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Contactgstoyle@gmail.com2024-11-20T21:43:16-05:00

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Brightfield School
340 Oak Grove Avenue,
Bath,
ME 04530
207-389-4771
info@brightfieldschool.org

Our 3/4 students took on the challenge of “beak adaptations” with a foraging activity designed to explore how birds’ beaks are perfectly suited to their habitats and diets.

With a variety of objects representing different beak shapes, they scavenged for food in a range of environments:�Beach (beans buried in sand)�Flower (water in a jar)�Wetland (floating food in a bin of water)�On the fly (popcorn tossed through the air)

Afterward, we dove into bird field guides to discover real-world examples of birds with beaks adapted to these specific feeding strategies.
From shorebirds with long, slender bills to waterfowl with flat, broad beaks, students learned how shape equals survival.

This activity brought bird anatomy and ecology to life — and gave us all a new appreciation for the diversity of bird adaptations!

Join us for our 2nd Get Outside – Bath event TOMORROW April 19, from 9-11 AM at Thorne Head Preserve to explore the seasonal wonder of vernal pools. A vernal pool-themed story walk will be posted along the trail for self-guided hikes, and guided explorations will bring you up close to these temporary spring habitats. Discover the amphibians and invertebrates that rely on these pools and learn why they are critical to Maine’s ecosystem.

This is a great opportunity to build community, connect with nature, and explore a local outdoor space.

ALL are welcome and encouraged to attend!

Each 3rd and 4th grader at Brightfield has been challenged to identify 50 birds by sight or sound this spring. It’s an ambitious goal — but one grounded in curiosity, observation, and a growing set of field skills.

To get there, students are learning to use binoculars with care, tune into subtle differences in song and call, track movement through the trees, and navigate field guides with confidence. They’re building vocabulary too — from eye ring to nape, from plumage to wing bars.

Maine is home to over 300 species of birds, and our coastal region is especially rich with diversity — from forest-dwellers to shorebirds, waterfowl to raptors. We’re learning to notice patterns and group birds by categories: seabirds, songbirds, woodpeckers, waterbirds, and more.

The 50-bird challenge isn’t just about numbers — it’s about learning how to see, how to listen, and how to connect more deeply with this place we call home.

Making and flying paper airplanes on Wednesday wasn’t just fun — it was an uplifting way to explore the science of bird flight.

Each design represented a different wing type found in birds:�Passive soaring wings, like those of hawks, built for gliding on warm air currents.�Active soaring wings, like albatrosses, made for dynamic flight over ocean winds.�Elliptical wings, like chickadees or crows, perfect for maneuvering through forests.�High-speed wings, like falcons, built for precision and speed.�Hovering wings, like hummingbirds, capable of staying perfectly in place.

Through trial, error, laughter, and flight tests, students connected form to function — seeing firsthand how wing shape influences movement through the air.

A simple paper airplane became a tool for deeper understanding of bird anatomy, physics, and adaptation.

After spotting a flock in the distance, our 3/4 students raised their binoculars and began piecing together clues — size, movement, coloring, and behavior.

After confirming the correct identification of the American Robin, Indigo carefully recorded the sighting in her field notebook — noting location, date, and key observations.

Moments like these show how our bird study blends careful observation, vocabulary in action, and field journaling skills.

Theme work isn't just about learning facts — it's about noticing, wondering, and documenting what we see in the world around us.

Well, if this isn’t applied learning...

During our “Less Than, Equal To, or More Than One Meter?” activity in math this week, Michaela’s dog Lucifer kindly volunteered as a very patient measurement subject.

Caoimhe handled the petting duties while Gus did the measuring — and for the record, it’s almost exactly one meter from Lucifer’s collar to his tail.

Real-world math. Cooperative learning. One very good dog.

Teaching anatomical terms as part of the 3/4 bird study theme began with a creative game inspired by classic movement-based learning.

“If your bird has a blue crest, take one step forward…”

In a game called Red Plover, each student carried a picture of a bird they had carefully colored. They started at one end of the playing field. Megan, our 3/4 teacher, called out a color and an anatomical term, and students advanced if their bird matched the description.

By the end of the game, everyone was using a shared vocabulary — nape, crest, eye ring, and more — language they will carry with them as they deepen their birding work this spring.

At Brightfield, we believe learning should be engaging, playful, and rooted in curiosity. This is place-based education in action.

As part of their exploration of Spring festivals around the world—like Holi—our 2nd graders dove into a joyful, hands-on intro to geometry. They began by discussing how to describe and categorize shapes… then took off building with them!

Connecting cultural celebrations with math concepts helps students see learning as meaningful, interconnected, and fun. At Brightfield, it’s all about making big ideas come alive—through color, collaboration, and curiosity.

Curious about what learning looks like at Brightfield? We’re currently enrolling for Fall 2025! Come see the difference a hands-on, heart-centered education can make.

At Brightfield, we believe learning should be as engaging as it is effective. This week, "How Close?" was a favorite math game where students selected two to three-digit cards and worked to create a multiplication expression as close to 100 as possible. This fun activity not only fosters flexibility and creativity with numbers but also addresses key academic benchmarks in a playful, hands-on way.

By integrating games like this into our curriculum, we help students build critical skills while making learning both enjoyable and meaningful.

Our Brightfield 2nd graders took on the ultimate bean-counting challenge! After making their best estimates, they worked together to organize this massive pile—first into groups of 10, then 20, then 100—to finally land on a total that was nearly double what they expected.

This hands-on math investigation was more than just counting—it was a chance to practice teamwork, test predictions, and make learning visible in the most tangible (and bean-filled) way.

A huge thanks to our beloved music/art teacher @bellearth going above and beyond and jumping in to facilitate a brilliant introduction to our 3/4 cohort on binoculars last week! After a scaffolded lesson on the parts of binoculars, how to focus them, and their appropriate use, students put their new skills to the test during a Binocular Certification Test. At each of the ten stations, students practiced key birding techniques, honing their observational abilities and getting ready for the spring birding season.

At Brightfield, we believe in hands-on learning that connects students to the world around them—and we’re so grateful to have Emily guiding them along the way.

We’re diving deep into our birding theme this spring! Each 3/4 student was issued their very own Rite in the Rain notebook, a handy storage pocket, and a set of binoculars to help them document, observe, and connect with the birds in our local environment.

With these new tools in hand, students are ready to explore the skies, take notes, and deepen their understanding of the feathered friends around them. This hands-on, place-based learning experience is all about sparking curiosity, connecting with our local environment, and building lifelong skills.

Brightfield School
340 Oak Grove Avenue,
Bath,
ME 04530
207-389-4771
info@brightfieldschool.org

Brightfield School
340 Oak Grove Avenue,
Bath,
ME 04530
207-389-4771
info@brightfieldschool.org

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Brightfield admits students of any race, color, religion, gender, national and/or ethnic origin, disability, sexual orientation, and/or gender expression or identity to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at our school. Brightfield does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, age, national and ethnic origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity or other basis prohibited by law in administration of our educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs