Category: Hoot Owls

Terrific Trees: The Hoot Owls Begin Their Project Approach Unit

The Hoot Owls are branching out into a new adventure with their Terrific Trees Project Approach unit! Through hands-on exploration, storytelling, observation, and lots of curiosity, our young learners are beginning to discover just how much there is to learn about trees.

Solving the Mystery of Trees

To kick off the project, the Hoot Owls explored a mystery box filled with clues: a leaf, a piece of wood, an owl, an apple, a bird, a squirrel, and an acorn. The children shared guesses and used their critical-thinking skills to figure out what connected all the objects. After plenty of thoughtful discussion, one student excitedly announced the answer: trees!

Sharing What We Know

Before beginning a new project, it’s important to discover what students already know. The Hoot Owls dictated true stories and drew pictures about their experiences with trees. Their stories included how trees grow from seeds, trees in their homes and neighborhoods, and animals that live in trees.

During circle time, each child had the opportunity to stand in front of the class and share their story. This gave them a chance to build confidence in public speaking, practice expressing their ideas, and elaborate on what they already know.

Building the Project Together

Next, the Hoot Owls began creating a Topic Web, a growing document that captures what they know and what they discover throughout the project. Their initial ideas revealed knowledge about fruit trees, products made from wood, parts of a tree, and animals that live among the branches. As the project continues, the Topic Web will expand alongside their understanding.

The class also created a Wonder Wall to collect the questions that will guide their investigation. What do they want to know about trees? Which questions might lead to new discoveries? By grouping their questions into related topics, the Hoot Owls can explore their curiosities and revisit the Wonder Wall as new questions emerge.

Their fourth-grade buddies joined in to help! The older students modeled how to ask thoughtful questions and encouraged the Hoot Owls to share their own ideas.

Exploring Trees in Our Neighborhood

The Hoot Owls took their learning outside with a neighborhood walk to investigate the trees growing around Saklan. Armed with observation journals, they sketched the trees they discovered and looked closely at their different shapes and features.

With Zuly’s help and a tree-identification app, the children identified several varieties, including redwoods, sequoias, gingkos, and buckeyes. They noticed that many of the trees were incredibly tall. One child captured the excitement perfectly with the observation of the day:

“It’s like 7 miles tall!”

The group also collected a few spiky seed pods from a gum tree to bring back to the classroom for closer examination.

As the Terrific Trees project continues, the Hoot Owls will build on their observations, investigate their questions, and make new discoveries together. Through Project Approach learning, even a simple neighborhood walk can become an opportunity to think critically, communicate ideas, and explore the world with wonder!

#SaklanProjectWork

Kinder Korner: Building Connections

One of the special traditions Hoot Owls and Kindergartners experience at Saklan is Kinder Korner. These gatherings give Kindergarteners the chance to step into leadership roles as they guide the Hoot Owls through fun, educational activities in math, reading, or science. For the Hoot Owls, it’s an exciting introduction to Kindergarten that fosters meaningful connections between students and teachers across the two grades.

For their first visit of the year, the Kindergarten class celebrated the first day of fall by teaching the Hoot Owls how to make leaf rubbings. The Kindergartners gathered leaves for their younger friends and demonstrated how to place the leaves under the paper, with the veins facing up, before using the side of a crayon to gently rub across the paper and reveal the leaf’s shape and texture.

As the Hoot Owls created their artwork, Kindergarten students practiced explaining directions, demonstrating techniques, and encouraging their younger classmates.

Through Kinder Korner, students in both grades benefit from the connection. Hoot Owls gain familiarity and confidence as they look ahead to Kindergarten, while Kindergarteners develop leadership, responsibility, and empathy by helping their younger peers learn.

Learn More about Kindergarten at Saklan

Next Thursday, October 8th, Riva will host a Kindergarten at Saklan Information Session in the Humanities Room at 8:45 a.m. This is a great opportunity to learn more about the Kindergarten experience at Saklan and how families can help prepare their children for this important transition.

Riva will share what a typical day looks like, what students learn, and how Kindergarten builds on the skills and experiences developed in Preschool and Pre-K. She’ll also offer practical tips for preparing children academically, socially, and emotionally, and answer your questions.

We would love for you to join us!

What’s in the Mystery Box?

Learning Spanish Through Exploration

What’s hiding inside the Caja Misteriosa?

In Spanish class, Saklan’s ECE students have been exploring new vocabulary through a fun, hands-on activity called the Caja Misteriosa, or Mystery Box. One at a time, students reach into the box without looking and use Spanish words to describe what they discover.

Is it grande or pequeño? Big or small?
Is it duro or suave? Hard or soft?

As students feel and describe each mystery object, they practice listening, speaking, and using new Spanish vocabulary in a meaningful context. The element of surprise keeps everyone engaged and encourages students to take risks as they try out new words.

Learning a new language is even more fun when you can touch, explore, guess, and share, and the Caja Misteriosa gives our youngest learners a joyful way to do just that!

Little Moments, Big Confidence

One of the goals of Saklan’s Early Childhood program is to help children build confidence and independence throughout their day. At age three, children are developmentally ready to begin taking on small responsibilities, and everyday routines provide meaningful opportunities to practice these emerging skills.

In the Owlet and Hoot Owl classrooms, teachers encourage children to take responsibility for their belongings and participate in their daily routines. This might look like carrying their own backpacks, putting their belongings away in their cubbies, or getting their lunches out independently.

Teachers also encourage children to practice other everyday skills, such as putting on and taking off their jackets, putting their shoes back on, and placing their lunchboxes inside their backpacks.

These may seem like small tasks, and sometimes it can feel easier or faster for an adult to do them. But for young children, these moments are important opportunities to learn.

Building Skills Through Everyday Routines

As children practice these routines, they are developing much more than independence. They are building:

  • Confidence as they experience the satisfaction of accomplishing something on their own
  • Responsibility as they learn to care for their belongings
  • Problem-solving skills as they figure out how to complete a task
  • Coordination and fine-motor skills through everyday movements and routines
  • Perseverance as they keep trying when something feels challenging

Most importantly, children begin to develop a growing sense of “I can do it!”

That feeling of capability is powerful. When children are given the time, encouragement, and space to try things for themselves, they begin to see themselves as capable and confident learners.

At Saklan, we know that meaningful learning happens in both the big moments and the small ones. Sometimes, putting a lunchbox in a backpack is more than just putting away a lunchbox; it’s a chance for a child to practice independence, solve a problem, and discover that they are capable of doing something all on their own.

Learning Buddies are Back!

The excitement was contagious this morning as Saklan’s Preschool – 5th grade students met their new Learning Buddies for the year!

A beloved Saklan tradition, the Learning Buddy program brings students from different grade levels together to build friendships, practice responsibility, and learn from one another. From Preschool through eighth grade, Saklan students have opportunities to be both learners and mentors, creating connections that extend beyond their own classrooms.

During their first meeting, buddies spent time getting to know one another before settling in for some shared reading. Older students modeled strong reading skills, using expression, fluency, and confidence as they read alongside their younger buddies. They also practiced an equally important skill: being an attentive and encouraging listener as their younger buddies proudly read aloud.

The smiles and excitement throughout the morning said it all. Older students embraced their new roles as mentors and role models, while younger students were eager to share, read, and spend time with their new friends.

By the end of the morning, there was already one question on everyone’s mind: When do we get to meet with our buddies again?

We can’t wait to watch these relationships grow throughout the year as our students learn from one another, encourage one another, and grow together.

#SaklanCommunity #SaklanLeadership

Things That Go!

If you’ve stepped into the Owlet classroom recently, you may have noticed clouds floating overhead and airplanes soaring through the room. That’s because the Owlets have been immersed in an exciting study of air transportation as part of their “Things That Go!” project work. Through hands-on exploration, creative design, and visits from experts, students have been discovering how humans travel through the sky and how flight shapes the way we see the world.

After studying ground-based transportation, the class began studying air transportation with a paper airplane challenge. Each Owlet designed, decorated, and named their own airplane before testing their flying skills in a game inspired by cornhole. Drawing on previous science lessons with Ms. O, students remembered that the best way to launch a paper airplane is by aiming upward toward the sky rather than downward toward the ground.

Once students mastered the basics of flight, the challenge became even more exciting. Different-sized targets were added for airplanes to fly through, each worth a different number of points. As students practiced launching their planes toward the targets, they strengthened hand-eye coordination, problem-solving, and perseverance. While it was tricky at first, many Owlets improved their accuracy through persistence and teamwork.

The Owlets also explored the history of aviation by learning about famous pilot Amelia Earhart. After reading about her flights across the Atlantic Ocean, students discussed how landscapes appear differently when viewed from above. This sparked a conversation about perspective and how our viewpoint changes what we see. Students reflected on how objects appear from the ground compared to the sky, where everything can seem flat like a map. Inspired by this idea, the Owlets created their own “bird’s-eye view” drawings, imagining the world from a pilot’s perspective.

Throughout the study, the Owlets learned from several special visitors who shared their expertise about transportation and flight. A Hoot Owl friend introduced students to the world’s fastest train in China, which uses powerful magnets and can travel up to 286 miles per hour. Students noticed similarities between the train and BART, especially its pointed nose designed to help it move faster through the air.

The class also connected virtually with Louis, the uncle of an Owlet, who shared his expertise about airplanes. He explained that building airplanes can feel similar to building with Legos and introduced students to the four forces that help planes fly: thrust, lift, drag, and gravity. Students asked thoughtful questions and were amazed to learn that the SR-71 Blackbird can travel up to 2,000 miles per hour, while smaller propeller planes travel much more slowly. They also discovered that airplanes use jet fuel, a stronger type of gasoline.

In addition, two former Owlets (now kindergartners) returned to the classroom to share what they know about airplane travel. They taught students about turbulence, airplane parts, and how pilots communicate with air traffic control during flights. Students also learned that airplanes land on their back wheels first for safety and that the plane’s pointed nose helps it move smoothly through the air.

The Owlets’ exploration of transportation has combined science, creativity, engineering, storytelling, and collaboration in meaningful and joyful ways. Families are invited to learn more about these discoveries and celebrate the students’ work at the Owlets’ Things That Go! culmination on Thursday, May 21, at 8:30 a.m.

#SaklanProjectWork

Cross-Divisional Project Collaboration

Beyond reading buddies, Saklan projects are intentionally designed for meaningful student collaboration that authentically supports academic growth. This spring, middle school is using their music production skills for kindergarten’s fairy tale recordings, 6th grade helped 1st graders organize their expository writing, and 4th graders helped our Pre-K Hoot Owls refine their Venn diagram skills! 

Kindergarten and Middle School Music Production

How can we write and share our own fairy tales to spread magic and joy? Through answering this driving question, Kindergarten students have learned the elements of fairy tales and deepened their reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills to write and record their own original fairy tale stories. 

In preparation for their readers-theater style culmination on May 15th, students recorded their stories, and middle school students are creating original backing tracks to support the narrative elements of the fairy tale. Sound mixing the Kindergarten stories gives our middle schoolers an authentic application of their digital music production skills.

6th Grade and 1st Grade Expository Writing

All year 6th graders have worked on expository writing in Humanities. Recently, while preparing to write artifact labels for their PBL unit culmination, the Museum of the Future, sixth graders reviewed structure and organization in expository writing. To practice this work, sixth graders analyzed 1st grade report writing drafts on extreme weather. They completed individual writing conferences to support improving the structure and organization of the first-grade reports. Not only did the first graders get to work with the big kids in a middle school classroom, but the sixth graders had the opportunity to grapple with the deeper cognitive task of teaching and explaining elements of writing to a younger child. This work improved the content of the first-grade reports and solidified the sixth grader’s understanding of writing structures and organization, while building community across divisions.

Hoot Owl and 4th Grade Venn Diagrams

Venn diagrams are a useful tool for many grade levels to demonstrate understanding of academic content. This spring, our Pre-K class has been learning all about oceans while their 4th-grade reading buddies have been working on a PBL unit about the California Gold Rush. Both classes planned to use Venn diagrams as a learning tool, and teachers needed an opportunity for some one-on-one teaching and practice. It was natural for these classes to connect and engage in some cross-divisional content learning! 

With fourth graders guiding the learning, the buddies made Venn diagrams all about each other! They chatted and recorded what they had in common and what was different about each other. As they got to know each other better by completing the diagram, both classes also deepened their understanding of how to use a Venn diagram. When each class returned to their own project work, they employed the same learning tool at different developmental levels with different content.  

If you want to see final products and culminating events, stay tuned for the next week at Saklan emails for updates on ways to come see and celebrate our students’ spring project work!

#SaklanProjectWork

Up Close with Arthropods

Students across multiple grade levels at Saklan recently had a hands-on encounter with the fascinating world of arthropods, thanks to a special visit from guest experts from SaveNature.org.

Preschool, Pre-K, and seventh-grade students all took part in this engaging learning experience, exploring how different arthropods survive and thrive in their environments. The visiting experts introduced students to key concepts such as camouflage, defense mechanisms, and adaptation, bringing science to life in memorable ways.

The highlight of the visit was the opportunity for students to interact directly with a variety of live creatures. With a mix of curiosity and courage, students were able to pet, hold, and even smell some of the arthropods, including stink beetles, two types of walking sticks, grasshoppers, a whip scorpion, and an African millipede.

These up-close encounters sparked excitement and wonder, giving students a deeper appreciation for the diversity and ingenuity of the natural world. Experiences like this not only build scientific understanding but also inspire curiosity, encouraging students to ask questions and explore the world around them in new ways.

#SaklanHandsOn

Hoot Owls Dive into Ocean Exploration with Help from Friends

The Hoot Owls are making waves with their current Project Work, taking a deep dive into the fascinating world of the ocean.

During a recent session in the Science Lab with Ms. O, the Pre-K students explored the anatomy of a squid through a hands-on dissection. They examined key features including the ink sac, eyes, throat, beak, and pen—the structure that helps the squid maintain its shape. Students even determined whether their squid was male or female. In a particularly memorable moment, some students used the squid’s pen and ink sac to write, bringing their learning to life in an unforgettable way.

Back in the classroom, one Hoot Owl stepped into the role of expert, leading a mini-lesson on sharks. Complete with detailed drawings of a frill shark and a mako shark, the student shared fascinating facts with classmates—such as the existence of over 500 shark species, the size range from the massive whale shark (up to 40 feet) to the tiny dwarf lantern shark (about 8 inches), and insights into how sharks hunt and what they eat. The presentation sparked curiosity and led to an enthusiastic Q&A session filled with thoughtful questions.

Collaboration has also been a key part of this project. The Hoot Owls partnered with their fourth-grade buddies to research sharks and squid. Each student selected a topic and worked alongside their buddy to gather interesting facts. Together, they created detailed posters featuring their findings and illustrations.

These impressive posters are now displayed around campus, showcasing the students’ hard work, curiosity, and growing expertise. Through hands-on exploration, peer collaboration, and student-led learning, the Hoot Owls are truly diving deep into discovery.

#SaklanProjectWork

Celebrating 100 Days of Learning

On Thursday, February 5th, Saklan students joyfully celebrated the 100th day of school, a milestone that highlights just how much growth can happen in 100 small, meaningful steps. The day was filled with math, movement, creativity, and laughter across every grade level.

The Owlets marked the occasion with a classroom-wide search for 100 hidden emojis. Many students arrived dressed as 100-year-olds, fully embracing their roles and staying in character throughout the day, adding an extra layer of fun to the celebration.

The Hoot Owls dove into hands-on activities centered around the number 100. They carefully counted out 100 Cheerios to create necklaces, participated in a 100-star scavenger hunt, and explored different ways to represent 100 using classroom materials. The celebration culminated in a special lunch party complete with photos and festive crowns.

Kindergartners explored the concept of 100 in playful and delicious ways. They created their own 100th-day snack by combining 10 different treats, 10 pieces of each, bringing math to life in a tangible (and tasty) way. Students designed colorful hundred grids, crafted crowns, and proudly wore 100-Fruit-Loop necklaces. Movement was also part of the fun, as students danced for 100 seconds and completed 100 jumping jacks.

Throughout the day, students from grades 1 through 8 joined the kindergartners in celebration, fostering a strong sense of cross-grade connection and belonging. These shared experiences foster confidence, joy, and a sense of community, reminding students that they are part of something larger.

First graders also embraced the milestone with engaging math and writing activities focused on the number 100. They counted, created, reflected, and celebrated how much they have learned and grown over the past 100 days.

The 100th day of school at Saklan was more than just a number; it was a celebration of perseverance, progress, and the vibrant community that supports every student’s journey.

#SaklanCommunity