On Wednesday morning the rain held off, other than a few stray drops, temperatures were mild and we had a fantastic ECO session.  After hearing the story "Those Darn Squirrels" by Adam Rubin (your child can tell you about it!) children were challenged to create a squirrel carnival or playground.  Groups of 3 children were each given several small containers, rope, a pulley, and a couple of carabiners.  They were also encouraged to use natural materials from the forest.  Some of their creations included squirrel zip lines, swings, elevators, and trapezes.  Many students requested more time for exploring with these materials so we will bring them with us in the coming weeks.

During our reading buddy time for the last couple of weeks children worked on making game boards with their partners.  They began by planning and designing using a rough sketch of ideas.  These ideas were then transferred to larger paper.  Many chose to use their nature name animals as a theme.  While the games all involve moving players from a starting point to a finish, they are all very creative and unique.   Once the boards were complete kindergarteners had a chance to play the games with their partners and also spent time playing with classmates.  This was a fun alternative to our usual reading routine.

We have had an abundance of wiggly teeth in our classroom the last few weeks and suddenly at least half the class has a little gap in their grins!  It's interesting to see which children are persistent wigglers or yankers and which children patiently wait until a tooth is hanging by a thread.  While Clayton is always happy to see kindergarteners, I'm sure that seeing them for lost teeth (he provides special cases so the teeth won't be lost) is far more pleasurable than visits for illness or injury.

Many of us now have a gap in our grins...

and some of us are just starting to get wiggly teeth!

On Thursday and Friday we had the privilege of hearing students from both 5th and 6th grade classes share stories that they had written in French.  While it took a bit of concentration to understand the stories because the French vocabulary was above kindergarten level, the 5th and 6th grade students graciously explained the stories and answered questions.  It is always fun and inspiring for kindergarteners to spend time with older students.  Ask your child what his or her favorite story was.