viola's that we planted in February were upsized into 4" plastic pots.  We also planted plant plugs into hanging baskets for Mother's Day.  Each student planted  1 10" hanging basket. It's been amazing to watch the changes in the potted plants and baskets each week!  The students are so proud of their plants and love to look for 'their' hanging basket to check on it.

In addition to planting we made seed paper to use as cards for Mother's Day.  We measured and mixed seeds with a paper slurry and then pressed the mixture into the forms, rolling over it with a dowel, removing extra water and letting them dry.  

Through all of these activities we learned about soil compaction, disturbing plant roots to get them to move out into their new pot and the depth to plant seeds and plants.  We also learned about production lines, specialization jobs and working together to produce beautiful plants. 

4th - Fourth graders spent a lot of march tying in math concepts through some topics in forestry.  We began by learning and practicing methods of tree height estimation. We then learned how to find the diameter of a tree with pi and use that to estimate the age of different types of trees. We then looked at examples of tree slices to consider what the growth might say about the trees before reflecting on what their own growth rings might look like. Fourth grade also did some planting in the greenhouse to get a head start on the gardens. 

5th - Fifth graders spent their time considering the goats.  They learned about the pregnancy of and kidding of goats.  5th grade also learned how to check on the health of goats during pregnancy by measuring their bellies as well as the goats vaccines.

6th - the focus in sixth grade continued to be the chickens, particularly as the eggs came in and filled the incubator.  Students learned the life cycle of the chickens and the development in the egg. They could use this to check on the stages of the eggs development using a process known as candling where a strong light shines on the egg to show the development of the chick. The final step was the excitement of the eggs hatching just before spring break! Sixth grade also took some time to consider some of the math behind the egg business.  

7th - Seventh grade was in a month of transition.  Students wrapped up a very successful syrup season. They worked with Mr. Hoo to spend time learning about and working on the Jesus walk around school. Know they are making their journey through Jesus’ life in bible class while using our outdoor spaces. March was also when we began researching for the organism project which will incorporate a narrative about their specific woodland organism that will be connected to a piece of art the make with Mr. Wanner that will be displayed outside on campus.  

8th - Eighth grade continued their study of structure and function, wrapping up the flower parts and then moving into a study of skulls which tied into the anatomy they were learning in science. We also planted the next generation of our fast plants to see what they would look like once sprouted. The results of this generation will offer some insights into genetics that Gregor Mendel once discovered. As always, we took a moment to sit outside in quiet reflection, this time with a focus on the season of lent.