Celebrating Isabelle's Birthday

Getting To Know Isabelle

On the last day before spring break, we interviewed Isabelle during snack. We learned a lot of new things about Isabelle when she shared.
Her favorite color: pink
Her favorite snack: goldfish
Her favorite animal: kitty cat
Her favorite place to go: ocean
Her favorite toy: her "duckie"

The Birthday Committee-Day 1

The first members of the birthday committee had a very important task. They were going to venture into Tucker closet to choose materials that would be part of a plaster collage that represented Isabelle's favorite things. 
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Karen: Today we are working on Isabelle’s birthday committee. We are going to make a plaster collage that represents her favorite things.  We are going to go to Tucker closet to choose materials for her plaster collage.

The anticipation and imagination was high as the children thought about venturing into Tucker Closet.
Cal: Can we go now?
Karen: First, what do you think we would find in Tucker closet? 
Cal: Costumes like superhero and catboy.
Charlton: Maybe ninjas and…
Cal: Maybe Captain America.
Karen: Before we go, let’s look at this tray of materials that I pulled out, knowing what Isabelle likes.
Charlton picked up small white shells, "Because they’re special because they’re for Isabelle."
Cal picked up some small metal tacks, "Yeah, because she loves these, because they’re kinda shiny."
Charlton: I’m making the ocean for…It’s for Isabelle, because it’s special. Look at all of the shells.
Karen: Alright,  are you ready to go to Tucker closet?
Cal: Let’s go!
Charlton: Let’s go! 
Once in the Tucker Closet, the ocean theme for Isabelle's gift really took on a life of its own. 
Cal pointed to a bag of small pebbles, "Oooohhhh. How about these? They are kinda like the beach."
Charlton: Red things. Sea creatures like hummingbirds. We need red stuff. We need 1 more black and then a pink. We need a yellow one because it’s her job to have a yellow one. 
Cal: I'm so excited to put all the materials in the plaster.

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After Karen explained to Ramsey and Mimi that Charlton and Cal had decided on making "an ocean" for Isabelle, they ventured into Tucker Closet to add to the materials that the first pair had chosen. 

Ramsey pointed to some translucent shapes that looked like ice cubes, "I want these. They are eyes. Water eyes."
Mimi picked up some small wooden cubes, "These are small squares. For in the water. They will be small fish."
​Ramsey placed a gold brooch pin on the materials tray, "This because it’s gold. Sharks live in saltwater."
Mimi eyed a golden wire and metal creation and explained, "Because it’s gold. It’s always in the ocean. It’s gold and it's pink when it’s dark."
Ramsey picked up the gold brooch pin again and remarked, "This could be treasure. It could have teeth."
Ramsey picked up a cone shell and declared, "I like this color," before handing the shell to Mimi.
Mimi held the shell to her ear, "I hear it in the ocean." 

The materials chosen by Cal, Charlton, Mimi and Ramsey for Isabelle's "Ocean."

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The Birthday Committee-Day 2

Karen: What do we remember about making plaster?
Mimi: It’s like making pancakes. 
 From making his plaster collage before Spring Break, Charlton remembered that we needed to take safety precautions and  reminded Karen, "You need your dust mask, Karen." 
Mimi added, “Cuz you don’t want your face to get dirty."

Charlton and Mimi worked together to make the plaster for Isabelle's "ocean." As the  plaster mixing commenced, Karen explained, "We need two cans of plaster for one can of water."
Mimi and Charlton sprinkled plaster dust from the large bag into the tin can. Mimi asked, “It is going to be very full.” 
Charlton looked thoughtfully at the tin can that he and Mimi were filling with plaster dust and commented, “I’m making it deep.”
Charlton made an observation as he sprinkled the plaster dust into the tub of water, “I don’t see the plaster yet.”
Mimi watched Karen stir the plaster with a wooden tool and suggested, “Or you could get your hand to do it.”

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Karen poured the plaster into a metal tray as Mimi and Charlton pondered which pieces they would place in Isabelle’s “ocean.”
Charlton began placing the pink and black plastic pieces in the plaster, “Too much sharks, pink sharks, black sharks.”
Mimi placed 3 small white shells in a diagonal line in the plaster, “Shells, shells, shells.” 
Charlton observed, “Shells in the ocean.” 
Mimi picked up the small wooden blocks that she had chosen from Tucker Closet and remarked, “For fish.”

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Cal and Ramsey added some finishing touches to the “ocean” for Isabelle.
Cal: It's…can I have the rocks please? The blue ones because they are going to sink. I’m going to use these for the ocean. These are dolphins .
Ramsey: Some crocodiles and some fish and some killer whales. And a dinosaur shark. It’s half dinosaur and half shark. That's the gold for the pirates," referring to a gold brooch that he had chosen the day before. Then he gently picked up and placed 5 small silver pieces that had “Sharp teeth. Some swordfish, because these little things have some swords. This is the dinosaur fish. It breathe air."

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The Birthday Celebration

After a special snack of chocolate croissants, Isabelle's mom and dad, Jessie and Louis, as well as her big sisters, joined the Brown Room in Blake Hall for our celebration. Jessie shared one of Isabelle's favorite storybooks, A House in the Woods by Inga Moore, which Isabelle calls "Piggies in the Junkyard" after her favorite part of the story. Isabelle then walked around the birthday table three times to signify her three turns around the sun and blew out her candle.  To concludeIsabelle's celebration, members of the birthday committee, Charlton and Ramsey presented her gift.