Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho, It's Off to the Woods We Go!

It was a magical wonderful day in Turtleland. During a brief and busy Choice Time, friends engaged with letters using several alphabet puzzles and sand writing and also joined for a favorite group activity - drumming.

Then it was time for our outdoor adventure. We "buddied up" and headed over to Abington Art Center, went through the "Magic Gate" and into Alvelthorpe Park! We went over, under, around and through. Looked at leaves and sticks and rocks and "pieces of old road." We made up a new song, "Don't Run Your Buddy into a Tree," and made up new verses while we snacked by the pond.

We spent some very fun time at the playground there, where many friends went on extensive, imaginary train rides to New York City, The Zoo and The Bug House.

On our way back, we took a rest by the pond and Carol told the story of, "Shiney Pete," the fish who wanted to fly and his friend, "David Duck," who helped him do it (have your child tell you how).

Many of our friends had sticks from our journey and discovered some wonderful new percussion sounds - our favorite one being the rat-a-tat-tat of our sticks on the fence! On our way back through the Abington Art Center, we found new places to explore - a house to play in and hills to climb and run/roll down (this may explain the condition of some of the Turtles' clothes). We also saw people setting up the stage for a show tonight. It is the opening of the Art Trail, and there will be a free concert with Rich Nourie's band!
All in all, it was a great adventure!

The Mighty Mighty Turtles!

Here is another one of our favorite Turtle Songs:
We are the Turtles!
The mighty mighty Turtles!
(and repeat!)

We frequently sing it Call and Response style, with the teacher doing the first part, and the Turtles doing the second. We have also been know to mixed it up, being, for instance, the Happy Happy Turtles, etc. And clearly, we are creative Turtles as well!

"Higher and Higher"

One day on the tire swing, Tamara was pushing the children. "Higher! Higher!" they demanded.
"How about we sing a song?" Tamara suggested.
And in a quiet and melodious voice, GK started singing,
"Higher and higher
Til our toes will touch the sky!"
The other children quickly joined in, and a new Turtle classic was born!

The Turtles Abroad!

The sun was shining this morning, and it inspired wanderlust in the Turtles after being cooped up for two days inside. And so we went on an adventure! Without even cleaning our room, we donned coats and boots, and set out. We had a peaceful snack on the porch of the Meetinghouse before continuing on to races in the cemetery. We then snuck through the Big School, quiet as can be, and finally emerged onto the Lower School playground.

The Pre-K classes were out there, and it was so much fun to see some of our old friends! The children also loved pushing their physical prowess on some of the more challenging equipment like the sandbox digger, twirly sliding board, climbing nets, and monkey bars.

Back in the classroom, we read a class favorite, Hug by Jez Arbourough.
It was  great day, and the Turtle teachers are planning an even bigger adventure for tomorrow: Alverthorp Park!

Cozy Art on a Rainy Day

The Turtles' artistic juices were flowing on this rainy Tuesday. At Morning Meeting, Tamara told the Story of the Art Area. After our Moment of Silence, we moved our meeting to the Art Area, and the children sat with rapt attention as Tamara began, "Once upon a time..." She talked about a beautiful art area, with everything in its place, and beautiful supplies that made the children artists excited about making beautiful art. But then there was a problem! Someone dropped a marker on the floor, and didn't put the lid on it and it dried out! And problems like this went on at length, until one of the Turtles said, "They have to clean up!" And Tamara nodded and that is how the story of the Art Area ended happily. Well, with this introduction, the children were eager to get to work!

After Morning Meeting, the children could choose snack or art, and the Art Table blossomed into a whirl of water coloring! The children are working on becoming the masters of their brushes, keeping the point of the brush together to make clean lines. They are also working on the water color sequence: dip in the water, blot on the napkin, dip it in the color, and paint it on the paper (or water-napkin-color-paper). Doing this sequence every time helps keep the colors clean and bright, and their work today was a beautiful example of how intentional instruction on technique, followed by open-ended exploration leads to wonderful artistic expression!

Other highlights of the day included snack harvested from our garden (tomatoes, soy beans, grean beans, and peas) and Max's mom, Ann reading us two books: Goodnight Goon by Michael Rex and Only A Witch Can Fly by Alison McGhee.

Monday's Adventures

The Turtles were busy today, starting with some explorations of the very long tunnel that Carol brought in. It turned out to be a perfect car tunnel, and the children spent much of choice time, sending cars rolling down the incline.

Today we also welcomed a new Turtle! Julian joined our class, and many childen were excited to reconnect with their old friend from the Little Frogs Room. At snack time, the Turtles took turns telling Julian things that they liked about the Turtle Room, and at our End-of-Morning Meeting, Julian chose his favorite book and "read" it to his friends with only a little help from his teachers.

Missy had a delightful obstacle course set up for us, including a pop-up school bus, tent, and fire truck. We also used "noodles" to dance, stretch and play "Hurry Hurry, Drive the Fire Truck."

On the playground, we harvested vegetables from the garden! We had a couple red tomatoes, several green tomatoes, soy beans, green beans, and sugar snap peas. Tomorrow we will cook them up for snack!