Pod BFlip Book Ideas You might recall that prior to Spring Break, Cannon had inspired his Pod B cohort by introducing Medusa. They looked at a Mythological Creatures book and eventually designed their own ideas for a flip book that will eventually become a collective Tucker Room project. Today, the new Pod B, got to work. First we explored some examples from the Mythological Creatures book and then we reviewed the work of the former Pod B kids. Nora was excited to explain her previous idea to the group. Afterward, each child decided on an idea and worked to create a draft. It was wonderful to see these ideas begin to come to life. Here's part of our meeting conversation leading up to the work: (reviewing the work of the former Pod B) Nora: That's mine. That is a mermaid and I just made it just like Lane's. Maybe I can tell you about the powers? Well, she does have a unicorn but I didn't draw that on the paper because it was too small. And how to make the unicorn fly, she uses her powers, her magical dust like Santa. Brooke: Does she ride her unicorn when it's flying? Nora: No, cause she's not old enough. Brooke: So today we're going to think about what kind of creatures we could imagine... Dakota: I'm gonna imagine a dragon monster and it blows fire at everybody that comes by it. Aida: A bunny that has powers to make it into a unicorn and it can fly. Andy: A medusa with 100 feet! Nora: A unicorn bunny and maybe in my imagination I could make the unicorn bunny fly.
Games The group enjoyed playing a new game today: Sturdy Birdy. This "board game" enables children to practice balance and coordination by trying to copy poses made by the game's bird character, Reggie, who is hoping to join the circus as part of the high-wire act. When the children roll the die, it determines how long they have to hold the pose. Today we played on teams and had lots of fun trying out the game.       Later, Aida taught Brooke how to play Hoot Owl Hoot while Nora, Dakota and Andy enjoyed a round of Zingo.   Construction/Dramatic Play Construction was very popular today. Aida built a house for HopHop.... it had some nice features like a garage and landscaping in the front yard. This later inspired Dakota and Andy to incorporate stuffed animals into their play. In addition to building a house for Light Fury, they also used blocks from the construction area to create a vet office to care for the animals. Here's some of the dialogue from their play: Andy: This one (Light Fury) ate a marble. I have to cut the body. Dakota: She has a broken bone on her tail. Andy: I will scan it up. Dakota: Is it ok or will she need surgery? Andy: She cannot move. She got a broken ear so I put a bandaid on it. I'm gonna scan her paws. Dakota: Andy what's wrong? Andy: Her hands cannot move. Dakota: Do you see bugs in her eyes? (using tube as an ophthalmoscope) Andy: Yes! Dakota: So now we need to do surgery to get out the bugs. Andy: Let's check her ears. Dakota: Bugs or ants? Andy: Ants. Dakota: Yikes! Andy: Let's do surgery to remove the ants. Dakota: Bugs and ants are coming in. Andy: I need to patch her.    Aida was then inspired to take HopHop to the vet and have her checked out as well. Here's what she said: (dominoes on Hop's ears) Aida: Those are bandaids because she hurt herself on her scooter. (using the tube) Aida: This is the long medicine sprayer. When I put it in Hop's mouth it sprays medicine. (putting blocks to her eyes to use as ophthalmoscopes) Aida: I think something is wrong with Hop's eyes. Pod AA Backwards Day Birthday This week, children have been thrilled to reconnect with their friends after Spring Break. Today, they organized a birthday party for Grace’s large, imaginary dog. By the time, they sang “Happy Birthday,” all eight children had participated in some way. Olivia- Let me get the old mulch. I’ll be right back with some petals. Melanie - How much do the treats cost? Olivia- Ten dollars. (Smiling) REAL ten dollars. (Grace fetches bones for the toy dog Sunshine.) Grace - I’ll be right back with some bacon. Lane - Do we have pizza? Grace - My dog’s birthday is today. Do we have soup? Oliver - We’re still working on it, right Olivia? Olivia - Yeah, we’re still working on the birthday party. I’m making things as fast as I can! Oliver - I have a blender. It makes dog food if you want it to be a smoothie for your dog. Palmer - Now beaver is collecting twigs and bark for the dog and the ninja turtle. Lane - (Indicating food on the table) The muffins are chocolate chip muffins. And this is chocolate spinach, and this is vanilla spinach, and this is caramel spinach. Cannon - Let’s have a party! Want some pizza? Olivia - Here’s the ice cream! Palmer - I gave them some sticks for the dog to fetch. Lane - Here’s the cake pops. Grace - I’m going to cut the cake. Olivia - I’m getting a knife to cut the cake. Lane - (With drawing materials and tape) I’m making decorations for the party. Grace - I don’t think we ever had a better day. Screen Printing Continues Today, Fletcher finished his New York City screen printing. Children new to Pod A worked with tape and stickers to create negative space images and printed them. Gigi worked on Darth Vadar and Lane made a Candy land with a large lollipop. Cannon made a truck for a honey badger while Palmer made a trailer hauling something with padding around it.  Construction Palmer brought in enough monster trucks to share with his friends. This inspired the building of roads, jumps, parking garages, and a gas station. Fletcher - I’m making a parking lot. Gigi - I’m making a road that leads to a gas station. And jump for the monster truck. Palmer, do you want me to show you how this works. You go under (the arch) and up (the ramp) and jump. Fletcher - My car went up the ramp. Palmer - I can do some more roads. Gigi - And here’s a car wash. Cannon - This is a transfomer. It can transform to a boat or a bridge. After the building was done, several children rotated through the area developing dramatic play scenarios. The morning ended with Santa delivering multiple gifts to the monster trucks and various animals.
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Pod A
After those four children were all finished, Fletcher came over to begin the screen printing process. He had the idea to make "a city", and began taping down tall rectangles as buildings. With help from a teacher, he used the computer to find images of the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, the Chrysler building, and other city images. He said, "That reminds me of Oliver the little kitty cat! Meow, meow!" (Remembering the film "Oliver and Company"). Then he commented, "If I went to the tallest building in New York City, I'll get scared. I'd get high-sick."               Gorgeous Weather! (Slideshow) Over the weekend, the storm blew a couple of large branches down onto our playground. We used some of them to make a "beaver dam" next to the Cobb House. We needed lots of muscle power to create it! Afterwards, Cannon and Palmer placed many animals along the branches as a type of habitat. Lane worked in the sand box, filling up a hollow block with sand as part of a "dog park". After a long time working tirelessly with the shovel, she stood up and said, "Now that's what I call FILLED!" Olivia made a "bakery", which gathered a lot of attention from hungry customers! Some Great Quotes from the Travel Area! (Slideshow below)
Pod BSewing!       Sewing pillows was lots of fun for the children. So today they explored the different stitches the sewing machine can make and were also in charge of navigating the fabric. They learned how to place the fabric, secure the foot, adjust the needle and choose a stitch. Using solid color fabric helped make the stitches more visible.     Outside Time! The pod was outside from 10-11 today and the weather was gorgeous! Andy and Dakota worked together to construct an obstacle course and later did some ‘spring cleaning.’ Dakota noted that it was, “like Persian New Year,” remembering how Negar had told us that cleaning is part of the tradition. Aida and Nora played together in the sand with some animals. They were very collaborative in their process: Nora: We’re taking care of the pets. The tyrannosaurus is guarding them. Aida: We’re making a snow pile for them to jump in. Nora: The mound is perfect but we still need to make it a bit higher. Aida: I’ll just dump this (the dump trunk of sand). Tell me when you’re ready. Nora: Ready. (Aida dumps sand) Nora: Perfect Aida! (Nora shapes the mound) Nora: Ok, it’s ready. Aida: Let’s see how they (the animals) jump. Nora: Let’s make another Aida. Aida: Ok, let me put the cats away because they are tired.          Screen Printing Yesterday and today the children have been finishing their screen printing projects. In addition to making new screen prints using tape, some children also worked to sew their prints into pillows.             Happy 5th Birthday, Palmer!Today was Palmer's actual birthday and his school birthday! Pod A worked diligently to create a plant container that featured his three favorite colors, two trash trucks and jet, as well as some sparkly glitter. Palmer loved it and carried it home ever so carefully! Of course, there was time for cupcakes and a favorite book. Happy birthday to our cool construction expert, Palmer! Have a great time being 5!
    Pod A All about our Eggs!Our eggs that we dyed yesterday came out beautifully. We used a combination of natural dyes (onion skins, turmeric and beets) and food coloring for the blue. Aida, Andy, and Olivia helped open up the stockings that we tied to the eggs to keep the cilantro leaves stuck to the egg’s surface. It worked! Aida held up a blue egg and said, “It looks like the Earth."    A Quick Look at Pod BIn addition to chapel and the birthday celebration, here's some of the fun that took place in Pod B:
We look forward to meeting with you tomorrow and Friday. Have a wonderful Spring Break!Pod AHappy Persian New Year!!!
After we read a book about Norouz with Negar and Adam, we began preparing our egg dyeing materials as part of the Persian New Year tradition. We used panty-hose as a way to secure cilantro leaves to the side of the eggs which will create a leaf print on the egg as it sits in the dye. Blue, red, and yellow dye will be created from cabbage, beets, onion skins, and turmeric. Some of the dialogue as we worked: Dakota: Who can help me hold this? Aida: You got it? Yeah, that's it, totally! Dakota: (Setting her egg in the cabbages) Sooo gently. Like this. Olivia: The cabbages are really hard. Why do I have to put the eggs in here? Dakota: Because you have to put them in there so they get color on them, and they cook. Maren: I like this leaf shape. How is it going to stick? Grace: What color are they going to turn? Get one out of the bowl, let's do it. Can you hold this? When you drop it in, you have to be really gentle. Maren: This isn't sticking. Maybe I need a new egg. That's probably the best solution. Oliver: I got mine really wet so it can stick, stick, stick, stick. I think it's going to work. Andy: My whole egg is green. We had tons of fun playing hide-and-seek outside, and playing on an obstacle course in Blake Hall! We were so lucky to have Jennie as our sub today! Pod BThe Shadow Screen in Blake HallLast week, Pod B thought about some experiences that they would like to have before Spring Break. There was a lot of enthusiasm for using the shadow screen. We took the screen, our blocks, the projectors, and some animals to Blake Hall. Using the projector, our various monsters and creatures became larger than life on the screen. Children invented scenarios in which the projected creatures interacting with the physical animals. Pizza!Another idea that came up last week was making pizza for snack. We did it today, and the entire class enjoyed it. Palmer - You don't become a ninja turtle just by eating pizza. Lane - But I think I will feel like a ninja turtle because I eat so much pizza. Nora - I make pizza every movie night. Me and Ramsey love the olives. The Water ParkAlthough it was cloudy, it wasn't as cold outside today. The children enjoyed their full hour outside, and found many ways to collaborate. One of their big ideas was building a water park with the tubes. We may return to this idea after Spring Break, when it's warm enough to include water! Thank you, Jennie and Maria!
We have missed Rachel while she is away attending her brother's wedding! We have been fortunate enough to have Jennie (Friday and Monday) and Maria (today) working with us. We will have Maria tomorrow as well. Thank so much, ladies!
Pod AToday's blog is brought to you by OLIVER!! Screenprinting Oliver describes the process of placing the ink on the screen and pulling the squeegee across. "I like how we spreaded it out. We used this thing to rub it all over. It was upside down and we wiped wiped wiped wiped."        
Construction "That’s the castle that we started to make. We started making walls. To making it look like a real castle. I was going to make a key, but I don’t think it’s there. The castle has to be recharged because it has lots of secret passwords. That’s the special key, it uses all the power. It’s supposed to be filled with lots of electricity." - Oliver
Using Floor Plans in the Construction Area We had a construction challenge today: Can you follow a floor plan as you build. Lane thought the floor plan looked like a farm with gates, and proceeded to build that. Palmer referred to the floor plan of the school and built the various classrooms, the bell tower, and the stair leading to the playground. Gigi - I built a house. I liked having a plan to work with, but I also like my imagination because I don't need to use a plan.         Group Game: Stone Soup! We played a cooperative game called Stone Soup today. It was so exiting that we were shouting and cheering through the experience. By the start of the second round, everyone was playing. At one point Lane asked, "Could you please screech more quietly?" It was a lot of fun and we'll have to get it out again! Gigi - It was fun! People were covering their eyes because getting the "fire out" (card) is scary!
Have a Wonderful Weekend!Pod BBeautiful Backwards Day (slideshow below) The children have been giving putting the plastic animals on the swing outside and giving them a ride. Based on this, we put out materials to give the animals some amusement park-like experiences. Before school, a “tent,” some spinners, and “balance beams” were set up in the outdoor classroom. This was the reaction as the children entered the outdoor classroom: Gigi - Cool chameleons! Cannon - This is amazing! Lane - My thoughts exactly! The children identified ways that they could improve upon the various set-ups. For example, perhaps the tent could be bigger. This process required a great deal of trial and error, negotiation, and problem solving. Lane - We don’t fit. Let’s make the tent bigger. Palmer - I can do it. Cannon and Palmer initially try to dig a hole in which to prop up the shovels, which could then be used as supports for the tent. Cannon - I can dig the hole. Lane - If you work together, you can make it work better. Unfortunately, it was hard to dig in the ground. Lane - I think it would work better if you were digging in he sand. Instead of digging a hole, we quickly decided to prop the shovels into hollow blocks. This worked well, and the children were able to fit inside. The animals spent time on the spinners and the balance beam. Lane - I want to do a circus. It will tyrannosauruses. Gigi - And dogs? Lane - Yes, how did you know what I was thinking. You’re so smart. Changes to the Indoor environment Our light table has been used in the construction area to create woodsy habitats for Baby Yoda and other creatures. Today, we had a new, larger light table added to the construction space. Animal adventures continued there. We also added magnetic building materials on our small side table. Nora was the first to explore this space with her two horses. Cannon soon joined her. Cannon - Nora, can you share the horses? Nora - Sure, you can have the mama horse. Cannon - I’ll build a pen. It has to be a bigger pen. My horse has a cold. No one can find my horse in his invisible pen. The horse’s head was taller than the initial building. Cannon solved this problem by building a turret for the head. He then patched any cracks in his structure with other magnetic blocks, so his horse wouldn’t be cold. Each child spent some time with these magnetic building materials. Nora and Palmer built tall towers. Lane and Gig built smaller animal enclosures with removable roofs. One of Lanes structures was like a pyramid. As she lowered the triangle sides she said, “These bedrooms can open like a little flower blooming.” Helen! Rachel is out of town for her brother’s wedding. We were thrilled to have Helen to work, play, and read with us today. Thanks, Helen!  Pod APajama Project Update The group had a wonderful discussion about the pajama project this morning. The children were calm and thoughtful, even when they were disagreeing with each other. The tone was respectful and it was wonderful that the 2 children with dissenting opinions felt comfortable sharing their ideas and being heard. The conversation is long but worth reading. First, we read back parts of our previous conversation about the children’s work. (Posted earlier this week). We reminded the children of how Olivia had said, “I think Aida’s is the smartest. That’s the only thing we made.” We also reminded them that both Andy and Oliver had liked her drawing because they both like space and want to go there. Then we pulled out the children’s most recent work. In small groups we had discussed how to narrow down the choices and eventually each child chose one idea to represent. Of the 8 children in the group, 4 (Oliver, Grace, Olivia and Andy) had chosen to draw their own version Aida’s mobile/solar system idea. Seeing the 5 different interpretations of the same idea helped the children realize that it was probably the most popular with the group. Brooke: Are we leaning towards one idea? Grace: We’re leaning towards, I think, the planets because look (she counts the planet drawings) one two three four five. (We narrow down the choices to the 5 representations of the mobile.) Melanie: They’re all very special, but different they’re different, right? Brooke: So how do we choose just one? Grace: It doesn’t matter to me if it looks like my drawing. I just want like the planets on there. Maren: It doesn’t matter, they’re all the same thing so if we just pick one then we can go with that one because they’re all the same thing. It doesn’t matter they’re all the same (idea). Dakota: Let’s do Aida’s because everybody liked it. Melanie: Do we all still like it? Grace: I really like it. Dakota: Me too. Maren: Me too. Brooke: So are we in agreement that this is the design we want to use for the pajamas. (Some friends say yes) Olivia: Well I think this one’s good. (gesturing to Andy’s) Grace: I like Aida’s. Maren: Me too, I like Aida’s. Melanie: Well let’s hear from some other people because I don’t know if we’ve heard everybody’s input yet. Brooke: So Olivia, why are you liking this one? Olivia: Because I love to do circles and I like do something in the middle. We then asked other children who we hadn’t heard from, which one they preferred. Aida: I kinda like this one (Olivia’s) because I like to do stuff like that: circles and the smiley faces. Fletcher: Aida’s. Oliver: Andy’s. I have a space book which has the galaxy. Andy: Aida’s. Olivia: Why does everyone choose Aida’s? Brooke: Well they gave their reasons. We all did. So that’s Fletcher, Maren, Andy, Dakota and Grace that choose Aida’s. 5 friends. Is 5 enough? Or does it need to be everybody? Aida: It needs to be everybody. Grace: Maybe 6 people? Brooke: Aida,would you be ok with yours being on the pajamas? Aida: Yeah. Brooke: Oliver would you be ok with Aida’s being on the pajamas? Oliver: Uh, no. Brooke: Ok. Olivia, would you be ok with Aida’s being on the pajamas? Olivia: No. Melanie: How are we going to decide? Dakota: I think we should shrink them all small and then they stay together and we could put all 3 of them. Melanie: Is there a way to make all 3 drawings come together in some way? Dakota: Like what if we put the faces (from Olivia’s) next to the sun (both Andy’s and Aida’s have suns) Olivia: I think we could just use both of these (hers and Andy’s). Grace: No, but what about Aida’s idea? I don’t agree with (just) those two. Olivia: I think we could put this altogether. Melanie: Which parts are the most important to keep from each drawing? On the computer there are ways to cut and paste and put them together. Brooke: So then what we can do tomorrow is get these on the computer and do some experimenting to figure out how we want to put these 3 together.    Screen Printing Half of the class was able to have a turn trying out screen printing today. We decided to try it so that the children would have a better understanding of how the pajamas will eventually be made. This is a new technique for us but thankfully Melanie has had some experience with it. During Morning Meeting, Melanie showed a test run she had done yesterday afternoon. The children could choose to print on a piece of fabric (which later we can sew into pillows) or on a tote bag. We will continue to use the screen printing technique tomorrow and into next week as well.                Mystery Reader Thanks to Laura for being the Mystery Reader today! We are excited to announce that beginning after Spring Break, the Mystery Reader will be able to read to us in person outside! Outside We couldn't go out to the playground at our scheduled time because a team was here delivering new mulch and sand. Instead, Grace taught us a game called Stick in the Mud and we played it on the front lawn. At the very end of the day we went to check out the playground. The children were impressed: Olivia: It's more fluffier! (the new sand) Maren: This is like a new playground! Fletcher: It's like magic!
       
Pod ATiny Village Planning and Reflection In small groups of 3 the children explored the Small World (AKA: Tiny Village, as renamed by Maren today) down in Blake Hall. One task was thinking about what buildings/creations could go together and where things should be placed. Aida: The flower garden goes by the toy store. You pick the flowers. Maren: I think the tree should go close to the lake. Olivia: The car on the ‘carway.’ The tree next to the garden. Where should this go? Fletcher: This is gonna be a big house if we put everything over there. (All buildings together at one end.) While setting up the Tiny Village, the children also were interested in who had built each item and reflected on their own work and the work of others. Grace: I wish we hadn’t made it so big. It’s almost too big. (The retirement home she created with Maren) Oliver: Did Maren and Grace make this? (Yes) Well, they did a great job. Olivia: This is supposed to be at the hospital. (She draws in a huge breath of shock.) We forgot to build a hospital! There was also a lot of interest in matching signs to creations and using initial sounds to help figure out where to place the signs. We are excited to display this work outside at drop-off later in the week!             Fun, fun, fun in the Outdoor ClassroomIt was a beautiful backwards day..... and we enjoyed every minute!           Pod BStudio ExperiencesSome children worked with weaving today. We had not done a weaving since the fall, but the children remembered the process. Palmer - It's under, over, under, over. Nora - (Observing the strings of her loom) It's kind of springy. Lane - I'm making a pattern of all different kinds of pattern. A few children were also interested in adding backgrounds to the imaginary creatures they created yesterday. Cannon - I'm doing grey for New York City. Palmer - I'm doing grey so it looks like a cave. Lane - Mine is definitely under water. Cannon - (Looking at Lane's work) You did an outline, so you could cut it out and it would still be a mermaid. Gigi - I'm adding some planets. This red one is Mars. Mystery ReaderLindsey joined us as our mystery reader today. She read "Stellaluna," "Doc McStuffins: A Bad Case of the Hiccups," and "Jane Goodall." The children were captivated by all three stories. Thank you so much, Lindsey! Pod B
            Meteorological Spring! Last week Nora informed the class that it was meteorological spring! Spring was definitely in the air as we spent an hour outside on this beautiful day. Children engaged in all of their favorite activities: building, swinging, checking on plants, invented games, and animal play. Pajama Collaboration One of the key aspects of the pajama project is collaboration. Yesterday, that collaboration extended to another classroom. The Brown Room has been thinking of drawing the stairs for the pajamas, since the stairs are a big part of their day. However, they found drawing the stairs, especially the curving stairs in the entry to be challenging. Lane went down to offer some words of advice and encouragement. Lane - "Like you pop the paper out (explaining how to represent the curvy staircase). Up and down is like drawing the stairs, but doing them around is more trickier so you can glue the shape of the paper on the other paper. The stairs are going to be popping out from the paper. (Lane then suggested paper folding) Like an accordion. That’s the best way to do it.” Pod B also discussed the drawings that might be part of our contribution to the pajama project. With some modifications, the class has agreed that we can be represented by an animal and construction area combo. We are looking forward to sharing more with you in the coming week(s). Pod ASabzeh! Aida's family will be leading us in celebrating Persian New Year next week, and we're so excited to begin our preparations. We'll be making our own tribute to Haft-seen, an arrangement of seven symbolic items. One of the items is "Sabzeh": a collection of wheat and lentil sprouts growing in a bowl, representing new life. Negar has helped us begin the sprouting process by soaking the lentils, and Aida gave the class some important tips.
The Progression of the Small World Each day, children have been working hard to glue, paint, assemble and label the many pieces of our little tiny neighborhood. Every Tucker A child has been a participant in some way. "It's starting to look like a huge city," said Fletcher today. He began to play with the little cars and towers. He said, "I saw a cut-down tree near Andy's house," pointing to a tree made by Dakota next to a tower made by Andy. It's been amazing to see how children become invested in their own buildings, but are also aware of each other's work. Soon, our plan is to put the neighborhood out on the lawn for parents to see, so please keep an eye out for an email about that :)             Pajama Update - Still Discussing!
Pod BHappy Birthday, St. John’s! We all enjoyed celebrating the school’s birthday at Sing-Along today. We presented Molly with the gift of the clay 24 for the number line that represents the school’s birthdays, as well as a card. Pod B especially enjoyed the snack provided by Molly on behalf of the school. All agreed that the cookies were delicious. At one point, the children realized that every classroom received cookies, not just our group. That’s a lot of cookies. We decided to figure out how many cookies Molly needed to make. The children thought that 45 children attended school. They then counted how many adults were in the school today and came up with twelve. It was difficult to arrive at a total, so we broke out the math manipulatives. Palmer counted out twelve cuisenaire rods and the class counted together beginning with 46. There was a little hesitation about the number after 49…. for a moment we thought it was 40-10. With some further thought, the children came up with 50. We arrived at 57 as our total. Palmer - That’s 57 cookies! That’s a lot of cookies! Guess how many cookies Molly made in Pretend Life. 900!       Backwards Day As always, children enjoyed their opportunity to start the day outdoors. There were some more invented games, including one called “Ghost in the Garden.” We checked on the flower that’s blooming, played ball games, and pretend to be animals, including a raccoon who kept looking for trash to eat.       Studio Work Children were very excited about sewing once again today. Nora and Gigi started their first sewing and Palmer was eager to make a third creation. Lane first worked to make a clay four for the number line, but then joined the sewing circle. A little of the conversation that took place while sewing: Gigi - I like the way this is looking. Palmer - This is going well because we have all the materials we need. Gigi - (Referring to her embroidery floss) This purple is looking good. This purple is well- dressed. Palmer - This is silly, silly, silly, stubborn Medusa because it has zero percent of an eye. Lane - I’m just sewing. Nora - I’m doing some more glitter (sparkly fabric).          Pod A
Small World The children continued to develop the Small World today. New creations were glued and painted, such as a tower and greenhouse (by Fletcher), a shoe shop with an "awning" (by Grace and Maren), and a "Beautiful Garden for Hop Hop" (by Aida).             Travel Play The travel area is popping! Thanks again for all the contributions shared from home, they have helped encourage fun story lines. Maren brought in a picnic set today and it was the basis for part of the first group's play. The first group was Maren, Dakota and Fletcher. Fletcher - I'll keep my luggage under the seat. Maren - Don't worry I brought some sunglasses. Dakota - Ok, it's all packed. (Maren drives) Maren - We're here! Let's go have a picnic. Picnic time! Dakota - Maren, let's picnic on the beach. Maren - We don't need towels, we have a picnic blanket. Dakota (fetching parasols) - These are for shade. Fletcher - I already have something to cover me, a hat. I don't have any sunscreen. Dakota - I need to call somebody to bring some sunscreen. (calls) Ok, they'll bring it. (they apply sunscreen) Dakota - The sun is so hot, that is why we need these. (the parasols) Maren - There should be wine. Dakota - I packed wine. Maren - Let's eat. Yum! Dakota - I'm eating mac & cheese. (afterward Maren washes the dishes) The second group was Andy, Oliver and Aida. Aida starts by carefully packing a bag. Oliver starts at the computer pretending to work, Andy begins to plan the trip. Oliver - I'm at work. Andy - Let me see where we're going. (Looks at map.) We're going to Cape May. Oliver - Let's call. (calls) Sorry it's not open. Andy - Let me find another one. (map) I know, we should go to Maine. (gets another map) Oliver should we go to Arlington? Oh, I see it. Oliver - Can you please leave it open so I can download it on the computer? Andy - I'm gonna work now. Oliver - Can you please work on the vacation? (makes V sound) /V/ /V/ vacation. Andy - V! Vacation. (typing) Oliver - Aida, do you have all your stuff? Aida - Yes. Andy - We're going to Sea Island. Aida - I'm going to Iran. Oliver - Everybody get your own ticket. (they get the plane) Oliver - We're there. Aida can you please come to Sea Island? Andy - And then we will go where you want to go. Oliver - Aida, you're coming with us. Please come. Aida - I'm going to Iran. Oliver - Well it's closed until the nighttime so you can come with us. Andy - And it's close by (to Iran). Oliver - We're here. What should we do? Andy - Should we eat some lunch? (Aida pretends to play in the sand). Oliver - Andy, your lunch. (Andy looking at a map) Andy - I'm looking at New York. Oliver - You need to eat your salad.         Later, Aida discovered the space helmet that Fletcher's family shared with us. It inspired her to travel to space. Olivia overheard the idea and happily joined in. Aida - I'm traveling to space to visit all the planets. (the girls pack a bag, including their bunnies) Aida - I got binoculars. You need this (helmet) in space 'cause there is not a lot of gravity. Want to try it on? It's really comfortable. And when you talk in the space helmet your voice is really loud. (smiles) (Olivia tries it on) Olivia - But we don't need it now 'cause we're not in space yet. Do you have food and plates and stuff? (she fetches them) Aida - I have an idea; I'll pack my own and you pack yours. (each packs a bag) Aida - You can borrow my stuff and I'll borrow yours. Olivia - The bunnies are in here. Now we can go. Aida - I got my space helmet. Olivia - Where should we go? Earth?...Mars?...Saturn? Aida - Jupiter! Olivia - Let's sit down in our rocket ship. Now we can get any stuff we want. (from the bags) Where's the map?             Mystery Reader Thanks to Pawel for being the Mystery Reader today!! Elmer books are always a hit! Pod B ended the day outside in the beautiful weather. The boat added some exciting fun to the end of the day.     Pod A
The Travel AreaLike we mentioned yesterday, the travel materials we have borrowed from your homes have created a HUGE influx of enthusiasm for dramatic play, and we’re so grateful for your support. We value dramatic play because it helps children build language skills by providing an important opportunity for children to discuss, negotiate, ask for help, give advice, and develop rapport. It’s a time for children to make plans, describe their plan, and finally carry out the plan (executive functioning). When you read the dialogue below, consider the ways in which children use problem-solving and communication skills. (Group #1) Maren: I’m walking in the street and it’s raining! Dakota: Let’s pack up stuff. We need to go. Ring ring. It’s for you, Oliver. We’re going to LA. Oliver: No, we’re going to an island. (They disagree, so Maren steps in and suggests a vote.) Maren: Raise your hand if you want to go to LA. (no one responds, but she perseveres) Olivia, where do you want to go? Olivia: I want to go to Florida. Maren: Everyone wants to go to a different place, so we’ll have to go everywhere. We just have to pick a place to go first. And then everyone will get to go where they want to go. Oliver: The screen has the program. (He brings a laptop keyboard) Maren: I’ll need sunglasses for sure. Olivia: I packed floats for me. We’re going to Florida aren’t we? (Stands up with luggage) …We’re in Florida! Wooo! Now I can unpack. This is my room. Maren: This is our room, we share a room. Dakota: You and Olivia are sisters, and sisters get to sleep together. Olivia: Get the sunscreen! You take both of the towels. We need a safety bag. (They lay down on the towels together. Olivia wears sunglasses and talks on the phone. Maren has propped the umbrella next to her)) Maren: Aaaaah… Shade. It’s free shade. (Group #2) Grace: We’re going on a space trip. Andy: Let’s go on the airplane. Bye bye, see you later. Fletcher: That’s not a spaceship… That’s a plane. (He has positioned chairs to act as a different vehicle) Andy: Okay then, let’s go to space. I’m ready! Grace: This couch is our rocket. Andy: Ten… nine.. eight… seven-six-five-four-three-two-one blast off! Fletcher: Sometimes people keep the luggage under the seat. (Andy packs “milk” inside a watermelon-shaped bag) Fletcher: Eat! How does it taste? Watermelon? Andy: (laughs) It tastes like bag! This is a watermelon bag! (Still laughing) (Andy discovers a bunny ears headband in the large bag of supplies and wears it) Andy: I’m hopping to space! Aida: Can I try that? Andy: Sure, just take it from my head. (Plans gradually shift from a space adventure to a beach) Grace: (to Aida) Mom, I’m going in the water. Fletcher: I have to build a tent because my umbrella broke. That will take all day. Andy: (inspecting a world map) Raise your hand if you want to go to Greenland.                 Pod BSewingPalmer started sewing yesterday, and Lane joined hime today. Palmer worked on a second, sillier Medusa. Lane started by choosing colors and beads that she liked. Later, she started a second piece after selecting materials She carefully added small pieces of fabric. Although she had seen Palmer sew several black pieces together on his Medusa, she preferred to sew fabric pieces individually and separate them. She explained, "It's Corona for fabric too (thus the need for distance). Corona Art! Each piece of fabric is a world. But one world doesn't have Corona in it."
Drawing
During meeting, the class had discussed possible drawings for the pajama project. One of the drawings was Gigi's drawing of the construction area from a week or two ago. Gigi decided to draw a more detailed construction area. Others were impressed and inspired and began to draw areas of the classroom themselves. Many of these drawing included identifiable people as well as the area.       Mystery Reader!William was our mystery reader! He shared 3 books with us: "Look Out Kindergarten, Her I Come," "Pup and Bear," and "The Amazing Journey of Lucky the Lobster Buoy." Lane mentioned that she couldn't even see the word in the third story. Her dad revealed that it was a book without words, so the pictures determined how he would tell the story. The children all agreed that they could "read" that kind of story. We will include some books with new words in our collection. It will be interesting to see how each child tells the story differently. Thank you, William!
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