So Many Adventures!

It turns out that the Clubhouse is really a jumping off point for adventures of all kinds! Today, the maps were drawn again, and the whole class got involved as the boat went through a dangerous jungle. Here's an excerpt:
"Oh no Maggie! I think we're lost!" David declared.
"We are in the dark dangerous jungle! We need to get to the brown X! See the map?" Maggie said, "We are the captains on this boat!"
"Hey Captain!" David said.
"Where are we Captain David?" Maggie asked.
"Oh no! I see orange eyes behind me!" David said.
"Its a monster!" Maggie said.
"Hey Matthew! Our map fell down!" David called to his friend who was watching from the top of the climber.

Katie put on a hard hat and joined Matthew on top of the climber. "We are the captains!"
They played for almost an hour, with all the children in the class weaving in and out of the play, picking up threads of the adventurous play. It was delightful to watch their blossoming play skills!

We had TWO special guest readers today. First Katie's mom Michelle read Diary of a Worm and Tacky the Penguin at Morning Meeting.

Later, Miranda's dad Jonathan read Ladybug Girl, What Miranda Sees, and Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus. It was so much fun hearing these new and favorite stories!

The Clubhouse is open for adventures!

A very busy Turtle Day (but perhaps I say that most every day?) We were down a few Turtles with Carol and a few others out and Robby and Miranda off being Little Frogs for the day. At any rate, the Turtles were bustling around the Clubhouse (aka climber) and building boats. Maggie and GK made maps while Matthew and Naomi manned the "whisper phone." Puzzles and the piano were also popular.

After a yummy snack of clementines, brocoli and hummus, we headed over to the John Barnes Room for a concert with Allison! She sang many favorites and we got to dance with scarves too!

Out in the snow, the ice cream store was open, the ATVs were running, and the slide was especially slipery in snow pants!

The Coziest Day of the Year!

Today was Pajama Day, the unofficial "Coziest Day of the Year!" The Turtles were decked out in their finest pjs, nightown, slippers, and teddy bears (or cats, as the case may be). We made homemade pancakes, listened to Debbie Green read stories by the fireside in the John Barnes Room, worked on our clubhouse,  played the piano, and listened to Max's mom Ann read The Snowy Day. It was a great day!

Play It Again, Sam

The Turtles were so  busy this morning! The early morning free choice stretched on and on because the childen were so productively engaged in puzzle making, boat building (complete with a cd player that would allow them to "have lots of music!"), playing the piano, and writing and drawing.

When we finally did clean up for Morning Meeting, the Turtles continued in their enthusiasm as Carol demonstrated our new music! We have color coded our piano, and introduced sheet music with the same color code. We also talked about our plan to make our clubhouse out of our climber. We quickly transitioned to Choice Time, and the Turtles jumped into action, transforming the climber and practicing "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and "Twinkle Twinkle" on the little piano.

Movement with Missy was fun as the Turtle continued their paper-plate skating moves and the soccer stylings.
We had a short time outside made fun by the snow. The children went "off-road" with the trikes, turned the easel into a "ice cream store," and made the swings into a rodeo ride.