Construction for Dinosaurs!

With the addition of dinosaurs to our construction area, we’ve started to see  more intricate and  collaborative building.  Building “for the dinosaurs,” began last week and continued today. We’ve seen a variety of structures thus far and can’t wait to see what else arises from the children’s imaginations and conversations!

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Oftentimes, the children build structures that are familiar to them. Houses, hotels, and zoos often pop up in the construction area. So when Isabelle's house fell down, it was no surprise that Emma jumped in  to help her rebuild it. 
Isabelle observed, "My house fell down."
Emma saw that her friend needed help, "Okay Isabelle. I can help fix it. I build Isabelle’s house."
As they continued to build a larger structure, Isabelle and Emma added dinosaurs.
Emma: A boat. Dinosaurs on the boat. It’s a boat for dinosaurs. 
Emma placed one on top of the structure: Dinosaurs are up high!  

As their structure grew in size, Emma and Isabelle added some items from the "grocery store" and their house became the "dinosaur checkout." 
Emma: To the grocery store to get food for dinosaurs.

Upon our return to the Brown Room from the outdoor classroom on Friday, Ramsey headed straight to the construction area. Here he began construction on "a house for dinosaurs." Since our time in the Brown Room is shorter on Fridays, due to it being our "backwards day," Ramsey wasn't quite done with his structure when it was time to go home, so he decided to save it, so that he could continue to build another day.

On Tuesday, Ramsey shared about his building during morning meeting. He explained where the doors were and where the back of the house was situated. Later, he was joined in the construction area by Cal, Charlton and Ragnar. Working collaboratively with his friends, Ramsey's original footprint of his  "house for dinosaurs,"  was expanded. 
​Ragnar: It takes a lot of days (to build). That’s when my dad got here, that’s when it started. 
Ramsey: Look at our dinosaur house.
Charlton: I have my dino lego. It’s a T-Rex. It can be here. Oh no, it broke!
Ramsey: I’m putting blankets.
Ragnar: I think those (green and brown blocks) could be the road. We gotta do the long ones.
Ragnar: Those (metal materials) are part of the sink. We gotta build the sink.
Cal: What could we add?
Ragnar: The sink has to be outside, because if it rains outside in the sink that’s good. 
Ramsey: I’m trying to do this (connect two metallic pieces), but they keep breaking (falling apart). So watch this, it’s a slide. A slide, like a jump. A dinosaur jump. For the pterodactyl! 
Ragnar: Maybe, I could paint a sign (for the outdoor sink).
Ramsey: See. This is where little dinosaurs come out of the drain. See this is the gate. 
Cal (looking at the dinosaur jump): Maybe cars could go on there. 

When the construction was finished it spanned the entire area and included a number of different materials; wooden blocks, magnetic blocks, natural blocks, faux grass squares, carpet samples, metal canisters and granite samples, as well as our dinosaur friends.