It’s a Froggy Life for TEA Kindergartners
Have you ever wondered, “What can I do to help the Sierra Nevada Yellow-Legged Frog survive?” If you haven’t, then let the Kindergarten crew at TEA tell you why you should.
Beginning in our Pre-K program, students at TEA are challenged to solve real-world problems. At our Lower School, students tackle problems as a crew through our semester-long thematic units we call Learning Expeditions. These expeditions impel students (and sometimes parents!) to go into the field to work with and learn from experts. It is a very “hands-on” approach.
While Learning Expeditions start off in a traditional classroom setting so teachers can build background knowledge on a topic, the real magic happens when our teachers take their students into the field to see the real-life application. Once they return from their adventures, students make sense of their experiences and learning.
Miss Rosie leading her Kindergarten Crew into the field.
It turns out that our very own Miss Rosie is a frog expert.
A unique part of Learning Expeditions at TEA is that our teaching staff can build them around their very own passions. And it just so turns out that our Kindergarten teacher, Miss Rosie Striffler, is very passionate about frogs. She’s even been to Peru to study them. Ask her about her real-world experiences with bugs in the Amazon Jungle at night. Yikes.
Because of Miss Rosie’s passion for herpetology, our kindergartners are learning to advocate for the Sierra Nevada Yellow-Legged Mountain Frog. Throughout the “It’s a Froggy Life, The True Story of the Sierra Nevada Yellow-Legged Frog” Learning Expedition, the students become experts on this endangered local frog species and learn the steps we can all take to help these frogs survive. Quite the problem to solve.
#NBD just putting in some lab time with Dr. Bree at UC Berkeley to learn about frogs.
These Kindergartners are fostering connections and desires to care and respect the earth.
During nearly every week this semester, our budding biologists and herpetologists have been venturing into nature to explore and look for frogs. These field studies foster connections and desires to take care of and respect the earth. From cross-country ski adventures to the Frog Bog in Tahoe City to their recent overnight trip to Stinson Beach and UC Berkeley, students learn directly from real-life experts about how these living things are connected to a bigger picture of stewardship.
Please enjoy these photos from their recent trips to the Frog Bog, Stinson Beach, and UC Berkeley. The kindergartners (and their parents!) have had a fantastic time on their overnight trip this year! They had the amazing opportunity to meet with Dr. Bree at UC Berkeley to learn about frogs and other vertebrates. Then they camped out in Stinson beach to study the frogs that live in Point Reyes. Everyone had the opportunity to learn so much together. Thank you to all of the parents who volunteered their time to help make it happen!
From the frog bogs near our school to UC Berkeley and Stinson Beach, TEA Kindergarteners are learning to advocate for the Sierra Nevada Yellow-Legged Mountain Frog.
