Kindergartners visit new radar system, study weather

“My weather instrument measures air pressure!” said Pagosa Peak Open School kindergartener Silas. With his coat on and his kinder friends surrounding him, he was ready to head outside and put the instrument to the test. The others were just as excited.

“Mine measures moisture!”

“Mine measures wind!”

This group of five- and six-year-olds are wrapping up their most recent project: a study of weather. Students not only learned weather terms, but also looked into how people are affected by weather, prepare for weather, and collect data.

The group visited a new radar system at the La Plata County airport, aptly named “Wilson,” where they were able to look at weather patterns and data across the world.

“The radar can also tell us where there are wildfires,” kindergartner Annessa said.

Students then visited the Emergency Operations Center in Durango where they learned more about different types of precipitation and how the data collected is used in our area as well as across the world.

After gathering information about weather and building their background knowledge, the students determined which tools people use to track weather. Students decided which elements of weather they would like to measure and designed their own tools.

Today kindergarten is celebrating the end of their weather project by acting out their own weather-based story for PPOS families. Through storytelling and small group work, kindergartners learn not only science standards relating to the environment, but also learn how to work together.

Pagosa Peak Open School is a free, K-8 district charter school focused on implementing a project-based learning (PBL) curriculum in a Restorative Practices environment. Field work is foundational to project-based learning. PPOS aims to foster academic excellence, and support our students in contributing to an evolving world through community participation and civic engagement. To learn more about PPOS, visit pagosapeakopenschool.org.