Einstein Probably Built Forts

Check out this link on the incredible importance of play:

http://www.gse.harvard.edu/news_events/ed/2007/spring/features/einstein.html

Little Frogs to the Rescue!

Today we took a lot of pictures...

...turned rubber bands into spaghetti...

...then we got out the waxed cord and made all kinds of sculptures.

Before we knew it, it was time for music class with Jenny.

She sang us a song story about a farmer and a frog that we liked quite a bit.

Then we sang a song about our imaginations, and pretended to be all sorts of things.

Next, she gave us rhythm sticks and we drummed out different beats.

We had a little time outside, where friends found a roll of tape that soon evolved into a complex game - the rules of which were unclear.

At Morning Meeting, we had our Moment of Silence, and then talked about the color chart we had made last week. Some friends understood the ideas of more and less, and were able to read the chart. However, friends were not so much interested in majority rules as the way to decide what color to paint our new store shelf. So, we talked about other ways to choose and one friend suggested that we use all three colors. While some agreed, others were very stuck on their choice and a few started adding other colors to the possibilities. It is still not clear what we will end up doing, so stay tuned as the decision-making process unfolds.

When we headed outside, it became clear that there were all kinds of bad guys around and much rescuing to be done. We drew a whole series of maps to plan our rescuing and went inside to get our swords. Then Hoppity and Bumpity came out to tell us the bad news - OUR FIRE BREATHING DRAGON  HAD BEEN KIDNAPPED AND NEEDED TO BE RESCUED! In order to find him, we would each have to find buddies and work together. There were clues and tasks around the cemetery.

We all worked together and found the dragon! Friends were so excited, that she was immediately kidnapped again! This time, as we were searching for the dragon, we came across the 6th graders playing kickball. We decided to take a small break from dragon-rescuing to watch the game.

It was pretty exciting. Two of the big kids came over to stand near us, to make sure no ball would hit us, and to tell us about the game.

After the game was over, they left us 2 balls so that we could play for a bit.

Then it was back to dragon rescuing.

We found the dragon up in a tree, and had to use some more teamwork to get her down. By then, it was  time to take her safely back to our room.

Into the Forest for Our Own Fairytale

This morning, we had some time to play together in the room, and fill Carol in on al that had happened in the last two days.

A number of friends turned into cats and dogs, so we played fetch and clipped claws.

Katie had the camera for awhile, and documented the early morning from her perspective:

We also read a few stories and got out some other cameras.

When we had gotten all cleaned up and packed up, we headed outside. We found some chalk and made a map of where we were going. Friends remembered many of the important markers.

One friend added a detour to the Monster House, 

and then we were off.

We had our snack on a blanket on the grass.

Friends found a robin that had died on our walk. They had a very serious discussion about whether it would get up again and what might have happened to it. While friends had very different ideas and reactions, they seemed satisfied to put out their ideas and simply wonder. Don't be surprised if the discussion comes up over dinner.

Then, when we got to the Gate to the Magic Forest, we sat down for a Moment of Silence and it started to rain! We decided to head up to the Echo room and maybe wait it out. While we were there, we acted out a story about a magical horse who had been trapped in the Echo room by an evil king. With the help of a Knight, (and all of the Little Frogs), the horse was freed and befriended the knight. They were then pursued around the sculpture garden by the angry king. So, we all grabbed magic wands,

and turned the evil king into a silver statue! Then, of course, we celebrated! However, it was still drizzling, so we decided that we would head back, and perhaps return tomorrow.