Wednesday!

With the lovely weather, the Rainey Room couldn't help but enjoy a long backwards day! It started off with a discussion at morning meeting about taking a break from the magic wands and being careful about things we say and do during play. Following that, Granny J, Gigi's grandma, read a story entitled Vincent Comes Home. Thanks Granny J! Safe travels as you head back home to the west coast! 

There was TONS of fun play outside this morning: building, animals, swinging, taking care of an orangutan, and much more.

​During one play sequence Palmer, Oliver and Wolf B pretended to be firefighters:
Palmer: The fence fell down and the bricks fell down and the fire came out of the hole.
Oliver: The fire was in the tree and all the way up to the bell tower.
Wolf B: There was A LOT of fire.
Palmer: See that house there?....it was on fire too.
Oliver: There's fire! Get on the hoses!
Palmer: There's a fire at the warehouse.

There was also hopscotch work! The original hopscotch idea formed outside one day when the children were drawing with sidewalk chalk. Today the work continued outside. Melanie and Jen worked with various children to trace the carpet hopscotch squares onto the canvas. It was a BIG project and took about an hour.

Wolf M: "Everyone can do it, even the dinosaurs."
Grace: "It's a tricky game... you can try to hop over without stepping in the hot lava."

Hammer and Nails
This week the children are having their first experiences working with hammers and nails. It's been fantastic to try something new! They are learning about techniques: holding the nail until it's firm in the wood, gripping  the hammer higher up as a way to have more control, and also concepts about force.  Teachers have noticed that despite using lighter weight hammers, the children get physically tired doing this work. While some children seem to have a clearly established dominant hand, others  use the hammer in both.
Earlier in the week Ellie noted: When  I see someone building outside of my house they use hammers and they use nails."
As Gigi tested her nail she commented: I'm checking if it wiggles.
Later she shared: It's ok if you miss. (don't hit the nail)
As different groups of children tried this experience we talked about how, like most things, using a hammer is something that improves with practice and time. At first it might seem challenging but it's important to keep trying.
Today Wolf M said to Emilia: My hammer makes a different noise than yours.
Emilia replied: Let me hear. (She walked to his end of the table to get a good listen.) Then she said: Mine makes the same noise. Listen.