This week it was easy to see that the new schedule is really working for the kids. We have found a pocket of time for stories right after lunch, before we head outside. "Thy Friend, Obidiah", a story about a boy in early America who is followed around by a seagull, is becoming quite the popular selection. On Tuesday we read this story and the children used watercolor crayons to decorate paper birds. They explored both methods of using the crayons: dipping them in water as well as using the crayons dry and adding water with a brush to make the paint.
On Thursday we used the watercolor crayons again, to make a group work with circles. At our Morning Gathering, each child was handed a paper circle and their name necklaces. They were asked to see if there were any circles in the letters of their name, and then we read "Harold and the Purple Crayon"--with the clear line drawings in the book, it's easy to discern shapes. Our game was to hold one's paper circle up when we saw a circle in the story. One child noticed all of the buildings that Harold draws toward the end of the story ("he drew a whole city of windows") and asked "Is that a high rise?" What a fabulous question! We talked about what exactly high rises were and I let them know they could build one with blocks if they wanted. They did move to the blocks later, but chose to collaborate,lining blocks up next to each other in a long spread. This entirely-horizontal structure was used at various times as a stage, a bed, and at one point, something entirely of the children's own creation; two of them spent ten minutes in great concentration, lining up two parallel rows of picture dominoes on top of these blocks.
Being the week before St. Valentine's Day, the children were given another chance to pour on the glue, sticking tissue paper hearts onto larger card ones. This was a great opportunity to talk about love and family. Some children had noticed that they were seeing heart-shaped things at the store lately. Some of our playdough time this week included making heart-shaped "lollipops" with popsicle sticks sandwiched between the dough. At other points, the dough play emulated a bakery with all sorts of little treats being created, including french fries, which triggered off a discussion of which condiments each child liked on their fries. People like to eat all sorts of things with their fries!
Family was another topic of discussion. We revisited our family pictures, now dry, and have read some stories about different kinds of families. ("The Little Fur Family", "Babar and his Family" and the aforementioned Obidiah.) Even in our own school, each household looks different from the next. My hope is that the children will take away the idea that love, first and foremost, is what makes a family, and that appearances are far less important than that loving, caring bond between the people who live together.
And we had some other great moments:
A child running from one room to the other with the windsock to find the best vent for making the windsock flutter about. The next day she saw the windsock moving and shouted excitedly "The heat is on, Hazel!"
Another child squealing at a bug scooting across the floor. We captured it in a glass and checked it out with hopes of identification, as it had very unusual antennae. Sadly, our Audubon book of Northwest critters didn't have a picture, so we liberated it back into the wild. If anyone knows of a great naturalists guide for insects that isn't overwhelming, please let me know!
One child remembered the blank books we'd used last week; we have a stack of them in our paper drawer. Using markers and stickers, some children took filled-up books home.
Outdoors, our campfire play and plum tree house play is still alive. We planted primroses in pots today as well, each child having the chance to fill up the pots with dirt and plant the flowers. We'll see how long they last before the renegade slugs discover them. The children agree that the slugs are pretty icky...everyone's interested in worms, some children will even hold the worms, but nobody wants to touch a slug!
The pine cone toss game has taken on a new wrinkle, with the children throwing pine cones (toward a designated area, not at each other!) and counting them together as they are tossed. When the basket is empty, the children gather them up and it's the next person's turn.
Our washtub full of colored rice is still a hit. Funnels, scoops and bowls galore, but their latest favorite is covering each others hands up with the rice and asking "Hazel, where did my hands go?!" excitedly.
I hope you all have a great weekend and we'll see you next week for more fun!
