Everything's an Experiment

Today at Morning Meeting, we spent some time talking about our story's three main characters, and the Turtles gave Carol instructions about how to draw two of them: the Pink Dolphin and the Aardvark with the Rainbow Parrot on it's back. The Turtles turned out to be very excellent art instructors. Next, we again encouraged the children to think about what choices they wanted open for Inside-Outside Time. They decided that they wanted to bring out the car racing tube, and to have the big blocks out on the playground. Another popular choice was painting with big brushes and water.

Naomi, Maggie, GK, Robby, Miranda, Sarah Lynne and Kailyn decided that they wanted to do water painting during inside outside day. They gleefully grabbed their brushes, and got to work painting rocks, tables, chairs, and even the pavement.
We are painting the rocks!
Yeah! We are making a new road.
Nobody can drive on it until its dry.
Let’s paint the table!
These plants will die if you don’t water them.
We’re painting the cradle.
We’re painting the cat bed.


They wondered why some things changed colors and some did not, and why some surfaces took a long time to dry while others (like the rocks in the sun), dried quickly. 

There was also a lengthy experiment that resulted from the Turtles realizing that the water container was full when they were standing in it, and half empty when they got out. Many questions and theories were put forth to explain this bizarre phenomenon.

Inside, the Tube Racers were also experimenting - trying to figure out the best ways to get the stuck cars out of the tube. One vehicle in particular kept getting stuck, and the Turtles figured out just how many cars were necessary to push it out and at what angle.

Everywhere you turned today, the Turtles were conducting experiments and solving problems. Disco's and forts were built and danced in. Mosaics were put together and surprises planned. There was lots of negotiating for supplies and costumes and surprises abounded. 

Ode to Inside-Outside Days

Carol and I were planning last night (sitting on the floor of her laundry room, kept company by the adorable litter of five week old kittens she is fostering), and we were discussing just how wonderful this week has been. The introduction of Inside-Outside Days has ushered in a whole new era of Turtle-dom, and to see it in action is to believe in progressive child-centered early childhood education. Throughout the year, we have slowly been building the trust, relationships, routines, and independence that led to this week. And here we are!
The children have the tools they need to navigate their environment and make independent decisions about their work and play. Sitting at Morning Meeting yesterday, with the children raising their hands and sharing their ideas about what would be important to include in our choices, it was clear that the Turtles were well on their way to mastering purpose, Erikson's developmental stage for 3 to 5 year olds. Here are a few snapshots:

GK carefully placing a long board on the platform of the outdoor classroom, walking along the plank to test where the tipping point was.

Katie sat down at the new Oobleck table, after watching her friends experiment with it. She tentatively touched it, then scooped it up. She watched it drip off her fingers, saying, "It raining. Hear it?" The Oobleck dripped into the aluminum pan, pinging quietly as it hit the bottom.

Kailyn returned to the garden day after day to monitor the progress of the buds on the marigolds. On this day, she was beside herself with excitement! Two buds had bloomed!

Watering the garden turned into an exploration of fluid dynamics as the Turtles noticed that when they spilled their water on the patio, it ran down the incline. They experimented by pouring many many buckets of water down the patio, watching the splashing rivulets trickle and run across the brick, turning it bright red and washing sticks and sand along with the water. Tamara asked, "Where is the water going?" And the Turtles set off to see where the water was. They found a puddle at the bottom of the steps, and then discovered that the water was going even further, making its way slowly through the wood chips!

It is amazing to see the deep and scientific (not to mention joyful!) exploration the Turtles are doing inside and outside!
As reflective practitioners of early childhood, Carol and I asked ourselves: what led up to this point? Could we develop this initiative and this purposeful play earlier in the year? What are the important elements of this play, and how can we support and extend it?

Oobleck!

Today, we made oobleck and, for those of you who have not yet had the oobleck experience, it is wonderous stuff. It is not quite a liquid and not quite a solid, it is a substance that changes form, depending on whether it is still or in motion. The Turtles were amazed by it's strange properties.
One noticed, "It doesn't feel like it I thought it was going to feel." Another watch it drip off her fingers, saying "it raining. Hear it?" The oobleck dripped into the aluminum pan, pinging quietly as it hit the bottom.
Oobleck is made from equal parts cornstarch and water, with food coloring optional (and clean-up is a breeze, with a little water it dissolves away!) Besides being a very strange science experiment, it is wonderful for developing fine motor coordination as the children manipulate to hard/drippy/oozy substance. 

Another inside outside day began with a meeting about what we should take outside. The Turtles chose Magnatiles, books, 5 stuffed animals and paper and tape for art and cape-making. The Turtles are very thoughtful about what should go outside and making rules to insure their things come back in good shape.

Part of today's inside activity was a theater production. The Turtles built a big stage and seating for a large audience. The show was quite complicated, with dragons and monsters and a large number of cats. Somewhere in the middle, it morphed into a musical production, with a great deal of audience participation.

We also watched a short video on the Smart Board, where two scientist demonstrated the qualities of oobleck. The Turtles were fascinated when the scientists demonstrated that they could walk on top of it - as long as they kept moving. When one of them fell over, he sunk. See it here:

Time Warp Video of Cornstarch and Water

Singing and Dancing and Waterfalls and Kittens

Today was Carol's Treasure Box day, and boy did she bring in two treasures! It all started when Tamara noticed that both Carol and her treasure box were missing! The Turtles quietly crept up the hall looking for her. Finally they found her in Debbie's office! She had the Treasure Box on her lap, and this video shows what happened when she opened the box! The Turtles who wanted to (and the ones who didn't have allergies) had a chance to pet them. The Turtles and the kittens were soooo happy!

We also had Music with Allison today! She sang lots of sily songs and we got to sing dance along with her. She also sang "Happy Birthday" because today is Katie's birthday!

Katie's mom read us two books and shared cupcakes with us! We ate the cupcakes outside and then frolicked in the grass.

We also had Inside Outside Day today, and in addition to drawing and Oobleck, we decided to water the garden. Watering the garden soon turned into an exploration of fluid dynamics as the Turtles noticed that when they spilled their water on the patio, it ran down the incline.

They experimented by pouring many many buckets of water down the patio, watching the splashing rivulets trickle and run across the brick, turning it bright red and washing stick and sand along with the water.

Soon, Tamara asked, "Where is the water going?" And the Turtles set off to see where the water was. They found a puddle at the bottom of the steps, and then discovered that the water was going even further, making its way slowly through the wood chips!

It is amazing to see the deep and scientific (not to mention joyful!) exploration the Turtles are doing inside and outside!