Blog

We're looking to add nature play elements to Ancona's playground, and so we tapped our most brilliant designers. Preprimary students from rooms 101 and 102 participated in a charrette that generated ideas for a balance trail, climbing area, hideout, and snack bar.

Back in spring, students in preprimary room 101 didn't want to compost all the baby maple trees that had seeded themselves around the garden. So they dug up the seedlings and planted them together in one big pot. 

Six months have passed and those tiny trees are starting to grow up. So today 101 students dug and potted them up. Every kid will go home with one Norway maple (Acer platanoides), a common street tree. Maybe one or two will live to maturity.

First- and second-graders have lately made many discoveries about butterflies and caterpillars through firsthand experiences in the garden. They can identify 4-5 butterflies on sight and are following closely as the caterpillars of two species, black swallowtails and cabbage whites, mature. 

Butterfly metamorphosis will also provide a great way for us to begin talking about the life cycles of other organisms later this fall.

Students from room 103 often visit the garden first thing in the morning. They're expert harvesters and tasters. This week, they harvested enough to create a giant, delicious stirfry of beans, carrots, and eggplant, served with rice. All the students were extremely proud. 

With generous support from the US Forest Service, we were able to take 5/6 to hike Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie near Joliet. Rain could not dampen student spirits as they explored ammunition bunkers (Midewin is an old Army base), pondered osage oranges, and encountered Midewin's majestic bison herd. 

Back in April, the students of room 103 sowed carrot seed. After lots of watering and patience, they recently reunited with those carrots, with happy results.