A small group of friends gathered this morning at the light table to work with plastic translucent rocks. We sorted the rocks into like colors and counted how many were in each pile. A few friends worked at creating patterns with the assortment of colors.

Finn inspired us to revisit last year’s pirate study. With scarves, a treasure chest filled with gold coins and our pirate music, we set sail!

Simon brought in a tornado in a bottle. He showed us how to create a funnel and when we played “Storm at Sea”, Simon shared his science experiment with his friends, who took turns creating a tornado as the music played. Finn, as Captain, used the housekeeping loft as a lookout, where he spotted crocodiles, dinosaurs and many other creatures. The ship docked and friends went on a treasure chest hunt. They found the hidden treasure box and brought it on deck, counting and exploring the texture of the coins inside.

After admiring our Work of Art Cake, we decided we should bake a real cake. Friends took turns cracking, pouring and stirring all the blueberry muffin ingredients together. We discussed opposites thick and thin, and added a tub of water to stir. Friends explored a bowl with thick batter and a bowl of thin liquid. We discussed which muscles were needed to stir the thick batter and asked “Which bowl is easier to stir?”

Each friend stirred 20 strokes as Melinda helped friends count to 20 out loud.

Our classroom buzzed with experiential learning moments: Kai examining the tornado bottle wondering how water gets from one side to the other and “will it spill?”: Elliott stretching his gross motor muscles as he climbed up and down the habitrail: Through painting, Marta and Annie exercising fine motor finger muscles that cultivate the strength they will need in writing: Nate (after 2 days!) building up the courage and confidence to slide down the fireman’s pole independently: Umi cultivating compassion as she tenderly works with her baby doll.

Each day, we view our classroom through the lenses of possibility and together, with our Wee Friends, get excited about the educational moments that, as we say, naturally SPARK!

For breakfast, we served grits and oranges. For lunch, Lisa made chicken salad served in a whole wheat pita, cucumber slices and applesauce. For snack we will eat blueberry muffins!

Have a great day!

Laurie