October Caw-Caws

As you may know, the Apprentices gather when the crow caws.  Like the
intelligent crow, Apprentices are practicing a wide range of social
interactions, both on the playground and in the classroom.
Cooperation, empathy, fairness,self-control, personal responsibility
and some fun coyote trickery are all aspects of our imaginative play.
So much has been learned!  As the year rolls on, our Apprentices will
continue to learn and grow through an exploration of  personal gifts,
skills and challenges.  As a small classroom community, we support one
another and make a promise to respect each other for our very unique
selves.

Ecology has been our overlying theme this past month.  "Living things
and non-living things working together to form a community."  We are
looking closely at our natural world, wondering about the connections
that take place out there.  We have explored the food web, created a
recipe for a forest, and drafted individual books based on ecological
connections.  We look forward to a lesson on Fungus vs. Lichen and
move forward toward our next unit of study: THE EARTH.

Apprentices and Journeyers were excited to share an outdoor learning
opportunity with the Explorers.  Two afternoons were spent pruning,
gathering, and building CFS's own Debris-pi.  Explorers proved to be a
wonderful asset to the process.  Team work and leadership skills were
in full force.  The result is a beautiful autumn-colored shelter!  The
three primary classes marveled at their work during a sun-kissed
thankful circle within the walls of the debris-pi.