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Just because rain falls, soil don't necessarily move. In this simulation, students used spray bottles to stand in for rain. Notice the color differences the run-off water between the two samples. A handful of grass can make all the difference in preventing erosion. 

As families bring in their pumpkins for composting, students increase their surface area and reduce their size by smashing them. It makes for more efficient composting and a joyful burst of creative destruction. 

3/4 students have been modeling wind and water erosion to understand forces shaping Earth's surface. Here, soil flees before their tornadic breath.

Students made their own seed packets for marigold, zinnia, and nasturtium seeds from our garden. Only 3.5 months till spring!

And needs no justification for its sheer wholesomeness. 

We save the leaves raked by students and compost them. Nature's mulch!

Foods like apples and chicken now seem ubiquitous, found in every corner market, but originate at specific points on the map. For apples, it's Kazakhstan. For chicken, it's _____________. 

7/8 students have been learning about the origins of foods and their spread around the globe. A big 

Some garden-fresh cabbage, a little oil, little soy sauce, pinch salt . . . Amazing how happy it makes students. 

7/8 students have been exploring how many fruit and vegetable servings it takes to make a healthy diet. Here's one group's excellent attempt at a plant-first meal plan. If you read closely, almost ever meal incorporates some kind of produce! 

You can't fill the chill when you're wearing snow pants. 

Stuck indoors on a snowy day, students enacted the flow of excited electrons from batteries--and the batteries' eventual depletion.

It's getting warmer in Chicago, as it is in much of the world. In 2024, every month except July had temperatures above average.

To represent and embody this change, 5/6th student chose a month and wore a ruler. The higher it is above their head, the higher temps soared above average in that particular month.

Graph source: WGN Weather Blog

Third/fourth students worked hand-in-hand with an expert crew from Imani Green Health Advocates to plant 10 new trees around Ancona's campus. 

We found a quiet spot at McKinley Woods in Will County. Layla and Graham led the way with three and two fish, respectively.

Ancona's 7/8 students are happy to assemble a new tool for the school's smallest students.

Every Ancona student in first grade and above helps mulch the garden paths every year or two. This dwindling pile of wood chips was originally eight feet high. 

As with every task, students use real adult tools, not toy or child tools. 

As part of a year-long study of soil, 3rd/4th students collected samples using soil probes on streets surrounding Ancona. In the coming weeks, we'll be using the classic shaker test to compare these samples. 

Is Ancona surrounded by a single, distinct kind of soil? Or are there many different soils around the neighborhood?

An old-fashioned transistor radio (which students had never before encountered) supplied the tunes, while the sun--via a series of solar cells--provided the power.

Students trekked a record 2.1 miles as part of first and second grades' semi-annual day of school in the woods.

Some examples of the fine work done by preprimary students in dissecting the distinct fruits of different plants. 

This lesson builds upon the previous week's, in which students dissected lima beans.

We're looking to add nature play elements to Ancona's playground, and so we tapped our most brilliant designers. Preprimary students from rooms 101 and 102 participated in a charrette that generated ideas for a balance trail, climbing area, hideout, and snack bar.

Back in spring, students in preprimary room 101 didn't want to compost all the baby maple trees that had seeded themselves around the garden. So they dug up the seedlings and planted them together in one big pot. 

Six months have passed and those tiny trees are starting to grow up. So today 101 students dug and potted them up. Every kid will go home with one Norway maple (Acer platanoides), a common street tree. Maybe one or two will live to maturity.

First- and second-graders have lately made many discoveries about butterflies and caterpillars through firsthand experiences in the garden. They can identify 4-5 butterflies on sight and are following closely as the caterpillars of two species, black swallowtails and cabbage whites, mature. 

Butterfly metamorphosis will also provide a great way for us to begin talking about the life cycles of other organisms later this fall.

Students from room 103 often visit the garden first thing in the morning. They're expert harvesters and tasters. This week, they harvested enough to create a giant, delicious stirfry of beans, carrots, and eggplant, served with rice. All the students were extremely proud. 

With generous support from the US Forest Service, we were able to take 5/6 to hike Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie near Joliet. Rain could not dampen student spirits as they explored ammunition bunkers (Midewin is an old Army base), pondered osage oranges, and encountered Midewin's majestic bison herd. 

Back in April, the students of room 103 sowed carrot seed. After lots of watering and patience, they reunited with those carrots, with happy results.

In fact, all the preprimary students have enjoyed the carrot crop. Very few have made it back to the classroom.