TRUNK OR TREAT GATHERING

On Saturday, to kick off the autumn season, Brompton hosted its annual Trunk or Treat celebration. During this event, our neighbors and community members were invited to join us for a fun, family-friendly Halloween gathering. This year, we added a new feature—a spooky garden path leading into the woods—designed especially for our older students (and adults!). There, everyone could relax around the campfire, roast s’mores, and soak in the festive atmosphere.

We had a wonderful time with friends and family on this exceptionally beautiful fall day. Thank you to everyone who donated time, energy, and positive presence to help make this cherished annual event such a success!

BUILDING FOREST HOMES

The National Wildlife Federation’s publication, National Guidelines for Nature Play and Learning Spaces, defines Nature Play as “a learning process, engaging children in working together, to develop physical skills, to exercise their imaginations, to stimulate poetic expression, [and] to begin to understand the workings of the world around them.” The NWF also cautions, “Children must spend more time outdoors… If children don’t grow up engaged with nature, chances are they will never understand human dependency on the natural world.” This truism drives the philosophy and practice of our Nature Connection Program.

Last week, our Fifth Grade class exemplified these principles during forest exploration time, with a spontaneous student inquiry: can we build a home for forest animals?  The next day, when the class returned to their spot in the forest, a toad had moved in! Can you see it? Its little face peeks out from behind a yellow leaf. Inspired, other classmates began building additional structures, even creating tiny “people” to keep the animals company.

Although not fond of sitting still, this group truly loves to build and create. Over several weeks, they have harvested invasive Stilt Grass and used it to cover a structure made from fallen branches and sticks. As Jean Piaget, the renowned psychologist, wrote: “For a child to understand something he must construct it for himself, he must reinvent it … if future individuals are to be formed who are capable of creativity and not simply repetition.”  These fifth graders have been working productively and collaboratively, sharing ideas, communicating effectively, and engaging independently, with very little guidance from their observant and insightful teacher. What a way to grow and learn!

OUTDOOR CLASSROOM- FALL EDITION

Ever the naturalists, our second graders have created an excellent learning space in the forest. Ms. Kelly and Mr. Karsten seamlessly move lessons from indoors to outdoors, a practice the students clearly appreciate. Language Arts pairs beautifully with stick construction, and for these students, it seems just a natural way to learn.

This week, the second graders are also conducting an experiment on plant growth. I can’t wait to hear them share their discoveries! They are articulate, nature-literate, and embody the BCS mission in action—truly a group of student leaders in the making.

GARDEN CLUB- A SPONTANEOUS HAPPENING

Our fourth-grade class loves learning about nature in general, but they’ve taken a special interest in the garden. They understand that while the fruits of the garden are for them, the garden itself relies on their care and attention to thrive.

Out of this understanding, the students asked if we could start a “Garden Club” on Tuesday afternoons before pick-up! This group of young learners is curious, motivated, and willing to put in the work. By their own choice, they spend time in the garden instead of end-of-day recess — carrying food scraps to the compost pile, watering young native plants, and cleaning up spent annuals.

This week, we harvested the last of the cucumbers and tomatoes, along with the available beans and okra planted back in August. As usual, the children were enchanted by the scents of basil, rosemary, and mint, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that they were willing to eat the veggies straight from the vine! One student picked a pepper and some chives to take home to his mom, who cooked them for dinner and included them in the family meal.

What a wonderful way to spend the last half hour of the day — thank you, Fourth Grade, for modeling good stewardship and showing such care for the natural world!

CHOICE AND CONNECTION IN THE GARDEN

Agency is an important part of our Nature Connection classes. Our sixth graders spend three hours each week dedicated to nature learning, free play, exploration, and hands-on chores. Often, as was the case on this afternoon, students are given an opportunity to choose their activity/ location of exploration. I was pleasantly surprised when they unanimously chose to work in the garden during their Tuesday hour.

One student harvested and cleaned mint to bring inside for tea, while others used spades to remove the crabgrass that relentlessly creeps into our native beds. Every student enjoys working with the compost piles, and today we received a special gift for composting from one of our amazing Fifth Grade moms — coffee grounds from Starbucks!

Please join us for our annual Trunk or Treat on Saturday, October 24th from 3:00-4:30pm.  This is a community event, warmly open to all of our neighbors.  Please make sure costumes are family friendly so that everyone feels safe and welcome.  

Older students can join us by the fire, in the woods behind the garden.  It's a little creepier there- just as they prefer.

Kindergarten Compost Helpers

Our kindergarteners are helping our compost grow — by carrying their own food scraps down to the pile! With guidance from Ms. Alyssa and Ms. Cat, natural literacy is woven into every day.

At their young age, students are discovering that food waste can transform into soil with the help of decomposers. Using their senses, they compared two of our compost piles — one several months old and another just a few weeks old — noticing differences in texture, smell, and appearance. Afterward, Ms. Alyssa gathered everyone to read a book about composting.

Earlier in the week, students explored the life cycle of a pumpkin. They picked some Tromboncino squash from the trellis and compared the seeds to those found inside a pumpkin. They also observed that the squash flowers grew very close to the pumpkins they are studying, making connections between flowers, fruits, and the plants’ growth cycles.

These hands-on experiences help students understand the natural world in meaningful, memorable ways!

Schoolyard Habitat “Pep” Rally

Last Friday, our students took part in the first-ever Eco Schools “Pep Rally.” While it wasn’t a pep rally in the traditional sense, this school-wide gathering brought everyone together to celebrate our shared purpose at BCS — caring for the natural world around us.

The students were so attentive and responsive — it was inspiring to see how deeply they feel the importance of our mission and how eager they are to help! One of the things I love most about the Eco Schools program is the way it encourages student leadership and community involvement.

Students of all ages created colorful posters to remind everyone of our early morning gathering. They were so thoughtful and creative — I wish I could post them all!  Below are a few examples of student design.

Action Team Meeting Targeted Tasks

Participants worked in small, mixed-age groups to complete a variety of Eco Schools Action Team tasks, each contributing to our Schoolyard Habitat goals. Together, they:

• Performed site assessments — measuring and adding string and flags to mark plots and design areas

• Watered plants and planted seedlings

• Harvested end-of-season vegetables

• Added additional markers to refine the garden design

• Brainstormed ideas for garden elements and plant materials, recording their thoughts and suggestions

• Counted native plants already growing in the area

• Prepared the soil for blueberry bushes (thank you, Brad and Audrey — that soil was hard as a brick!)

Second Grade:  Connecting in the Classroom

Our second graders learn about nature throughout the day.  Below, we see our students deep in thought, studying the parts of a leaf and learning about where plants do and do not grow.  These kiddos are also learning to say the month and season in Latin!

Letters in the Mail

Our teachers regularly weave Eco Schools tasks into their curriculum, helping students take real, hands-on action to support our environment. This week, some of our students wrote letters home requesting chopped leaves for our pollinator garden.  We plan to use the leaf litter as mulch for our plants and also to add more “browns” to our compost pile.

Please keep an eye on the mailbox! The letters are not only adorable but also really helpful. One of our kindergarteners brought in a bag for us to use last week.  We are so grateful for the ongoing generosity of our administrators, staff, students, parents, and community members. Although we currently don’t have a formal budget for our Eco Schools programs, we’re making wonderful progress thanks to your support!

Fourth Grade Garden Explorers

This week, our fourth graders took a stroll down the street to visit a large patch of milkweed growing along the roadside — now setting seed! Along the way, they stopped to study our school’s pollinator garden, observing which plants were still blooming and which were preparing for fall.  The class is planning a special area in our garden to dedicate to native milkweed plants, providing a future haven for monarch butterflies and other pollinators!  We are so proud of their hard work.

Fourth and Fifth Grade Mott's Run Adventure

On Thursday, our fourth and fifth grade classes traveled off campus to Mott's Run Reservoir to enjoy a warm fall day of outdoor adventure. Callie Brown, Superintendent of Outdoor Education with Fredericksburg Parks and Recreation, warmly hosted the group and led an engaging program.

Students spent the day hiking the trails, canoeing on the reservoir, and practicing campfire-building skills with support from their teachers and Master Naturalist, Mimi Dempsey. These activities naturally sparked a sense of adventure while also providing opportunities for students and teachers to deepen connections. Many children built confidence by taking on new challenges and stepping just beyond their comfort zones.

The outing also strengthened our school’s partnership with Fredericksburg Parks and Recreation, an organization dedicated to connecting children with the natural world throughout the year. Marking the close of our first trimester, this adventure was the perfect way to celebrate the students’ accomplishments while embracing the beauty of the fall season.

Thanks to the students’ enthusiasm and the success of the day, our upper elementary classes will return to Mott’s Run on Tuesday, January 27th, to experience the reservoir in a new light—this time during the winter season.