April 22, 2021

Pod A

Next Steps with Gelatin Printing

This morning, we introduced new materials  to our gelatin printing work.  There were new colors, papers, stencils, and shapes incorporate into the process.  At meeting, we also talked about things we learned yesterday, especially that the prints turn ut better if you work slowly and carefully.   Here's the observations and reflections of the children who printed today:
    Oliver - (While working)  See?  That's why the more you be careful, the more it will work well.  Wow, it's  getting as green as grass!
     Palmer - (While mixing colors)  This is turning cool.  (Later) I  did three.  I just liked the way it turned out.
     Lane - I loved it!  The pink was so light, so we tried washing off the gelatin, and then it was too wet, 
so we added some orange to make it darker and that worked.
     Palmer - I guess that ink wasn't too useful.
     Wolf - I did seaweed and a "W" with hearts.

    

Construction Crew

Earlier this week, Grace was interested in building with small materials.  Today we divide the construction area into two spaces: one for smaller materials and one for big building.  While both Cannon and Wolf did some work on small buildings, eventually children were drawn to the bigger endeavors.  Each of the children spent time building this morning.  Initially, the buildings were rather separate, one or two children focused on their own ideas.   With time, there were connections formed between the structures, requiring collaboration and communication.  Here's a bit of some of the ideas shared while  building:
    Grace - We're making a lookout.  This is a telescope.
     Oliver - It's called a rescue tower.
     Grace - It's not even falling.
     Wolf - I'm very good at stable building.
     Fletcher - I'm working on a garage for my ice cream truck.
    Palmer - This is where my cars live with two gas pumps.  They have mechanics in case they break down.  My shop can also fix robots.
     Cannon - I'm adding a lookout tower to Gigi's building.
     Palmer - And I'll come, too.
     Gigi - I'm glad I have so many friends!
     Cannon - Did you know that Oliver built a secret tunnel?
     Palmer - The secret tunnel goes to the doll house.

Mystery Reader

Marguerite came for mystery reader today and shared several stories.  She read "The Night Gardener,"  "The Big Bed," "Are  You Ready to Play Outside,"  and a couple of Lane's favorite mermaid stories.   Thank you, Marguerite!

Pod B

Backward's Day

It was chilly outside today but we had lots of fun playing in the sand, observing  a lady bug, running races and playing hide-and-seek. 
Aida and Nora played with 2 foxes in the sand area. Here’s some of the dialogue:
Aida: Look at the food for the animals, it’s extra crunchy. I’m the animal restaurant.
Nora: Dinner and breakfast and breakfast are very good.
Aida: I want to rest, let’s go to our den. 
Nora: Ok, I’m gonna build my den.
Aida: I’ll build mine next to you.
Later…
Aida: Let’s pretend it’s their birthdays.
Nora: Ok.
Aida: It’s my birthday!
Nora: It’s my birthday too! Let’s make them a leaf cake.
Maren and Andy spent their time exploring rocks and sticks. Here’s some of the dialogue:
Maren: I need to see what it (a large rock) is. I need to see if it’s like a robot egg. A trick or something. 
Andy: It’s not a dinosaur egg. Because that would be so silly. If you want to see if it’s a dinosaur egg, you have to break it.
Maren: If this was a dinosaur egg… It’s really heavy like a T-Rex. 
Andy: It’s definitely not a dinosaur egg
Maren: Yeah, not a dinosaur egg. 
Andy: This looks like me and Maren are doing an experiment. And I love experiments!​

Maren found a ladybug in the sand. Observing it was lots of fun. The children had theories about her wellbeing:
Nora: Let’s put the ladybug on this leaf.
Maren: I can’t move the ladybug because I can’t touch her. That’s not how nature works.
Later…
Maren: The ladybug’s not moving. We should probably put her in the sun. She might be frozen.
Nora: We don’t want her to die.

Kurt's Gift

After snack the group worked together to chose the photos for Kurt’s book. Then, each child dictated what their pages would say. The next step will be for a teacher to format the book and print it for the children to review.

Studio Work

Recently two areas of focus have been paper and watercolors. Tomorrow we are going to begin a collage project that incorporates these two materials as well as some others. Today, the children painted their bases in preparation for doing the collage work tomorrow. The collages will incorporate origami paper folding as well as other materials.