K/1 learners learn about forces and motion through many experiments using push and pulls with and without wheels, noticing friction, and recognizing how weight impacts our ability to move items. After experimenting and discovering some of the basic principles of Forces and Motion they were challenged to move their teacher using a simple machine. Simple machines like a dolly, chair on wheels, seesaw and some coordinated pushes and pulls were all part of the plan. Scientists were then challenged to figure out how do we get our BIG box of donations for Children's Hospital all the way upstairs? Scientists brainstormed ideas and concluded that they could use some simple machines to help out! Scientists worked together create an inclined plane on the stairs. This simple machine made it easier to push the heavy box up the stairs. For the remaining toys downstairs, scientists created a pulley system to lift the toys to the upper level. Scientists pulled from their vast experiences and knowledge learned throughout the unit to work through this challenge. And, the fact that they learned all about forces and simple machines through discovery allowed learners to take ownership of their learning.

4-5 environmental engineers visited a watershed to learn about it, researched a variety of impacts on water quality and wrote persuasive letters to various organizations and community leaders with recommendations for how to improve water quality in our area. OUr passionate engineers also took action. As a culminating activity to their water quality unit, our 4-5 engineers paddled on the Tennessee River and picked up litter! Thanks to the Knoxville Adventure Collective for all their help!

KJDS engineers have created 6 different structures out of cans. 4th and 5th grade manage the entire project from working with a structural engineer and architect to design the structure, writing letters to request donations of canned food, ordering wood, organizing builders for build day and overseeing the donation of all canned goods from the structure to Second Harvest Food Bank. All k-5 learners are part of the building team on build day. Structures have included a dreidel, menorah. Ram mascot, a Shabbat Table, a coffee mug, a challah and a Kiddush cup. Engineers have created structures consisting of over 3000 cans and their structures have been on display at the ORMSE, the Muse and The Knoxville Convention Center. In addition to the engineering, organizing and teamwork involved in this project, engineers used their structure as a means to bring awareness to the issue of hunger in Knoxville and are empowered to help as they can.

⅔ travelers tour the world as they learn about the cultures, natural resources, landmarks and climates of countries throughout the world. After researching countries throughout AsiaIn addition to learning about the diversity of the largest continent, our young travelers wrap up their study of Asia by becoming Geotechnical engineers as they work through an Engineering Design Challenge. Learners read a story about a fictional village in Nepal and learn about the real technology of a TarPul bridge, or wire bridge, described in the story. Using the engineering design process, learners observe, experiment with variables, document data, study soil types and erosion and with their engineering teams, choose a site for their own (imaginary) TarPul bridge. This integrated unit puts our learners' problem solving skills to the test with an exploratory, hands-on, and real-world learning challenge.

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Class Congress has been in session and working hard to learn how laws are created! Students were divided into three Congressional Committees (Ethics, Appropriations, and Environmental). Each student brainstormed ideas for a bill, then came together with their committees to decide which idea to bring to the whole congress. They worked with our dedicated committee chairwomen (Ms. Louise, Ms. Ann, and Ms. Leathers) to craft a bill, taking into consideration the costs, steps for implementation, and requirements for enforcement. Bills were presented to the whole Congress, and the kids took their job very seriously. They asked specific and well-thought out questions, gave respectful critiques and ideas, and took notes to make sure they understood the bill before their votes. Finally, all bills were voted on and sent to President Blanchard for approval or veto. Watching them work as a team for the benefit of the whole school showed the kinds of future leaders we are working to raise here at KJDS!

When our 4th and 5th grade explorers study Native Americans who lived in North America before European explorers arrived, they become engineers with the Waddle and Daub House Design Challenge! In Language Arts and Social Studies, they researched who Native Americans were (and still are), where they lived, how they met their basic needs from their environment as we do, and compared and contrasted important aspects of their culture to our own. A cross-cutting idea for all of these topics is their housing: people built houses for their families using natural materials from their biome; they also designed the houses to withstand the climate and weather. The Cherokee built a "wattle and daub" house. The "wattle" is the wood: the sticks woven together to make the frame. "Daub'' is the mud/clay/plant mixture that holds the sticks together and forms an outer layer to keep out wind and rain. Students gathered oak and hickory sticks from our wooded campus and other wood from students' homes, and got four buckets of clay-mud ready to mix experimentally into the right consistency for daub. It was a messy, challenging, and fun project! Final houses had to withstand the wind, rain, and sun, and any that didn’t will only serve to teach the students more. A big emphasis on this project is that a vital part of engineering--and learning overall--is the process: defining a goal; communicating with a team; giving kind, specific, and helpful feedback; revising; testing (and revising and testing some more); and reflecting. The students culminated their unit by inviting the rest of the school to learn about Native Americans and the engineering and design process as they lived it!

Mrs. Blanchard and Ms. Jessica’s 2nd and 3rd scientists conducted a fascinating study on the life cycle of animals. The students were tasked with exploring the essential questions of how the life cycles of different animals are the same and different, and what adaptations an animal needs to survive in its habitat. To aid in their exploration, the learners were given the unique opportunity to hatch chicks at school! Thanks to a UCOR mini grant that Ms. Jessica won, the students were able to watch the entire incubation and hatching process. Throughout the study, the young scientists took a hands-on approach, observing, gathering information, predicting, and documenting their findings. The students were thrilled when two of the chickens hatched while they were at school! Watching the newborn chicks dry off and become fluffy was a highlight for many of the students, including scientist Esther. One of the students, Oliver, was so taken with the chickens that he and his family decided to adopt them as family pets! This real-life connection between the students' studies and their everyday lives brought joy and energy to their learning each day. This study is a perfect example of the importance of hands-on, experiential learning which fosters a sense of curiosity and wonder about the natural world.

Empowering our learners to do mitzvot and make a difference in the life of others is a hallmark of our values based curriculum at KJDS. We take every opportunity to visit our neighbors at American House West Knoxville! Our aftercare Mitzvah club made weekly visits with games, art projects, songs, dances and Jewish holiday celebrations. This year our 4-5 learners brought the pre-purim joy to our neighbors with a hamantasch bake! Our k-1 prepare bouquets of flowers to bring over when they study the Mitzvah of Bikkur Cholim, visiting and caring for the sick and our 2-3 performers perform a few numbers from the Passover Play to the delight of the residents. There is nothing more exhilarating for our students than to feel the joy of doing this special Mitzvah! We are grateful to have this opportunity right next door!