Tuesday: |
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Look who visited Wolf while he was painting... the guinea fowl he was raising in an incubator on the farm! They've grown up!
Everyone has a different painting set-up. Some are inside, some are outside. Alexandra has an easel, while Oliver and Greta paint together on the tabletop. Maren has a sketchpad where she likes to paint, while Wolf B paints on wood.
 |  |  Alexandra showed a recent painting project and said, "We used it to wrap my Papa's present." |
 Maren said, "I'm trying to only paint around that gem right there." |  Oliver said, "I always like to make rainbows." |  Cannon said, "White and purple make pink" as he mixed colors. |
 Fletcher: "I mixed brown. So much dirt. Grass, grass, grass." |  |
Playdoh, like clay, allows for imaginary concepts to merge with discoveries in technique. Ellie mixed the different colors of playdoh to create a confetti aesthetic, then used a plastic egg to punch a hole in the center. Later in transformed into an arch-shape.
 Ellie: "I put an egg in here and it made this shape." |  "Look at this crown. I mixed it with colors." |
Some children used tools, while others built with their hands.
 Olivia showed a special hair cutting set she has for her playdoh. She said, "You just put playdoh in and push out of these. Playdoh hair comes out. It's a salon and barber shop." |  Emilia shared the cookie cutters she was going to use. She said "I made fresh homemade playdoh. If you want to make it SO green or SO blue or SO yellow, you put in a whole bottle of coloring." |
 Wolf M said, "I'm gonna make a baseball team. I'm gonna make the players of it, three players." Soon after he said, "We're making a dinosaur to watch the players play baseball." The story continued a little later, "The baseball game is teared down. A meteor teared it down. There's a big huge dump of it." |  Grace said, "I have hundreds and hundreds of playdoh." She made this stack of pancakes and said, "Yum yum yum" as she pretended to munch on it. |
 |  Gigi said, "I made a snowman, This is a button eye. And a scarf. These are arms, and a body." |
Wednesday:
🌼 Happy Birthday, Emilia! 🌎
 For Emilia's school birthday, we were lucky enough to watch a beautiful slideshow of pictures from Emilia's five years of life. Lane watched the pictures from last summer and said, "I remember her birthday, it was so fun! She looks just like herself." |  While Emilia wore a birthday princess tiara, her dad read "Dragons Love Tacos" for the class, and showed a "Calvin and Hobbes" comic book that Alex and Emilia like to read together. |
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| Her brother Alex, as well as her mom, dad, and her Lola Mi and grandpa were all there to watch her walk around the candle. The class presented their gifts of the letter "E"! (see slideshow) We love you Emilia! Happy 5th birthday!! | |
Thursday:
St. John's Bingo 📸
 | Thanks for joining us for our last round of bingo. When Lane saw the pictures from earlier in the year, she said, "I love hopscotch. I'm missing it. I wish we could go back to school and just buy it." She remembered the day we went outside to Hyde-Addison. "And we thought we were going to draw rainbow hopscotch in this whole state." Later she said, "Doctor area! I miss doctor area. I miss our who classroom. I wish I could just drive there by myself and play there." |
Friday:
☀️Happy Birthday, Wolfie B! 🐺
Wolfie and his mom, dad, sister Cedar, and nanny Aga all gathered with us to celebrate his 5th birthday. Together we watched a special slideshow all about Wolfie's five birthdays from five years of life. Wolfie read us two stories that he likes - one was about dinosaurs, and one was about the planets of our solar system. His family brought a birthday banana for the occasion with five candles, which he walked around five times.
As an added bonus, Wolf showed us a snake that they found out in the yard, and a bunny rabbit that they are taking care of at the farm.
As an added bonus, Wolf showed us a snake that they found out in the yard, and a bunny rabbit that they are taking care of at the farm.
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 Happy 5th Birthday Wolfie!! We love you!! | Wolfie's friends made him the letter W for his birthday. Take a look at their gifts below. |
Sharing is Caring
Since March, every day, children have an opportunity to share important artifacts and stories from their life with the class. For example, Fletcher shared a bird feeder this week that he made with a recycled plastic carton! He and his mom showed us the incredible amount of thought that went into the project, like adding tape to keep out pesky squirrels.
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We love when children share information about their relationship with nature, especially at a time when spending time outdoors is so important for our wellbeing.
Gigi shared recently: "There's a special snack you can take on hikes. Sunflower kernels and raisins and chocolate chips."
Wolfie M shared today: "Zaza and I are going to catch lightning bugs tonight. I have a net and a jar for them to go in. The top has holes so they can breathe."
Gigi shared recently: "There's a special snack you can take on hikes. Sunflower kernels and raisins and chocolate chips."
Wolfie M shared today: "Zaza and I are going to catch lightning bugs tonight. I have a net and a jar for them to go in. The top has holes so they can breathe."
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We are always so delighted to meet new lovies. stuffies, toys, and other characters. And we're even more delighted when we get to see siblings!
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Transitioning into Summertime 😎
This will most likely be our last blog post for the Rainey Room year. From the bottom of our hearts, we just want to say we fully appreciate all the many hours you and your children have spent Zooming and Seesawing with us these past few months. Keeping in touch with you all has consistently brightened our days and inspired us.
Next week we'll begin to say our farewells for the summer...
We have a little summer research project we'll introduce to you next week so that when we reunite in the Tucker Room, we'll have something we can share with one another about our summer adventures.
Talk to you soon! Lots of Love,
Melanie & Brooke
Next week we'll begin to say our farewells for the summer...
- first with the Rainey Room End of Year Slideshow (June 1st at 10am),
- then with the school-wide Chapel (June 2nd at 10am).
- On Wednesday June 3rd from 10-11, we're hoping to see some of you in person from a distance, because we'll be delivering your portfolios from the front lawn of St. John's into your cars. If you can make it, we'll be thrilled to see you. (If not, that's okay! We can deliver it to your home at another day/time. Just get in touch with us.)
We have a little summer research project we'll introduce to you next week so that when we reunite in the Tucker Room, we'll have something we can share with one another about our summer adventures.
Talk to you soon! Lots of Love,
Melanie & Brooke
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Another busy week for the Rainey Room! We celebrated 2 birthdays: Wolf M and Fletcher. Grace introduced us to her new baby sister, Caroline. We also played games, and had play-doh and painting workshops. Here's an out-of-order recap of the week:
Tuesday: Happy Birthday Wolf M!
Wolf M's actual birthday is June 21st, but we celebrated on Tuesday. At first, Wolf was a bit shy about all the attention. Selina read a great book, "The Caterpillar and The Polliwog." Wolfie pointed out an illustration he enjoyed. But the definite highlight was watching Wolf's reaction to all the W's his friends made for him. His hobby horse went around the candle and Wolf blew it out. We made the most of the distant celebration!
(hover on the image to see who made it)
(hover on the image to see who made it)
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Grace's Baby Sister
Grace was very excited to let her friends see baby Caroline. She is very proud to have a new sister!
Lane was quick to offer advice:
Lane, "Is the baby crying?"
Grace, "No."
Lane, "Whenever she's crying does she interrupt you? You should use your headphones."
Lane was quick to offer advice:
Lane, "Is the baby crying?"
Grace, "No."
Lane, "Whenever she's crying does she interrupt you? You should use your headphones."
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Friday: Happy Birthday Fletcher!
We had a wonderful time celebrating Fletcher's school birthday! He will be 5 on August 1st. We saw a lovely slide show of Fletcher through the years and enjoyed the book, "Nibbles the Book Monster," which Fletcher loves! And what a lucky birthday boy, Fletcher got 3 Fs from Cannon and 2 from Gigi in addition to all the others.
Monday: Rare Animal Bingo
On Monday we played rare animal bingo. It was fun to expose the children to unfamiliar animals and share tidbits of information about them. We were SO GRATEFUL to have Jonathan jump on during Wolf's group to share some of his expertise about these animals! It was fascinating! Thank you Jonathan!!!!
Here are some facts Jonathan shared:
Platypus: One of 2 mammals on Earth that lays eggs. They use their bills to help hunt for fish.
Narwhal: It's not a horn, it's a tooth! The tooth always has a bit of an infection and bothers the narwhal.
Hedgehog: When they're scared they roll up into little balls so nothing can get them. They are almost always covered in fleas. Oliver said, "They go into their ball and then they are a scratchy ball."
Pangolin: Their tongue is as long as their body! They don't have teeth!
Elephant Shrew: They only live in Africa and they are more closely related to elephants than shrews (despite being so small). They found a new species of elephant shrew in Kenya.
Kiwi bird: They are birds that do not fly. Their feathers are more like fur. They lay eggs about the size of their body.
Tapir: 4 species in the world, 1 lives in Asia, the others in South America. They're closest relative is species like the horse.
Purple frog: It lives underground and only comes out during the monsoon season to find a mate.
Bilby: It lives in Australia has a pouch where it keeps the babies.
Marine Iguanas: They are unique because almost no reptiles live in the ocean. When they come out of the water they snort to get the salt water out of their nostrils.
Gorilla: Jonathan studied them for 2 years in the Rain Forest where he tracked and watched them all day. (!) A silverback male is 7 times the strength of a regular human.
Stag Beetle: There 1,200 species and they live underground most of the year, only coming out to find a mate. They can be about 5 inches long!
Red Tail Panda: They live in Nepal and India. They live in the trees and are endangered because they are hunted for their fur.
Colombian Dwarf Gecko: Geckos have special toes to grasp the wall and climb upside down.
Here are some facts Jonathan shared:
Platypus: One of 2 mammals on Earth that lays eggs. They use their bills to help hunt for fish.
Narwhal: It's not a horn, it's a tooth! The tooth always has a bit of an infection and bothers the narwhal.
Hedgehog: When they're scared they roll up into little balls so nothing can get them. They are almost always covered in fleas. Oliver said, "They go into their ball and then they are a scratchy ball."
Pangolin: Their tongue is as long as their body! They don't have teeth!
Elephant Shrew: They only live in Africa and they are more closely related to elephants than shrews (despite being so small). They found a new species of elephant shrew in Kenya.
Kiwi bird: They are birds that do not fly. Their feathers are more like fur. They lay eggs about the size of their body.
Tapir: 4 species in the world, 1 lives in Asia, the others in South America. They're closest relative is species like the horse.
Purple frog: It lives underground and only comes out during the monsoon season to find a mate.
Bilby: It lives in Australia has a pouch where it keeps the babies.
Marine Iguanas: They are unique because almost no reptiles live in the ocean. When they come out of the water they snort to get the salt water out of their nostrils.
Gorilla: Jonathan studied them for 2 years in the Rain Forest where he tracked and watched them all day. (!) A silverback male is 7 times the strength of a regular human.
Stag Beetle: There 1,200 species and they live underground most of the year, only coming out to find a mate. They can be about 5 inches long!
Red Tail Panda: They live in Nepal and India. They live in the trees and are endangered because they are hunted for their fur.
Colombian Dwarf Gecko: Geckos have special toes to grasp the wall and climb upside down.
Wednesday: Rainbows & Rain Clouds
On Wednesday we played a variation of Chutes & Ladders that Melanie had drawn for us. For this game we used a virtual spinner instead of dice. The children had lots of fun playing! Gigi was cracking up when Brooke kept having to ride the rain cloud back 3 spaces.
Here are some other quotes from the game:
Gigi, "Everything is just SO silly!"
Alexandra, "I was at the raincloud and then I went down and ended up at the raincloud again!"
When we told the children Melanie had drawn the game board Lane said, "She's SO good at drawing."
Wolf M noted, "The spinner looks like a merry-go-round."
His comment prompted Cannon to break into song, "Here we go round the merry-go-round, merry-go-round. Here we go round the merry-go-round, merry-go-round."
When it was Cannon's turn he said, "I'm going to straight to the baby ants." (which were drawn on the game)
When Grace finally got the strawberry at the end she said, "Yummy, yum, yum, yum!"
Here are some other quotes from the game:
Gigi, "Everything is just SO silly!"
Alexandra, "I was at the raincloud and then I went down and ended up at the raincloud again!"
When we told the children Melanie had drawn the game board Lane said, "She's SO good at drawing."
Wolf M noted, "The spinner looks like a merry-go-round."
His comment prompted Cannon to break into song, "Here we go round the merry-go-round, merry-go-round. Here we go round the merry-go-round, merry-go-round."
When it was Cannon's turn he said, "I'm going to straight to the baby ants." (which were drawn on the game)
When Grace finally got the strawberry at the end she said, "Yummy, yum, yum, yum!"
The Bunny Connection
Lane has a bunny named Babas. She often shows it to her friends during sharing time. But for some reason this week, other friends really connected....
Lane, "Babas' nose got brighter. Babas eats lots of pink cupcakes to have a pink nose!"
Grace, "We have the same bunny!"
Lane, "I have a plan. When the virus is done we can have a bunny play date!"
Wolf M, "I have 2 bunnies."
(And Wolf B showed us his bunnies as well!)
Lane, "Babas' nose got brighter. Babas eats lots of pink cupcakes to have a pink nose!"
Grace, "We have the same bunny!"
Lane, "I have a plan. When the virus is done we can have a bunny play date!"
Wolf M, "I have 2 bunnies."
(And Wolf B showed us his bunnies as well!)
Thursday: Play doh & Painting Workshops
🎀Happy 4th Birthday Ellie!🎀
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It was such a joy to celebrate Ellie's birthday today! We got to read two books with Ellie and her family: "Uni the Unicorn" and "Amelia Bedelia". Then we looked at some lovely family photos. Ellie said, "That's Grammy and daddy and me." Then Ellie walked around the candle 4 times. Finally, we saw some of the amazing presents her friends created for her!
👀I Spy With My Little Eye 👀
Our class experimented with playing I Spy over Zoom and discovered it was a great success. Cannon saw the first image and instantly said, "There’s even a dinosaur!" Each player described a mystery object which the group had to find. Grace said "I spy something blue with a snail shape in a circle" to describe a swirl design inside the glass.
Our class experimented with playing I Spy over Zoom and discovered it was a great success. Cannon saw the first image and instantly said, "There’s even a dinosaur!" Each player described a mystery object which the group had to find. Grace said "I spy something blue with a snail shape in a circle" to describe a swirl design inside the glass.
| Evelyn: I spy something red. Olivia: The string? Brooke: The lady bug? Olivia: The bubble thingy? Melanie: A button? Evelyn: It’s a button!! | Wolf M: I spy something black. Palmer: Is it a ball? Lane: Is it the metal? Cannon: Is it a black car? Grace: Is it the dinosaur? Wolf M: No. It is Mickey Mouse!!! |
| Wolf B: I spy something red. Emilia: A red racecar. Ellie: The red apple? Oliver: A red pickup truck. Maren: That red thing that's holding the unicorn. Oliver: Is it the red firetruck? Wolf B: Yes!! | Maren: I see something pink. Emilia: (whispers to dad) There's nothing pink. (To Maren) The pink dice? Maren: No. It's on the side where Melanie is. Emilia: The basketball. Maren: No. Emilia: This is a tricky one. Oliver: The pink "E"? The orange soccer ball? Maren: No. It's that pink thing - under it, there's a yellow block. It's right where the fireman's hat is. |  |
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| Fletcher: I spy... my little eye... something yellow. Evelyn: Is it the balloon? Olivia: Is it the glue? Evelyn: Is it the tool? Fletcher: Yes! | Cannon: I spy something green with white in its mouth. Wolf M: Is it the green bear? Is it the squirrel? Lane: Is it the penguin? Is it one of the persons? Grace: Is it that alligator sitting on the ball with the rubber band under the ball? Cannon: YES. I wanna get a toy like that. |  |
Workshop Stories
We had a lot of fun working on puzzles with you!
Children had a great conversation while sculpting play-doh together. Read more below...
Palmer: You can make a hamburger out of my play-doh. Lettuce, tomato, cheese, and some french fries. You can also make a waffle out of a plate.
Lane: I'm gonna start with purple. I'm making a rainbow. The white is going to be my clouds. Because I'm making a rainbow world.
Gigi: I'm dressed up as Annie.
Evelyn: I watched Annie! Do you wanna sing the song?
Gigi: (singing) It's a hard knock life for us.
Olivia: (To Isabelle) You make snowflakes and I'm gonna make the snowman.
Palmer: I have a couch for my porch. It came in a really big box. I built a castle out of it.
Gigi: I'm making a snowman and a worm house.
Palmer: Look at this awesome playdoh machine I have. It squishes playdoh into the shape I want it to be.
Lane: I'm trying to squish my playdoh all together. I'm gonna make puffy clouds.
Olivia: I'm making winter. Even I made this - and it's ice.
Gigi: This door leads out. (indicates worm house) The mama is snuggled watching her babies from a rock.
Emilia: My dad gave me an ice cream scooper. We're gonna have a restaurant and a bakery and it does deliveries. Me, PJ and Alex. It's called "the three cousins".
Lane: I just need one more thing. A star on top. It's my specialty.
Olivia: I have my chef coat on.
Emilia: (also wearing a white coat) We have a science kit and I'm a scientist.
Palmer: I have the Ghostbuster house and they're scientists.
Gigi: I'm gonna be a dentist when I grow up. And a hairdresser.
Lane: I'm gonna start with purple. I'm making a rainbow. The white is going to be my clouds. Because I'm making a rainbow world.
Gigi: I'm dressed up as Annie.
Evelyn: I watched Annie! Do you wanna sing the song?
Gigi: (singing) It's a hard knock life for us.
Olivia: (To Isabelle) You make snowflakes and I'm gonna make the snowman.
Palmer: I have a couch for my porch. It came in a really big box. I built a castle out of it.
Gigi: I'm making a snowman and a worm house.
Palmer: Look at this awesome playdoh machine I have. It squishes playdoh into the shape I want it to be.
Lane: I'm trying to squish my playdoh all together. I'm gonna make puffy clouds.
Olivia: I'm making winter. Even I made this - and it's ice.
Gigi: This door leads out. (indicates worm house) The mama is snuggled watching her babies from a rock.
Emilia: My dad gave me an ice cream scooper. We're gonna have a restaurant and a bakery and it does deliveries. Me, PJ and Alex. It's called "the three cousins".
Lane: I just need one more thing. A star on top. It's my specialty.
Olivia: I have my chef coat on.
Emilia: (also wearing a white coat) We have a science kit and I'm a scientist.
Palmer: I have the Ghostbuster house and they're scientists.
Gigi: I'm gonna be a dentist when I grow up. And a hairdresser.
Hearing Each Other's Voices
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| Cannon shows images from National Geographic that depict bees inside a "woodpecker house." He says, "See that little hole where my finger is? That's how they get in. The hornets sometimes eat the bees. But the bees can kill the hornet." | Oliver shows some mail he received from his friend Fletcher! He ran to fetch it, and when he got back, he said, "Last time Fletcher sent me a treasure map. You have to drive your finger all the way until you get to the X." |
We've been so pleased to see the Rainey Room children use the daily Zoom calls as a way to strengthen their connection to each other. We can't wait to talk again soon. Have a lovely weekend!
P.S. Congratulations to Grace's family who just welcome a new baby sister!
(Friday)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY PALMER!
Thank you for the wonderful creations that the children made for Palmer! He was feeling a bit shy today but will look them over at home when he's ready. If the one your child created is easily mailed, we encourage you to mail it. It was fun to hear one of his favorite Charlie Brown stories. Thanks for reading to us Jennie!
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Birthdays From a Distance...
Birthdays are a very important St. John's tradition and thus we want to try and make them as meaningful as possible for the children we are celebrating, despite the distance. In the upcoming weeks we have 5 more birthdays to celebrate: Ellie, Wolf M, Fletcher, Emilia and Wolf B. We appreciate your support in creating something for each birthday child and being on Zoom calls to be part of the celebrations.
(Thursday)
Drawing Workshop
Of her drawing, Lane noted, "The pink is lemonade. The black is a rock. The other colors are lava and the rock is hopping over the lava. The lemonade cools off the lava. And the lemonade turns to ice and you can ice skate."
Building Workshop
Fletcher built a tunnel.
Wolf M constructed a train track. He showed us his wobbly bridge and a tree with a squirrel on top!
Palmer built a police station.
Olivia build a playground.
Wolf M constructed a train track. He showed us his wobbly bridge and a tree with a squirrel on top!
Palmer built a police station.
Olivia build a playground.
(Wednesday)
Symbols Bingo
(Tuesday)
Drawing Workshop
Cannon used play-doh during the workshop and here's what he said about his creation:
These are the penguins. This is egg that's about to hatch out (indicating the egg on the feet of the adult penguin) and this is the other baby.
These are the penguins. This is egg that's about to hatch out (indicating the egg on the feet of the adult penguin) and this is the other baby.
Building Workshop
(Monday)
Emoji Bingo
Show & Tell Sharing
Olivia: My fairy house. It's still growing. It's gonna have flowers.
Wolf M's stuffed lion.
Maren's rapunzel hair that she made and has been using to play with her sister, Lily.
Wolf B's boat he made out of recycled materials.
Evelyn: I have a balloon from you.
Fletcher: (about his marble run) It's going down the sewer. It's like the toilet.
Ellie: My bike has red handle bars!
Grace: Remember the collage you guys made me? I like it. I keep it in my room everyday.
Emilia's potato head mask.
Cannon's dinosaur: See the blood?!
Lane's hamster house: I made a hamster house. It has moss and tin foil. There's paper for the hamster to sleep in. And I also have this tunnel for the babies.
Wolf M's Pepa Pig book: You see this pink drink? The pink drink is for the teeth to be nice and clean. You rinse it until it makes bubbles in your mouth and then you spit.
Oliver's super hero book.
Ford and Lily ride by during the call!
Wolf B shows us a frog he caught!
Wolf M's stuffed lion.
Maren's rapunzel hair that she made and has been using to play with her sister, Lily.
Wolf B's boat he made out of recycled materials.
Evelyn: I have a balloon from you.
Fletcher: (about his marble run) It's going down the sewer. It's like the toilet.
Ellie: My bike has red handle bars!
Grace: Remember the collage you guys made me? I like it. I keep it in my room everyday.
Emilia's potato head mask.
Cannon's dinosaur: See the blood?!
Lane's hamster house: I made a hamster house. It has moss and tin foil. There's paper for the hamster to sleep in. And I also have this tunnel for the babies.
Wolf M's Pepa Pig book: You see this pink drink? The pink drink is for the teeth to be nice and clean. You rinse it until it makes bubbles in your mouth and then you spit.
Oliver's super hero book.
Ford and Lily ride by during the call!
Wolf B shows us a frog he caught!
Storytelling Game: |  |
On Monday, we asked every child to bring a stuffed animal to meeting with them in order to could incorporate a variety of characters into one cohesive story. The story prompt was that a little blue dragon was lost and couldn't find his mommy. Each group had a different journey with a teacher acting as the dragon's voice.
Story 1: Going Back Home to a Cozy Treehouse
Melanie as Dragon: Where’s my mommy?
Wolf M: (as teddy bear) I’ll help you!
Cannon: (as alligator) Swim, swim, swim. Don’t worry, I will save you, don’t sink! And then they found the [mommy] dragon. [She was] In the woods, and she was sinking in a pond!
Grace: (as big fluffy dog) We go in the boat and we use our boat to get the mommy. I hold her and I scoop her up and I give her to the baby dragon.
Oliver: Maybe he could walk home to find his mommy. She get lost but she was thinking about something in a bird nest. Then she got out and found her baby dragon.
Melanie: How can they find their way through the spooky dark forest?
Lane: (Ba-Ba) The bunny has lights on its eyes. And Yaya has a map too.
Oliver: Maybe they could make a treehouse!
Grace: And a zipline! The treehouse is gonna be combined with a zipline!
Melanie: Do they have to climb a ladder up to their treehouse, to go to bed?
Oliver: No! Maybe they can just share a bed. My mom’s bed has two parts for my daddy and my mommy.
Melanie: Do you think they have a nice cozy fire?
Oliver: Yes, a little campfire. To get all that windy out. And will not blow the treehouse down.
Melanie: Wolfie, could your bear start a fire to help us roast some marshmallows?
Wolf M: YES! (his bear bounces up and down)
Cannon: Yeah, or s’mores! You find the marshmallow, and the chocolate and the crackers then you have a fire, then you roast it over the fire, then you eat it!
Oliver: They could have some marshmallows and eat it as dessert after their dinner. And they could have mac n’ cheese for dinner.
Melanie as Dragon: Where’s my mommy?
Wolf M: (as teddy bear) I’ll help you!
Cannon: (as alligator) Swim, swim, swim. Don’t worry, I will save you, don’t sink! And then they found the [mommy] dragon. [She was] In the woods, and she was sinking in a pond!
Grace: (as big fluffy dog) We go in the boat and we use our boat to get the mommy. I hold her and I scoop her up and I give her to the baby dragon.
Oliver: Maybe he could walk home to find his mommy. She get lost but she was thinking about something in a bird nest. Then she got out and found her baby dragon.
Melanie: How can they find their way through the spooky dark forest?
Lane: (Ba-Ba) The bunny has lights on its eyes. And Yaya has a map too.
Oliver: Maybe they could make a treehouse!
Grace: And a zipline! The treehouse is gonna be combined with a zipline!
Melanie: Do they have to climb a ladder up to their treehouse, to go to bed?
Oliver: No! Maybe they can just share a bed. My mom’s bed has two parts for my daddy and my mommy.
Melanie: Do you think they have a nice cozy fire?
Oliver: Yes, a little campfire. To get all that windy out. And will not blow the treehouse down.
Melanie: Wolfie, could your bear start a fire to help us roast some marshmallows?
Wolf M: YES! (his bear bounces up and down)
Cannon: Yeah, or s’mores! You find the marshmallow, and the chocolate and the crackers then you have a fire, then you roast it over the fire, then you eat it!
Oliver: They could have some marshmallows and eat it as dessert after their dinner. And they could have mac n’ cheese for dinner.
Story 2: Corduroy Helps the Baby Dragon Walk Through the Spooky Cave
Dragon: I’m getting so tired, I need to take a rest.
Fletcher: Maybe you could cuddle in this. (Gets out a pink backpack) There’s a zipper in it.
Dragon: (the next morning) I think it’s time for me to go through the spooky cave.
Fletcher: Don’t worry – Mr. Teddy will come with you! The cave is his home. I know how to get to the other side. You follow the wall.
Dragon: Do we need a flashlight?
Fletcher: Yes I have a flashlight. Let me run back home and get the flashlight and you don’t go away, I’ll just get the flashlight. (he runs to get one, and we begin walking in the cave)
Dragon: Hey I think I see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Fletcher: Yay we’re almost there!
Dragon: Wait I hear something – (Melanie: gobble gobble gobble)
Fletcher: I think it’s just a turkey.
Dragon: Oh, good – we’re out in the sunshine now and do you see what I see? A big giant praying mantis.
Fletcher: (shocked face)
Dragon: And it’s hungry! I better run!
Fletcher: (smiles) I think it’s a nice one.
Dragon: I’m getting so tired, I need to take a rest.
Fletcher: Maybe you could cuddle in this. (Gets out a pink backpack) There’s a zipper in it.
Dragon: (the next morning) I think it’s time for me to go through the spooky cave.
Fletcher: Don’t worry – Mr. Teddy will come with you! The cave is his home. I know how to get to the other side. You follow the wall.
Dragon: Do we need a flashlight?
Fletcher: Yes I have a flashlight. Let me run back home and get the flashlight and you don’t go away, I’ll just get the flashlight. (he runs to get one, and we begin walking in the cave)
Dragon: Hey I think I see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Fletcher: Yay we’re almost there!
Dragon: Wait I hear something – (Melanie: gobble gobble gobble)
Fletcher: I think it’s just a turkey.
Dragon: Oh, good – we’re out in the sunshine now and do you see what I see? A big giant praying mantis.
Fletcher: (shocked face)
Dragon: And it’s hungry! I better run!
Fletcher: (smiles) I think it’s a nice one.
Story 3: Lobster Fights the Bad Dragon in the Garden
Melanie: (as dragon) I'm lost and I can't find my mommy anywhere!
Emilia: Then the dragon got on the pony and they walked a very far way. And then finally they got to the dragon’s home, and the dragon lived right next to his mommy. She was guarding the plants and sitting ‘cause the baby dragon was lost, but she was lost in a woods, and it was a very far woods away but they walked a very far way back home.
Maren: Then, the little dragon got lost again. And the husky came and got it and the dragon hopped on his back and they rode back, and then the husky gave the dragon to his mom, and then the baby dragon was planting and the mom was guarding. The husky is going back where it lives.
Ellie: The kitty found the garden ‘cause they needed some help ‘cause the rhinocerous was messing up the plants so one day the baby escaped again and got lost so they kitty cat helped him to find his mommy.
Evelyn: The unicorn planted the watering.
(Wolfie is showing a blue paper dragon that he brought to meeting)
Melanie: Is that a nice dragon or a mean one?
Wolf B: Mean one! (smiling)
Melanie: Oh no! Is he going to light all the flowers on fire?
Wolf B: Yes. (a paper lobster appears next to him)
Melanie: Is the lobster going to come to the rescue?
(Wolfie and his mom begin a dragon/lobster battle! Melanie requests help from other animals)
Emilia: NEIGH NEIGH NEIGH NEIGH! (the pony fights the dragon)
Melanie: We’re going to need to put this dragon in jail.
Wolf B: He’s too heavy!
Emilia: My pony can lift up a whole house even.
Maren: Husky’s not that strong to do it.
Wolf B: Putted you on fire.
Emilia: But my pony doesn’t feel anything!
Evelyn: I can carry the [baby] dragon on the unicorn’s back.
Melanie: (as dragon) I'm lost and I can't find my mommy anywhere!
Emilia: Then the dragon got on the pony and they walked a very far way. And then finally they got to the dragon’s home, and the dragon lived right next to his mommy. She was guarding the plants and sitting ‘cause the baby dragon was lost, but she was lost in a woods, and it was a very far woods away but they walked a very far way back home.
Maren: Then, the little dragon got lost again. And the husky came and got it and the dragon hopped on his back and they rode back, and then the husky gave the dragon to his mom, and then the baby dragon was planting and the mom was guarding. The husky is going back where it lives.
Ellie: The kitty found the garden ‘cause they needed some help ‘cause the rhinocerous was messing up the plants so one day the baby escaped again and got lost so they kitty cat helped him to find his mommy.
Evelyn: The unicorn planted the watering.
(Wolfie is showing a blue paper dragon that he brought to meeting)
Melanie: Is that a nice dragon or a mean one?
Wolf B: Mean one! (smiling)
Melanie: Oh no! Is he going to light all the flowers on fire?
Wolf B: Yes. (a paper lobster appears next to him)
Melanie: Is the lobster going to come to the rescue?
(Wolfie and his mom begin a dragon/lobster battle! Melanie requests help from other animals)
Emilia: NEIGH NEIGH NEIGH NEIGH! (the pony fights the dragon)
Melanie: We’re going to need to put this dragon in jail.
Wolf B: He’s too heavy!
Emilia: My pony can lift up a whole house even.
Maren: Husky’s not that strong to do it.
Wolf B: Putted you on fire.
Emilia: But my pony doesn’t feel anything!
Evelyn: I can carry the [baby] dragon on the unicorn’s back.
Workshops
This week we hosted four Zoom workshops - two on Tuesday and two on Thursday. On both days, the 10am group focused on drawing, while the 2pm group focused on Building. Children brought a large variety of materials and techniques to these workshop times. Having our hands working was an excellent conversation-starter.
| DRAWING quotes: Wolf B: I'm cutting out a camel. Wolf M: I'm coloring Dumbo. Oliver: I colored in my whole page. I cutted my page into pieces for my animal friends to play with it. It's for decoration. There's so many pieces. Maren: (showing her drawing sketchpad) I think this is the first page I did. Grace: Mommy says when it's summer we're gonna do a lemonade stand. (We mention the treehouse from the dragon stories) Maren: My mom's brother had a treehouse when he was a little kid. My grandma told stories about it. My mom climbed up the treehouse and fell off the zipline holder into the mud! She had to go to the hospital. She got stitches on her face. Grace: I do not know what stitches are. Maren: Stitches go on people when you can't put a bandaid on, like your face. Like Lilly, she fell off a chair and she had to get stitches on her chin! (some time later) Oliver: My daddy got me comic books. It's very nice. When Superman was a baby he was in space. |   (Maren holds up her notebook) |
| BUILDING quotes: Emilia: I'm gonna build with train tracks. I already started! Cannon: I'm just stacking mine up so I can get so much. It's my big stack. I'm stacking it, it will get more higher. Emilia: it's as tall as my nose. But I want to make it go all the way up to the ceiling. But I know it's going to fall! Cannon: What are you building, Evelyn? Evelyn: A car. (Lane says she is making a police station and Cannon says he is too) Cannon: Now I just need to make the cages. This is a jail... not a police station. There's spooky animals. There's a tarantula. There are so many spiders. Emilia: Mine is SO TALL! I made a basement so it wouldn't fall down. Will (Lane's brother) : Wow we are really working hard on this thing. Lane: Will is not that much inspiring. I'm inspiring him. (Palmer shows his "bad guys") Palmer: They're making coffee. Olivia: I made a big tower! Grace: I'm gonna build a humongous castle. Wolf M: I'm gonna build a building with a lot of stuff in it. Fletcher: [I'm building] a Metro. Oliver: I'm building an ice castle for my Elsa doll. I could put a little tower on it. Palmer: [I'm building] a lair for the bad guys. But it has good guys. Brooke: What do you like about your building Wolf? Wolf M: I like how I connected them. Oliver: My second plan is to build a volcano. It's gonna be tall to hold all the lava. Fletcher: And there's a metro that can move by itself. It has four wheels and four cars. (He counts) Oliver: Your metro is very long! Fletcher: Thanks. Because I just built it long. Grace: Grandma is coming on the metro next week. |  Cannon's jail  Emilia stands on a piano bench to add to her tower  |
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Keeping in Touch
It has been such a delight each week to see the Rainey Room children and families! Thank you for continuing to log in every day. We're thankful to be a small part of your daily routine.
Special thanks to the Rodriguez for sending out everyone's symbols as stickers through the mail!
If you get the chance, we encourage everyone to send out some messages in mail to the other members of the classroom this weekend. It will mean a lot to the recipient!
With that, here are some snapshots from the week that bring us joy. See you Monday!
It has been such a delight each week to see the Rainey Room children and families! Thank you for continuing to log in every day. We're thankful to be a small part of your daily routine.
Special thanks to the Rodriguez for sending out everyone's symbols as stickers through the mail!
If you get the chance, we encourage everyone to send out some messages in mail to the other members of the classroom this weekend. It will mean a lot to the recipient!
With that, here are some snapshots from the week that bring us joy. See you Monday!
Most of us are finding that life under "stay at home" orders has its ups and downs. And this week, we found that in many ways our Zoom calls were filled with many wonderful moments, but also some challenging moments. We're all learning as we go and some activities resonate more with certain children than others. What's clear is that although Zoom allows us to connect, it's really a distant second to being/working together in the Rainey Room. As we continue to work out the kinks, we thank you for coming along for the ride.
Monday: The Golden Carrot Game
Continuing on our learning thread around games, we created a game using the children's ideas. The Golden Carrot game was engaging for most of the children and it was fun to see what they chose for their game pieces.
Tuesday: The Get Moving Game
The children had great ideas for actions to do during the game. Wolf M suggested, "We could do hopscotch." Ever the animal enthusiast, Cannon's movement idea was, "Gorillas thump their chests." Lane suggested, "spinning." In the second group, Grace proposed, "leap," and Emilia suggested, "ballerina dance." But not all children participated and some participated but we couldn't see them because of their camera angle.
Wednesday: The High/Low Game
This online version of the card game, "War" was very challenging. With more than two players and without being able to see each other's cards well (even in gallery view) this game wasn't as successful as we had anticipated. The children tried their best, but over Zoom it can be challenging to hear one another clearly.
Despite that, we do think this game has value and hope that parents might revisit it with their child. Playing the game is a fun way to help build numeracy skills. Plus, being able to win cards and go through, "war" is fun. (Though we do suggest a different name!) In case you need a refresher on the rules: Each player turns up a card at the same time and the player with the higher card takes both cards and puts them, face down, on the bottom of his stack. If the cards are the same rank, it is War. Each player turns up one card face down and one card face up. The player with the higher cards takes both piles (six cards).
Despite that, we do think this game has value and hope that parents might revisit it with their child. Playing the game is a fun way to help build numeracy skills. Plus, being able to win cards and go through, "war" is fun. (Though we do suggest a different name!) In case you need a refresher on the rules: Each player turns up a card at the same time and the player with the higher card takes both cards and puts them, face down, on the bottom of his stack. If the cards are the same rank, it is War. Each player turns up one card face down and one card face up. The player with the higher cards takes both piles (six cards).
Thursday: The Storytelling Cube Game
Though waiting for a turn was sometimes hard, this game proved to be lots of fun! We definitely suggest families play together at home. Notice some interesting story elements that got included: setting, dialogue, word choice, problem/solution.
Oliver (cat and fairy)
“The fairy was on her tree and her kitty was very nice. The cat just chased the fairy. She ran through inside a tree and the cat just ran out and licked her on the cheek.”
Palmer (robot and cat)
“Once upon a time there was a robot and a cat. And they decided they would go to school. Their teacher told them to go for recess. The end.”
Cannon (gorilla and bee)
“The gorilla stole the honey. The gorilla went to jail. But the gorilla escaped. And then the police saw him and put him back in jail. Then he escaped. Then they put him back in jail. Then he escaped. Then they put him back in jail. Then he escaped. A bumble bee stung the gorilla. And a dragon came. But you know what, a dog named Jazz came and put the police in jail!”
Gigi (bus and rain cloud)
“A bus was rolling down the lane when rain came down on the roof. And the road broke into teeny pieces. So there was no problem because the bus had wings. So the bus just flew in the sky. And then they got home. The end.”
Wolf M (dog and bird)
“There’s a dog on the street and a bird. They walked to the beach. And the bird said, “Let’s cool off!” Then they runned uphill. Then they saw a bowl of peas.”
Maren (dragon and house)
“Once upon a time there’s a dragon that lived in a house and the house was not big enough for the dragon. And there were no more houses so he decided to look in the jungle. The jungle did not have any houses either. But then he decided to live outside and make a house. The end.”
Lane (fairy and bird)
“Once upon a time there was a fairy and a bird. They were doing a race with a lion. And you know who winned? The bird winned the race then the fairy goed and sitted down on a chair. Then they keeped doing the race. The bird flyed away and the fairy was alone. And then the fairy cried and then the bird found the fairy. The end.”
Emilia (gorilla and fairy)
“Once upon a time there was a gorilla and it was looking for his friend Buttercup. And it (Buttercup) was a fairy. And then, as soon as he found Buttercup there was a dinosaur with Buttercup. And then the gorilla just tried to punch him and when he punched him he got madder and madder and madder. The end.”
Olivia (bird and bee)
“Once upon a time there was a chick and the chick saw the bumble bee and it was scared of the bumble bee. And it ran away.”
Grace (cloud and gorilla)
“Once upon a time there lived a gorilla and a cloud. And the cloud was looking all over for gorilla and popped out of their house but then a dragon came and spit fire at the gorilla. The gorilla went to the swimming pool to cool off. The end.”
Ellie (fairy and cloud)
“Once upon a time there was a fairy and a cloud. And they loved nature. So one day they spotted a zoo so they went to the zoo and said, “Hi, I’m a fairy and a cloud. Who are you?” The end.
Fletcher (fairy and gorilla)
“Once upon a time there was a little fairy and there was a little gorilla. They were little children. (MR: Were they so little that they could sleep together on a flower petal?” They could sleep together on a flower. (MR: Maybe a spider comes to eat them?) They didn’t get eaten because a bird ate the spider. The end.”
Oliver (cat and fairy)
“The fairy was on her tree and her kitty was very nice. The cat just chased the fairy. She ran through inside a tree and the cat just ran out and licked her on the cheek.”
Palmer (robot and cat)
“Once upon a time there was a robot and a cat. And they decided they would go to school. Their teacher told them to go for recess. The end.”
Cannon (gorilla and bee)
“The gorilla stole the honey. The gorilla went to jail. But the gorilla escaped. And then the police saw him and put him back in jail. Then he escaped. Then they put him back in jail. Then he escaped. Then they put him back in jail. Then he escaped. A bumble bee stung the gorilla. And a dragon came. But you know what, a dog named Jazz came and put the police in jail!”
Gigi (bus and rain cloud)
“A bus was rolling down the lane when rain came down on the roof. And the road broke into teeny pieces. So there was no problem because the bus had wings. So the bus just flew in the sky. And then they got home. The end.”
Wolf M (dog and bird)
“There’s a dog on the street and a bird. They walked to the beach. And the bird said, “Let’s cool off!” Then they runned uphill. Then they saw a bowl of peas.”
Maren (dragon and house)
“Once upon a time there’s a dragon that lived in a house and the house was not big enough for the dragon. And there were no more houses so he decided to look in the jungle. The jungle did not have any houses either. But then he decided to live outside and make a house. The end.”
Lane (fairy and bird)
“Once upon a time there was a fairy and a bird. They were doing a race with a lion. And you know who winned? The bird winned the race then the fairy goed and sitted down on a chair. Then they keeped doing the race. The bird flyed away and the fairy was alone. And then the fairy cried and then the bird found the fairy. The end.”
Emilia (gorilla and fairy)
“Once upon a time there was a gorilla and it was looking for his friend Buttercup. And it (Buttercup) was a fairy. And then, as soon as he found Buttercup there was a dinosaur with Buttercup. And then the gorilla just tried to punch him and when he punched him he got madder and madder and madder. The end.”
Olivia (bird and bee)
“Once upon a time there was a chick and the chick saw the bumble bee and it was scared of the bumble bee. And it ran away.”
Grace (cloud and gorilla)
“Once upon a time there lived a gorilla and a cloud. And the cloud was looking all over for gorilla and popped out of their house but then a dragon came and spit fire at the gorilla. The gorilla went to the swimming pool to cool off. The end.”
Ellie (fairy and cloud)
“Once upon a time there was a fairy and a cloud. And they loved nature. So one day they spotted a zoo so they went to the zoo and said, “Hi, I’m a fairy and a cloud. Who are you?” The end.
Fletcher (fairy and gorilla)
“Once upon a time there was a little fairy and there was a little gorilla. They were little children. (MR: Were they so little that they could sleep together on a flower petal?” They could sleep together on a flower. (MR: Maybe a spider comes to eat them?) They didn’t get eaten because a bird ate the spider. The end.”
Friday: Charades
Another fun and engaging game for many of the Rainey Room friends. We used to play this together in person and the children have improved tremendously since we started. Thus far, we have always played within the category of animals but we might be ready to branch out! It's an easy one to play at home because you don't need any materials, just imagination.
Show & Tell Sharing
It was so fun to see the different items children shared this week. Some will hopefully inspire other families, others have inspired our workshop plans for next week. Some common themes: books, stuffed animals, projects children built, coloring/drawing/painting.
A few siblings and pets also showed up on Zoom this week!
Thank you for your continued support with the calls!
♪♬ The More We Get Together
The Happier We'll Be ♬♪
Another fabulous week has gone by, and we're so excited to show you all the fun we've had over Zoom with the Rainey Room friends. One of our favorite aspects has been "show and tell", or the times when the children retrieve an item from their belongings and describe it to their friends and teachers. At times like these, it feels like we are back in St. John's, sitting round the edge of the carpet together. Hearing and seeing the objects that are special to the children is one way in which we can connect, even long-distance.
(Hover over the pictures below to read captions.)
(Hover over the pictures below to read captions.)
- Wolf B: "This is my favorite color and this is a bird. It's a toy though. Can I send it to you?"
- Evelyn: "An LOL doll. Because the Easter bunny brought it. It has pink and green."
- Olivia: "I got a camera, it goes on if you press that button. You can take pictures. I can take a picture of my iPad. I like pink so I brought this pink. I love pink."
- Fletcher: "It's a Lightning McQueen truck. I very like the colors."
- Gigi: (flowers in hand) "Some are purple and some are blue. My shirt has purple on it too."
We also got to glimpse some of the children's favorite family photos:
- Oliver had a picture from Zoolights. "Greta's just yelling!" he laughed as he recalled some funny stories from that night.
- Grace said, "This is when we were in the woods. My nanny took a picture on Easter." We remarked that soon there will be another member of the family. "There's gonna be four girls and one boy," she said, and added that perhaps they could get a male dog so there would be two boys.
- Maren holds up a drawing she made. "It's my whole family. This is me, this is Lily, this is mommy, this is Ford, and this is daddy."
- Olivia said, "This is Daniel, this is daddy, this is mommy, and even Gio!" (her dog). "We're kissing!" she said, holding up a picture of herself giving Daniel a smooch on the cheek. Olivia was delighted crazy hair day hairdo. "Isabelle says take the ponytails out, but I say... keep it up forever. I am going to wear it forever."
- Wolf B showed a framed picture depicting his older sister and brother, as well as his grandma. "But they're a bit bigger. My brother's going to be taller than you. Mimi lives in Florida, and my sister lives in Canada."
- Emilia showed a picture of her extended family, including her Tuto and Tita (aunt and uncle).
- Fletcher showed a picture from the time he brought home a Christmas tree with Violet in the wagon.
- Evelyn showed us a picture of her family in Disney World. Grace asked, "Is that Elsa's castle?" Evelyn said, "Cinderella's. She's inside."
Kneading Salt Dough Together
Mixing & Manipulating the Dough:
Lane: It looks disgusting to touch.
Cannon: It's smushie as clay. Guys, I made a Easter egg! (he rolls dough into a ball)
Brooke: This clay can go in the oven, and when it comes out, it's hard.
Cannon: What? So if you throw it on the ground it will break?
Palmer: I have a dinosaur fossil. I'm using it to make pawprints. (He is pressing the feet of tiny dinosaur toy into surface of dough)
Oliver: I got water, sugar, and flour.
Emilia: I got very, very cold water. I'm putting salt in mine now. It reminds me of mixing salad dressing.
Maren: We need one bowl of this, one bowl of salt.
Emilia: It's very sticky. It feels like I'm making bread! It looks just like bread but without the crust... and squishy.
Wolf B: So dry.
Lane: It looks disgusting to touch.
Cannon: It's smushie as clay. Guys, I made a Easter egg! (he rolls dough into a ball)
Brooke: This clay can go in the oven, and when it comes out, it's hard.
Cannon: What? So if you throw it on the ground it will break?
Palmer: I have a dinosaur fossil. I'm using it to make pawprints. (He is pressing the feet of tiny dinosaur toy into surface of dough)
Oliver: I got water, sugar, and flour.
Emilia: I got very, very cold water. I'm putting salt in mine now. It reminds me of mixing salad dressing.
Maren: We need one bowl of this, one bowl of salt.
Emilia: It's very sticky. It feels like I'm making bread! It looks just like bread but without the crust... and squishy.
Wolf B: So dry.
Some Snapshots from our Weaving Workshop
Bingo & Beyond
We've had so much fun playing bingo with you all lately. It's been a big success, allowing for teachers and children to have a rapport that almost feels as natural as being together in the classroom again. As teachers, we're also enjoying how the game of Bingo can allow us to slowly approach the broader concept of games. Before we left, we were investigating hopscotch, which is another kind of game. Perhaps we can seek answers to overarching concepts like - Why do people play games? Why do games have rules? How do people invent games? What makes a game fun, and what makes a game challenging? Does every game have to have a winner?
 |  |
During small groups, we approached the topic of creating games with the children by first refreshing their memory of some of our work creating a "golden strawberry" board game. The first group drafted an idea...
Cannon: What about bones?
Lane: Or a unicorn. I know what -- a pony!
(What will be at the end of the game?)
Cannon: The golden hay.
Grace: And maybe everyone could do it and sit on the pony and whoever touches the golden strawberries wins.
Lane: Or how about golden carrots? Bunnies could hop to get the carrots.
Cannon: Or golden hares need to race to the golden carrots.
(We begin chatting about what else bunnies eat)
Lane: Or silver broccoli.
Wolf M: How about lettuce!
Lane: Golden vegetable pieces.
Palmer: What if there was a chocolate egg!
Wolf M: Or a Easter egg.
Grace: Or we could just do it when the virus is over. Then we can play together.
Cannon: We haven't seen each other in a long long time.
We asked them how we will play the game if we're far apart. Grace said, "We could make the game and they play at home with their mom and dad and sister and brother." Here are some quotes from the next two rounds of brainstorming.
(Group 2)
Emilia: We should make it THIS long. (holds arms out)
Melanie: A long game? That might even take an hour to play?
Emilia: Or maybe 35 months.
Melanie: We talked in the last group about a game where 4 little bunnies have to go and get the golden lettuce.
Emilia: Or what about a golden carrot?
Wolf B: A dinosaur or a lion?
Melanie: Maybe the bunnies have to hop carefully through the forest and if the hop too loudly the T-rex comes.
Emilia: OH YEAH that's a good.
Melanie: That would be a very scary game.
Emilia: I'm not scared of anything. Except very scary things.
(after a little more brainstorming and refreshing our memories about the original golden strawberry game)
Emilia: ....I know how to paint a strawberry, so I could paint it, then let it dry overnight, then tomorrow, we could each add a very golden thing to the strawberry, then as soon as we get back to school, we can get tape then put all the strawberries together! Whoever gets to the strawberries first wins. And you have to go through the tunnel, then get the golden strawberry, and it's a race. The only thing is, how can we make it, and what can we make it out of? Grass or something, or moss? 'Cause I have moss right outside.
(Group 3)
Melanie: Maybe it could be like Candyland, where there's an ice princess...
Fletcher: (recalling his family's Halloween costumes from years prior) The ice princess is mama. And my daddy is at the castle. And Violet's the lollipop.
Brooke: Olivia, what kinds of things would you add to the game?
Olivia: A unicorn. Unicorns always glow their horns at night.
Brooke: So maybe the players could follow the unicorn's glowing horn at night?
Olivia: Yeah, but sometimes unicorns are in the city. When it's at night, all the unicorns in the world, even when they're in a cave, they glow their horns, even when they're in a cave. When you tell the unicorns "turn off your horn", it just keeps it on! 'Cause sometimes at night the unicorns don't know what you're saying. The unicorns don't have arms like us. I think it would be fun if we had a lot of unicorns, and the unicorns can get to the egg first. They hop all the way to the end! They're gonna go to Unicorn Land.
Brooke: Ellie, did you want to add your ideas for the game?
Ellie: Unicorns light their horns in dark places.
Melanie: Maybe it's a nighttime game in a spooky forest. What if a scary monster comes?
Ellie: She lights her horn to scare him away.
Cannon: What about bones?
Lane: Or a unicorn. I know what -- a pony!
(What will be at the end of the game?)
Cannon: The golden hay.
Grace: And maybe everyone could do it and sit on the pony and whoever touches the golden strawberries wins.
Lane: Or how about golden carrots? Bunnies could hop to get the carrots.
Cannon: Or golden hares need to race to the golden carrots.
(We begin chatting about what else bunnies eat)
Lane: Or silver broccoli.
Wolf M: How about lettuce!
Lane: Golden vegetable pieces.
Palmer: What if there was a chocolate egg!
Wolf M: Or a Easter egg.
Grace: Or we could just do it when the virus is over. Then we can play together.
Cannon: We haven't seen each other in a long long time.
We asked them how we will play the game if we're far apart. Grace said, "We could make the game and they play at home with their mom and dad and sister and brother." Here are some quotes from the next two rounds of brainstorming.
(Group 2)
Emilia: We should make it THIS long. (holds arms out)
Melanie: A long game? That might even take an hour to play?
Emilia: Or maybe 35 months.
Melanie: We talked in the last group about a game where 4 little bunnies have to go and get the golden lettuce.
Emilia: Or what about a golden carrot?
Wolf B: A dinosaur or a lion?
Melanie: Maybe the bunnies have to hop carefully through the forest and if the hop too loudly the T-rex comes.
Emilia: OH YEAH that's a good.
Melanie: That would be a very scary game.
Emilia: I'm not scared of anything. Except very scary things.
(after a little more brainstorming and refreshing our memories about the original golden strawberry game)
Emilia: ....I know how to paint a strawberry, so I could paint it, then let it dry overnight, then tomorrow, we could each add a very golden thing to the strawberry, then as soon as we get back to school, we can get tape then put all the strawberries together! Whoever gets to the strawberries first wins. And you have to go through the tunnel, then get the golden strawberry, and it's a race. The only thing is, how can we make it, and what can we make it out of? Grass or something, or moss? 'Cause I have moss right outside.
(Group 3)
Melanie: Maybe it could be like Candyland, where there's an ice princess...
Fletcher: (recalling his family's Halloween costumes from years prior) The ice princess is mama. And my daddy is at the castle. And Violet's the lollipop.
Brooke: Olivia, what kinds of things would you add to the game?
Olivia: A unicorn. Unicorns always glow their horns at night.
Brooke: So maybe the players could follow the unicorn's glowing horn at night?
Olivia: Yeah, but sometimes unicorns are in the city. When it's at night, all the unicorns in the world, even when they're in a cave, they glow their horns, even when they're in a cave. When you tell the unicorns "turn off your horn", it just keeps it on! 'Cause sometimes at night the unicorns don't know what you're saying. The unicorns don't have arms like us. I think it would be fun if we had a lot of unicorns, and the unicorns can get to the egg first. They hop all the way to the end! They're gonna go to Unicorn Land.
Brooke: Ellie, did you want to add your ideas for the game?
Ellie: Unicorns light their horns in dark places.
Melanie: Maybe it's a nighttime game in a spooky forest. What if a scary monster comes?
Ellie: She lights her horn to scare him away.
Getting Our Zoom Rhythm
One thread of learning we've continued to explore via Zoom is games. When we were last in school our main game of focus was hopscotch and we were beginning to branch out into creating our own board games. We continued with that thread some last week and expanded upon it is this week. In addition to various versions of bingo, we also added guessing games.
Number and Shapes Bingo
Stuffed Animal Guessing Game
Ellie's flamingo clues: It has pink and white and black and long legs.
Fletcher's cat clues: It's white and orange. It has an orange nose and whiskers. It has yellow eyes, stripes, big ears,a tail and paws.
Olivia's pig clues: It's pink. When you press her belly she makes noise. It lives in a farm.
Fletcher's cat clues: It's white and orange. It has an orange nose and whiskers. It has yellow eyes, stripes, big ears,a tail and paws.
Olivia's pig clues: It's pink. When you press her belly she makes noise. It lives in a farm.
Animal Drawing Guessing Game
In the second version of the guessing game children (and their adult copilots) were invited to draw an animal and then give clues about what they had drawn. The children are continuing to expand their understanding the art of how to give clues, not just give the answer!
Lane's butterfly clues: It lives in summer. It doesn't like the cold. It has 4 wings.
Wolf M's lion clue: I drew a lion.
Emilia's octopus clues: It lives in water. It's not mean. It's orange.
Wolf M's lion clue: I drew a lion.
Emilia's octopus clues: It lives in water. It's not mean. It's orange.
Sharing Favorite Games
On Thursday the children were invited to share about a favorite game they have/play at home. Some games involved dice, others involved cards, some used both. There were games like Hoot Owl Hoot that a number of children have and play at home and other games that some children were learning about for the first time.
Evelyn describing the special die involved in her game: It's something. You have to roll it.
Emilia describing Gnomes At Night: There's boards and you have to find the treasure. There's a timer.
Fletcher describing Hoot Owl Hoot: They go on each color of the rainbow. (Who are you racing?) The sun!
Wolf B describing dinosaur bingo: You have to get 4 to win.
Wolf M describing his bird game: You go around and around to the castle and you get opportunity cards. This is the geese; then you get to move to the geese (on the board).
Palmer describing Outfoxed: Whoever eats the pie goes first. Four people can play. There's a red hat, a green hat, a blue hat and a yellow (game pieces). You have to guess the bad guy. There's a good fox and bad fox.
Emilia describing Gnomes At Night: There's boards and you have to find the treasure. There's a timer.
Fletcher describing Hoot Owl Hoot: They go on each color of the rainbow. (Who are you racing?) The sun!
Wolf B describing dinosaur bingo: You have to get 4 to win.
Wolf M describing his bird game: You go around and around to the castle and you get opportunity cards. This is the geese; then you get to move to the geese (on the board).
Palmer describing Outfoxed: Whoever eats the pie goes first. Four people can play. There's a red hat, a green hat, a blue hat and a yellow (game pieces). You have to guess the bad guy. There's a good fox and bad fox.
Paper As A Material
Since paper is a material that many people have on hand we explored different ways to use it this week. Melanie led us in an awesome pop-up card making session on Wednesday. The cards were very different and all fun! We hope you mailed yours to brighten someone's day!
For Friday's call many children made paper hats/crowns. It was fun to share some details: stickers, names, paint, glitter, ribbons, flowers, sandpaper(!) etc.
We appreciate all the parent support: signing your children up for Zoom calls, copiloting during meetings, posting on Seesaw etc.
Weekend Challenge: "Hopscotch It Forward"
Draw a hopscotch for a friend or neighbor to play.
Encourage them to pay it forward and draw one for someone else.
Encourage them to pay it forward and draw one for someone else.
Friends from a Distance
Firstly, we want to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone for participating in the Zoom calls and creating a Seesaw account. We're so grateful that you've shown your support each day. This first week, our objective was to get back in touch with the children and find out what they're up to and what they're thinking about, but also connecting the larger group back together the best we can. Through our small group and full group meetings, we learned some very sweet tidbits of information that we'd like to document here.
- Grace has moved to her new house! She is penpals with Sally and Marley who live in her neighborhood. She's been practicing a little bit of math and reading a "grown up" book called Rebel Girls. Grace just recently made a tie-dye shirt.
- Fletcher has been riding lots of different vehicles in his house, including a Thomas the tank engine scooter. He counted his scooters and said, "We have nine cars." In his house, he's been playing in a bouncy house to stay active and enjoying the movie Wall-E.
- Wolf M has been staying close to Zaza's house out in Virginia where he can visit some animals, like a "naughty rooster" who sometimes tries to "hurt the chicken's feelings." He also mentioned a bridge over a river, where the water "got huge until it splashed onto the bridge!" He showed us pictures of the lovely horses, like Peggy Sue. "They have pretty long hair", said Wolf.
- Palmer has a new big boy bed! At his house, he's been playing with lots of construction and emergency vehicles, including a "fire pumper". His family goes on a lot of walks, where they like to feed the ducks. "We heard them go quack, quack, quack," he said. He showed us special baseball cards in a treasure box in his room; his favorite team is the Whalers.
- Maren is in Florida, where she is swimming a lot in the pool every day. She's enjoying practicing her tap dancing, going on walks, doing some crafts, and writing her name. On the beach, she likes to collect shells that have holes (she says it's not hard to find those) and bring them home to paint them and string them onto necklaces.
- Ellie has been playing at the dollhouse quite a bit these days. She just recently had her 4th birthday, and she still has her special Elsa & Anna balloon, plus a Frozen crown. Soon, she's getting a bike with training wheels. She showed us some sand dollars and explained that when you break them, "little angels" come out, and they're "very teeny."
- Olivia showed us all the games she likes to play at her house, including Candyland. She has some mermaid stickers she really likes using, and explained that her brother Daniel prefers buses and cars. When we chatted with Olivia, she recounted some happy memories of going to the movies with Aunt Deena to see Frozen 2.
- Emilia has been reading Harry Potter with her family, and they're now on book number 4. She said she doesn't like Snape, and Hermione is her favorite character. For April Fools day she played some hilarious tricks on her dad by giving him yucky food for breakfast, like mayonnaise instead of yogurt! Soon they'll be getting a swing in their front yard.
- Lane made a picture for her daddy's birthday which is visible in the slideshow above. Lately she's been able to join her brother Will for his P.E. classes on Zoom, where she said they do "stretching". She told us that her bunny Ba-ba is doing well, and he can "make his own breakfast." Lane said, "When the coronavirus stops, I'm gonna hug you."
- Cannon has a bouncy house just like Fletcher that he's really been enjoying. He told us, "I have a computer in my room. My gorilla's working on it." He showed us a sloth friend and explained that real sloths can do "dog paddles." For a while, we discussed sea animals with him.
- Oliver showed us his Calico kitty cat friend, who he had adorned with some "wings". He showed us how Baby Ena can wear a special dress, and how some of his stuffed animals are superheroes who can bonk monsters on the head.
- Gigi told us about some delicious s'mores she was eating. She recently found a slug in her garden that interested her quite a bit, so she's been "pretending to be a slug" sometimes! Even though slugs are slow, she reassured us that she can still run "secret super speed". She said to us, "Good thing we get to talk together."
- Wolf B is at the farm with his family, where he is raising some tiny adorable guinea fowl chicks. He also showed us the many stuffed animals he has, including teddy bears, horses, and a hippo.
- Evelyn is in Montana, and has been having fun in the snow with her brother Clark. Her family rescued a baby goat named Pearl from a terrible storm. She was found on the back porch, and ever since they have been working to find her a forever home on a farm!
At one of our group meetings, we shared items from nature.
Palmer brought 2 rocks. "This one is sparkly, and this one isn't."
Gigi brought onion grass. "It does taste like onion if you chew on it."
Evelyn brought moss and pinecones "from under the tree."
Fletcher showed us a bee that he found outside. He put it into a little habitat inside a plastic container with sticks, leaves and flowers. He said, "He doesn't want to see you because he's a little shy."
>>>>Weekend Challenge: Bug Hunt!
Drawing inspiration from Gigi and Fletcher, we're wondering if any families would like to try finding a bug outside and creating a habitat where it can live inside with you for a while as a temporary pet. What kind of home will you give this pet? A comfy bed? Maybe a little television? Post on Seesaw if you find any crawly critters you want to share.
Palmer brought 2 rocks. "This one is sparkly, and this one isn't."
Gigi brought onion grass. "It does taste like onion if you chew on it."
Evelyn brought moss and pinecones "from under the tree."
Fletcher showed us a bee that he found outside. He put it into a little habitat inside a plastic container with sticks, leaves and flowers. He said, "He doesn't want to see you because he's a little shy."
>>>>Weekend Challenge: Bug Hunt!
Drawing inspiration from Gigi and Fletcher, we're wondering if any families would like to try finding a bug outside and creating a habitat where it can live inside with you for a while as a temporary pet. What kind of home will you give this pet? A comfy bed? Maybe a little television? Post on Seesaw if you find any crawly critters you want to share.
Updates on "The Golden Strawberry" Game
Today, new groups of children brought additional ideas to the game we are inventing. First, they added large golden knobs to be our "golden strawberries"! Then it was time to add to the complexity of the game, including new obstacles and rules.
Palmer: (examining the dreidel) If you get this symbol, you get burned. (picks up the sand timer) You get five seconds to play the game!
Grace: First, you eat the golden strawberry. Next... (she places a sticker down with the letter C printed several times) Travel to the C's. There's lava this whole way.
Palmer: You get five turns. This is the lava, right Grace?
(Together, they are arranging dominoes as the "lava")
Grace: They all have to be in the same spot...
Palmer: We have to put them in order.
(More game pieces are being attached, including orange and green collage materials)
Palmer: (examining dice) If you get 6, you go to the orange peach, and the tiger eats you up!
Next...
Palmer: (examining the dreidel) If you get this symbol, you get burned. (picks up the sand timer) You get five seconds to play the game!
Grace: First, you eat the golden strawberry. Next... (she places a sticker down with the letter C printed several times) Travel to the C's. There's lava this whole way.
Palmer: You get five turns. This is the lava, right Grace?
(Together, they are arranging dominoes as the "lava")
Grace: They all have to be in the same spot...
Palmer: We have to put them in order.
(More game pieces are being attached, including orange and green collage materials)
Palmer: (examining dice) If you get 6, you go to the orange peach, and the tiger eats you up!
Next...
- Maren and Grace form a new rule that the glass beads are the "water" where the alligator lives, and if you land on those spaces, the alligator eats you up!
- Soon, there is an idea to try using the large animals as game pieces. The teacher points out they might be too big to fit on the bottlecaps. In order to solve the problem, Maren and Palmer put tape on the feet of the cats. Maren says it's "to make the feet smaller". Palmer says, "It's going pretty well." But when they test it out, the tape hasn't helped. They agree to try something else.
- Maren has the idea to begin making "cards" because she has seen use of them in Candyland. She colors a small patch on each index card, and assigns it to different game tiles.
- Oliver, Palmer, Cannon, and Wolf are the next group. They briefly visit the Tucker closet, where they find corks and a fake candle. Oliver puts the candle on the house for Baby Ena. "We have to glue this on so the night doesn't scare her," he says. He places her in the house. "Baby Ena hides through here, and makes a BIG jump." Oliver's next idea is to add more game tiles. "These can be the hopscotch" he says as he tapes down a series of round silver pieces.
"We Love This Long, Long, Long Thing." -Olivia
In construction, we've still been using our chart to make sure that a larger variety of people are getting a turn in construction. Olivia and Evelyn worked together creating a long bridge that went from their small village ALL the way across to the wall.
Olivia: "We can do it all the way to that house, right? It's a bridge and a road. People can walk on it. Animals can walk on it."
In construction, we've still been using our chart to make sure that a larger variety of people are getting a turn in construction. Olivia and Evelyn worked together creating a long bridge that went from their small village ALL the way across to the wall.
Olivia: "We can do it all the way to that house, right? It's a bridge and a road. People can walk on it. Animals can walk on it."
DIY Rainbow Scratch Art! ...continued
With that friends, we'd like to wish you a very HAPPY spring break. We'll miss you, and we hope you stay healthy and safe during the next couple weeks.
For Parents: We had some ideas of ways to keep your children engaged if you're having a stay-cation. (Feel free to try these out, but they're not homework, so don't feel obligated)
For Parents: We had some ideas of ways to keep your children engaged if you're having a stay-cation. (Feel free to try these out, but they're not homework, so don't feel obligated)
- Write and mail a letter to Alexandra in Germany
- Practice playing board games like Candyland that have cards, game pieces, and instructions. We might need this knowledge to further our "Golden Strawberry" game.
- Make a fairy house for your yard outside
- Springtime is almost here... Perhaps do some indoor/outdoor gardening
- Have some photography fun by documenting the blooming of the trees
- Create a hopscotch with sidewalk chalk (perhaps with a new type of pattern? 1 square, 2 square, 2 squares??)
- DIY Rainbow Scratch Art can be done at home too... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQ6urjoVZkY
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