Quick Links
Grade Crossovers/Reading Buddies
Integral to creating one community of learners is the time spent at Mulberry in inter-grade activities. These activities give children the opportunity to teach younger children, make new friends in other grades, see themselves within a range of skills and abilities. Every class is paired with another class for reading buddies. Other crossovers include: Junior Kindergarteners and Kindergarteners get together weekly to play or for special celebration; 1st and 2nd grade meet 3 times a week for theme centers; 5th graders create activities to explain their science fair project to kindergarteners; 2nd and 3rd grades meet weekly to do reader's theatre or writer's workshop; 3rd and 4th grades go on the Tall Ships Discovery voyage together.
Field Trips
Field trips help to extend the curriculum outside the classroom and offer another avenue to engage children in hands-on and meaningful experiences. The preparation leading up to a field trip and the reflection activities planned afterward make these trips memorable. Examples of field trips include local theatre performances, the ballet, tide pools, farms, and the planetarium. Beginning in 3rd grade, children go on overnight trips: Hidden Villa (3rd grade), Gold Country (4th grade), Marine Headlands Science Camp and Pajaro Dunes (5th grade)
Cooking
Cooking is a fun way to teach math and science as well as develop fine motor coordination, reading comprehension, listening and following directions. Moreover, cooking with classmates involves lots of teamwork, collaboration, conflict resolution and communication. The Mulberry kitchen provides a great workspace for children to create culinary works of art!
Gardening
Each class has a garden box in front of the school. The gardening curriculum helps children learn about plants and animals, conservation, ecology and taking care of the earth. The children feel pride as they watch their plants, vegetables and flowers grow. At the annual Harvest Festival, classes often share garden vegetables in the dish they prepare for sharing.
Student Council
At Mulberry, Student Council is viewed as a service and all children have the opportunity to participate. Classes send two reps and all the children take a rotation. Student Council meets with the Head of School and Director of Operations to discuss whatever community issues are sent by the classes and to arrive at solutions. The Student Council also discusses how to use the money which they raise each year through the Fun Run. Past monies have been used to build a ball wall, purchase scooters and wagons and help hurricane victims.
Community Service
Community is emphasized throughout the Mulberry curriculum. Children take on class jobs within their grades, help take care of the school grounds by picking up trash and recycling, attend Student Council meetings to make community decisions. Furthermore, each year children extend themselves to the broader community. One ongoing project involves collecting books for a school in Africa. Other projects are emergent based on student concerns and interests such as a poster campaign to change to fluorescent light bulbs or a sale to collect money for earthquake victims in Peru.
