Catching Blossoms

Yesterday Austin and Jen talked about how they "Bring the flowers onto the pictures," using cherry blossoms in our drawings by adhering them to a drawing or painting. This morning at meeting, Austin reminded us of this plan and said he’d like to figure out how to do it. Friends were very interested but the challenge is how to collect them? We began to brainstorm. 

Will: Do a ladder?
Austin: Wait for them to fall and pick 'em up.
​Will: Should d we get a basket to put them in the basket? 
Austin: But they will blow away.
Will: We could put plastic on the top and put a little hole.
Sally: My mommy has a purse but not a basket. I can ask her to get a basket. 
Lisa: Where will we get them? Does anyone know of a tree with cherry blossoms? 
Austin: I could catch some.
Jack: I have a cherry tree. When we go down our steps we see it and it has flowers on it. Cherry blossoms. 
Lou Lou: I have one too.

Lots of friends have--or know of--a cherry tree they see every day where they can collect cherry blossoms. Some friends have other flowering trees. We can collect those  blossoms too. 

Rachael: If the blossoms fall down. What could happen?  
Leigh: Someone could step on them and then they will get all mushed up so we can't get them.
Louise: Maybe we can't wear shoes.
Leigh: But what if our feet get dirty.
Louise: We can wipe them off with towels.
Leigh: But what if we step in mud, or dog poop?
Louise: Yuck.

We continued problem solving and got as far as grabbing the blossoms before they fall to the ground. But we after a while we had to put our planning on hold for a snack break.  

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​Afterward, children were invited to draw pictures of their experiences yesterday, or of their ideas for a cherry blossom catcher.

Children talked and exchanged ideas while they worked, but everyone used different materials and expressed their ideas in different ways. They also emphasized different aspects of what they were envisioning, and focused in on different details.  

​Jack started with a strong tree with roots, then used blue paper for the color of the sky, and added a few sprays of bright pink blossoms. Margaret started with lots and lots lot of blossoms, then added herself to the picture.

Cherry Blossom Catchers

Elle

Rowan

Cherry Trees

Jack

Margaret