Wednesday, January 31st

During our last trip to the canal, children began throwing rocks again.  This lead us to reconsider the idea of wishing rocks.  Last week, the following conversation took place:
    Ellee - With out wishing rocks in our school, we can't make wishes.
    Cassius - You have to put them in the water... the river or the ocean.
     Ellee - Because that's how wishes come true.
     Jill - So, if you had a wishing rock, and just left it along the canal, the wish won't come true?
     Cassius - That's what the book said.  It has to have a line and it has to go in the water. 
     Rose - If it doesn't have a line on, your wish doesn't come true.
    Cassius - You can't draw a line on it, or your wish won't come true.
     Jill - Could you put a symbol or a clue about your wish on the rock?
     Ellee - But if anyone see our wish, it won't come true.
     Jill - So it has to be secret?
      Ellee - Yeah.   
      Lila - If you make a wish and you tell someone, it won't come true.
     Cassius - I always know people wishes, so watch out.   
With all this in mind, the children used slip to paint on wishing rocks today.  Some children just drew a line... or several lines.  Jay added his name.  Some children painted the whole rock.  Most children kept their wishes to themselves, but some children talked about their wishes.   We  also explored the potential of slip today by using it to paint on paper.   

Here are some of the things the children talked about as they worked on the rocks.
    Hadley - I wish I could be a mermaid.
    Max - I wish I could always be at home.  I wish I could have mama forever.
    Hadley - I with that my (clay) duck, JuJu (?) could come to life.
    Max - I wish for clean water for the duck.
    Ellee - I just thought of something.  It was to have a duckling as a pet.
    Hadley - I want to do a bunch of lines (on the rock).
    Prater - I'm going to paint all over and then I'm going to do a line.
    Ellee - The more lines you do, the more wishes you get.
    Willa - I'm going to do a million lines.
Tomorrow, we will walk to the canal to put these new wishing rocks to use!

The Construction area of the room was also busy today.  Children had  the opportunity to play with the ducks they created from found materials.  As might be expected, some dramatic scenarios developed.  Here's a sample:
    Lila - This is my sister.  Oh my goodness,  mom, you're so big.  Oh, hi friend!
    Mac - This is the mom.
    Lila - It's too small.  Hi, friend, want to come in the river?   All of the animals are surrounding me.  This is the baby thing.
    Mac - All of these are babies, and that's the mom and that's the dad.  A bird's flying in that's her friend.
    Lila - This is the big kids' river.  Oh, hi, duck friend.  Why's your beak in the water?
    Mac - 'Cause that's how I swim.  I'm drinking, heading back to my nest.
    Lila - Sis, I found a shell.  This is actually for chick, a shell duck.  
    Mac - Mine is chicken.
    Cassius - Alexa said chicks know how to fly.
    Carl - Chicken bok bok.
    Jay - Chicken doodle.
    Lila - Hadley said her duck is gonna be named "Lila."
    Ellee - Mine is "Prater."
    Mac - This duck is a baby.  He's in the baby ocean because he's a baby.
    Lila - The sting ray is nice.
    Mac - My baby is flying away because  there's a bad sting ray.
    Prater - This is the lake.
     Lila - Get away, clam!
               ........ and so it goes.  Tune in tomorrow for more entertaining stories!