Up the Scales, Down the Hills

Our day began with a mystery in a long, black bag. The Turtles spent some of their free time guessing what it might contain (one teacher insisted it was an alligator). So, in case she was right, the Turtles donned safety gear while the bag was carefully zipped open.

We were thrilled to discover that it was not a deadly alligator, but a keyboard with many many buttons. There was some silent exploration of it (as it was not plugged in), and we decided it would be a choice at Choice Time. In the meantime, since many Turtles already had helmets on, they decided to take a trip on a rocket ship and explore a few planets.

Before cleaning up, we took our instruments and marched off to serenade Tricia with our new favorite song, Teaching Peace. At Morning Meeting, we had two important discussions. First, we talked about a problem we are having in our classroom - namely, that we use and throw away a LOT of plastic cups in a week. Using some complex mathematics, we calculated that we use and throw away at least 140 cups a week. We talked about all of our trash going to landfills and how that is not good for our planet. Then, we talked about the difference between throwing something away and recycling it - many of the Turtles knew and shared things about recycling. Tamara told the class how some of the moms had heard about our problem and were going to help us recycle our cups. At Choice Time, many of the Turtles helped paint our new recycling box.

We also discussed our new keyboard, and made decisions about how best to play it and share it. We introduced the idea of a sign-up sheet, which would allow friends to get a turn without having to sit and wait. This worked really well, and many Turtles  explored the different sounds and rhythms they could make.

Outside, the Turtles had a blast on our very slippery hill. With and without sleds, the Turtles slid, rolled and tumbled down the slope. Snow was stacked, stomped, tossed and even eaten.

Inside was peeling off layers, warming up, getting dressed and hearing a story. We sang goodbye to our half day friends and readied for lunch. Over mealtime today, Tamara encouraged a hilarious round of knock-knock jokes - including several versions of the Interrupting Cow (please send your complaints directly to Tamara at: tclark@abingtonfriends.net).