Alpha

What’s Around Us?! We explored the Northeast Woodlands Region of the United States. The lands of deciduous forests, rivers and the Great Lakes are rich with natural resources. It was also the birthplace of one of the world’s oldest democracies. The beautiful book Hiawatha and the Peacemaker guided our discussions this week. It is the story of the Haudenosaunee (People of the Longhouse) comprised of five tribes, Cayuga, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, and the Seneca who agreed to end warfare among their people. The agreements they made with one another still stand today as a model of “Peace, Power and Righteousness”. […]

We got our first National Park reply, now we all want to take a field trip to the Petrified Forest in Arizona! What’s Around Us?! This week we visited the Southeast Region of our continent. One of the most important feature in this area is the Appalacia Mountain range. We learned that millions of years ago these mountains were as big, if not bigger than the Himalayas. The were formed by 2 tectonic plates ramming together: Africa and North America! Second year Alphas knew right away what happened to the 29.000 foot Appalacia Mountains, and why they are only about

What’s Around Us?! The Great Plains Region! The region of the Great Plains, we learned, stretched far and wide with rolling hills and oceans of grass…we added this region to our maps. The wild grasses themselves are a marvel, standing as high as six feet or more, with roots just as deep. It was the perfect place for the Tatanka (Lakota for Bison/Buffalo) to roam. We learned some of the ways of the nomadic peoples who followed the herds of Bison and how they had ceremonies before their hunts to honor the spirits of the Bison who would give their

Horsing around in Alpha! There is a wonderful opportunity to visit and take part in the annual Austin PowWow the weekend of November 18! Since we’re studying Indian Nation cultures in different regions over the next few weeks we wanted to let you know so your family can have the option to visit and possibly be able to take part in some of the cultural events offered… https://austinpowwow.net/ What’s Around Us?! The Great Western Region! This week Alphas headed North to visit the incredible, mountainous NxNW! We learned that most of these mountains were fairly young, and some are still

There is a wonderful opportunity to visit and take part in the annual Austin PowWow the weekend of November 18! Since we’re studying Indian Nation cultures in different regions over the next few weeks we wanted to let you know so your family can have the option to visit and possibly be able to take part in some of the cultural events offered… What’s Around Us?! The Southwest! We “visited” our first region of the US this week exploring the landscape and resources of the Southwest. We considered what resources might be available to us for tools, clothing, food and