Welcome to the new Elementary Blog!

Welcome to Carden Academy’s Elementary Blog!  We are very happy to share information regarding our lessons and activities!  Please feel free to visit our website too!

Check out our website here.

Morning of Music and Fun!

On Friday, March 9th, the 2nd and 3rd graders attended the OC Philharmonic presentation of the American Band.  We learned about the instruments of the band and the different styles of music that bands play.  We all turned in to galloping horses while listening to “William Tell’s Overture” and snapped our fingers to the “Dixieland Favorite.”  There was also patriotic songs and a march.  It was a wonderful morning of music and fun!

 

 

 

Riley Farm’s Revolutionary War

Carden’s fifth through eighth grade students went to Riley Farms in Oak Glen last Wednesday, February 22, 2012, to participate in a reenactment of the Revolutionary War.   Students were put into townships when they arrived.  The students stayed in their townships for the whole day.  The townships rotated stations.  Each station offered the students a hands-on experience.  Students watched a blacksmith, wove thread into material, planted and watered carrots, participated in a mock smuggling trial, played 18^th century games, learned about the camping equipment used in the 18^th century, learned how to march and were mustered into either the British army or the American army.  A great time was had by all.  Students are looking forward to going back next year to experience the Civil War.

Back in Time

Field Trip – Heritage Museum of Orange County – Kellogg House Tour

Friday, February 10, 2012, our Kindergarten class, along with some of our families, visited the Kellogg House.  This beautiful Victorian style home was built in 1898.  The Kellogg House is set up as a hands-on museum, so children can experience how people lived over 100 years ago.

The Kindergarten students made homemade butter and enjoyed eating it on crackers.  They washed clothes in a metal tub using a washboard.  Each student was dressed in Victorian style clothes and had their photo taken.  The students went to the children’s bedroom and played with old time toys.  These were just some of the activities experienced during our morning at the Kellogg House.  This field trip met California State Education Standards by letting students participate in activities people did long ago.

 Mrs. Metz, Kindergarten Teacher

Exploring the Native American Culture

Carden grades 1-3 spent the day at the Heritage Museum exploring the Native American cultures of early California.  The children examined and handled authentic artifacts including arrows, animal hides, rattles and trading shells.  We tasted samples of native foods and learned how to grind nuts and corn with a rock!  We saw displays of the many different types of shelters that the tribes built.  We also discovered some of the hunting and fishing methods of the tribes – even trying our hands at throwing arrows.  The highlight of the day was playing Indian games and making our own rattle for our pow-wow, where we learned a Native American round dance.  It was wonderful to be able to glimpse into our shared history.

Aquarium of the Pacific Field Trip

Kindergarten, 1st, 7th and 8th grades spent the day at The Aquarium of the Pacific.   The students toured the Aquarium and then attended classes taught by the Aquarium staff. The kindergarten and 1st grade class learned what makes a fish.  Then the students were able to go to the touch pool and gently touch starfish (or sea stars, these creatures are not fish), sea anemones and other sea creatures.  The 7th and 8th grade classes played a fun Jeopardy style game about the ocean and sea life facts.  The Aquarium showed a 4-D movie about sea turtles that everyone really enjoyed. A very fine exhibit showed animal life in the North and South Poles.  In the main exhibit hall, hanging from the ceiling, was a life-sized model of a blue whale with her baby. The blue whale is the largest creature on planet Earth, it can be as long as two or three buses put end to end.

December in our Town

Winter Program ­ A multi-cultural play to celebrate the diversity of December.

December 14, 2011

 Carden Academy¹s annual Winter Program included preschoolers through 8th grade.  Our audience was able to enjoy students of all ages singing and dancing to tell the stories of different types of December celebrations.

The title of our musical was December in our Town, under the direction of Mrs. Cathy Smith, our first grade teacher.  Actors, dancers and singers demonstrated the celebrations of the Jewish traditions of Hanukkah, the meaning of the Nativity story, Las Posadas from Mexico, and the African-American celebration of Kwanzaa.    Our play included a rock n’roll Santa with Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer wearing sunglasses and playing a saxophone.

Carden Academy believes the performing arts provide a valuable experience for all students. 

 

Grand Prize Winner

The Orange County Register recently named our own Alex Perazzo as the Grand Prize Winner in their “Gift of History” 3rd grade essay contest.  Alex’s award-winning essay was written to the prompt of “what OC History means to you.”  Alex was presented his prize at a special school assembly.  Congratulations Alex, keep up the great work!

Puppets and Players Little Theatre

Thursday, November 10, 2011
A trailer pulled up to the large playground and opened into a lovely Marionette puppet stage, brought to us by The Puppets and Players Little Theatre. Students, staff and parents were delighted to watch the puppeteers perform Hans Christian Andersen’s fairytale Thumbelina . After the puppet show the puppeteers explained about the different kinds of puppets and how their special stage worked. Students were allowed to peek inside the puppet trailer and ask questions of the puppeteers. One of the puppeteers, Laurie Branham, attended a Carden school in Malibu. She was taught to read by Mae Carden.

Gift of History

Our Third Grade was part of history today as they participated in the “Gift of History” at Anaheim Stadium.  The students learned about the past, the present and how they would become the future of Orange County.  It was an eye opener to see just how many third graders there are in Orange County (35,000). Afterwards, we had a fun “tail gate” lunch.

Spooktacular!!!

Instead of seeing students arriving to school in their school uniforms, a multitude of princesses, superheroes, monsters and other characters filled our campus.  Our junior high students and staff, under the direction of Mrs. Drummond, put on a fun filled Halloween Carnival for our students and their families. The Student Council had fun judging over 60 pumpkins. The sweepstake Winner was a colorful “Spider-O-Lantern” by Mrs. Metz’s Kindergarten class. Party music arranged by student, Spencer Hagaman, and the smell of popcorn filled the air.  Our junior high students learn about cooperation, working as a team, planning, preparing, working their booths, doing something for others and the satisfaction of a job well done.