There is something magical about the art room in winter. While the wind is howling outside, we are safe inside, busy mixing tints of snowy blue, cutting warm paper collages, and learning how artists tell stories through history.

Our 3rd graders faced a unique challenge: How do you paint something you can’t see? As part of our art show 'Five Senses' theme, these artists were tasked with visualizing the sense of scent. Working on miniature canvases, they translated olfactory experiences into visual imagery. The results are a delightful spectrum of smells, ranging from the fresh comfort of clean laundry and blooming flowers to the more 'pungent' humor of skunks, trash cans, and spray paint. It is a tiny, colorful exploration of how our senses overlap.

Kindergarten explored the sense of Touch through the lens of sculptor Louise Nevelson. They built assemblages out of found objects and painted them in a uniform metallic copper. This monochromatic look unifies the objects and puts the spotlight exactly where it belongs: on the amazing variety of textures!

FEBRUARY: Is Black history month! We are celebrating with our music board and with shout outs and song suggestions!

 

3rd grade: We are playing recorders! The program is called “Recorder Karate!” and each student who learns a new skill and can demonstrate correctly in the assigned piece of music receives a colorful “belt”!

Students are currently working on belt level 2: Yellow. The skills needed to earn a yellow belt are:

1st Grade: We have been working on our “Carnival of the Animals” unit! We are working on identifying musical opposites: fast/slow, loud/soft, high/low. We are also working on identifying musical instruments by their sound, noting that bigger instruments often sound LOW, while smaller instruments often sound HIGH. Some instruments, like the piano, have the ability to do BOTH!

4th grade: We are learning all about the Blues! Students have read about Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, and “Big Mama” Thornton. Each 4th grader has also composed and played a blues by using the 12-bar blues formula and the AAB lyrical form. Next, we learn JAZZ!!

2nd grade: TWO words are buzzing around in grade 2…”scale” and “Octave”! 

Using boomwhackers, we have played songs with octave jumps in the c- scale. We also learned how boomwhacker “octave caps” function and how shortening or lengthening the boomwhackers changes the pitch! The songs we are working on are “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and “Auld Lang Syne”.

Kindergarten: We are working on matching pitch in K & pre-k. Songs about colors, counting, and food have been popular with our class!

 

Pre-K: In preschool we are doing great! It's fun to turn the lights out and quietly listen to music while moving our bodies to the sounds! We also use scarves to dance to upbeat music. We have just started identifying instruments and learning their names! We have just begun using triangles and have been practicing playing gently.

 

Kindergarteners have been busy engineers this winter. Their study of hibernation culminated in designing and constructing a hibernation station to keep animals warm and cozy for the winter. Their next engineering challenge, inspired by the recent snowstorms, involved designing and building shovels. Students planned out their designs, selected the materials to use, and then constructed their shovels. They tested out their shovels in three types of snow - fluffy, sticky and powdery. Their designs were snow fantastic!

 

This winter, second-graders conducted an experiment that was very important to Lincoln School students. They tested 4 brands of paper towels (including the brand that the LS currently uses) for both absorbency and strength. Through their rigorous testing, students discovered that while the LS paper towels are fairly strong, they are not very absorbent. The students recommend that the school purchase Bounty paper towels which scored #1 for absorbency and #2 for strength.

Third-graders have spent the winter designing and constructing catapults. They were challenged to design a machine that can launch a pom-pom ball across the room into a receiver. There were many creative designs, and the ideas were flying during this unit!

Third grade just started their technology rotation. Each week we will practice keyboarding. Last week we discussed private information and what types of information should not be shared online. We will spend the rest of the rotation using Finch Robots. For our first coding challenge, students will explore the concept of parallel processing by writing a program for a dance party.

Towards the end of January we launched our K–2 yoga unit. Each grade level learned new poses and practiced age‑appropriate breathing techniques. Kindergarten tried buzzing breath, first graders practiced snake breath, and second graders used ocean breath. Students worked on balance and coordination through playful practice and movement games like Yoga Red Light, Green Light; Musical Yoga Mats; Yoga Free Dance; and Yoga Tag. Yoga builds body awareness, balance, strength, and fine motor control. It also supports self‑regulation by teaching calming breath strategies for managing big emotions. Yoga also promotes physical health by increasing flexibility and reducing muscle tension from sitting, and it fosters a growth mindset as students try new poses, persist, and celebrate small successes. A simple way to extend learning is a two‑minute yoga break at home using one pose and the breath learned at school! 

K–4 students were excited to learn about the Winter Olympics and took part in Olympic‑themed stations. Activities included ski jumps, a torch relay, skeleton, curling, cross‑country skiing, snowboarding, and bobsled. We also talked about the importance of teamwork and good sportsmanship. We discussed how athletes support one another, celebrate effort as well as wins, and show respect for competitors, coaches, and officials. Students practiced cheering for classmates, taking turns, and helping teammates improve, learning that cooperation and kindness make the games more fun and fair for everyone.

During the month of January we finished up our scooter unit with some scooter based games. The third grade played alligator swamp where they practiced using scooters and also overhand throwing! The fourth grade flexed their creativity to try testing out some new scooter games. Classes then had a reminder of expectations to ease back in from the break and both grades went back to a favorite of Mission Impossible. In preparation for the Superbowl, students learned about football and tested their skills in football stations.