Wednesday, September 20

Our  two walks around the neighborhood have resulted in our first collections of natural elements.  Careful observation is a part of our nature exploration and today we focused on tools for observation.  Children were offered the opportunity to use a variety of magnifying tools to examine the objects they've found.
     Cassius - These are all kinds of magnifying glasses.  (Using the stand magnifying glass) Hey, this has inches on it.  You can measure.  It's (a leaf) up to the nine.  I can measure it up to the nine.
    Cassius next looked at the materials with a camera and used the zoom function to get a close-up view.
    Cassius - I'll take a picture and see.
    Rose - (With a small magnifying glass)  Everything is so teeny with this.  (With a larger magnifying glass) Hey, everything is so big!   Let's measure.
     Prater - We need tools to measure.
 The group gets some measuring tools.
     Rose - (Using a magnifying glass with an acorn cap) I can see what's in here.  It's like a big circle and I can see lines inside.
    Prater - (Measuring a leaf)  It's one pound.  (Measuring Ellee) Two pounds.  
    Hadley - (Holding up a magnifying glass)  I'm solving a mystery.

Ellee and Max also worked on leaf rubbings.  The rest of our day was spent with other favorite activities.  Mandalas, puzzles, games, and time in the outdoor classroom.