The Plot Thickens

Today was Tamara's Treasure Box day, and we didn't know what to expect. First, she got out a beautiful rainbow from home.

Then she got out the other 14 things. Which turned out to be HOMEMADE BROWNIES! They were made from the special flour that Tamara can eat called spelt flour and they were delicious.

We also worked some more on our story. The Turtles decided to vote on which problem, but it was soon clear that the Turtles liked ALL of the problems they had come up with. Although Carol was dubious, she asked the Turtles how they could fit all of the problems into one story, and they did it.

Next, we will work on solving this complex set of problems and design our illustration.

While some Turtles headed outside, others took turns inside, working on a secret project.

Creek Walkin'

Today we headed out to the creek for some exploration, and boy were there a lot of things to see! We booted up and the teachers gave the standard (and totally pointless) warnings about not getting too wet because it isn't very sunny outside. Before we set out, we made some predictions about what we might see, including dolphins, fish, and "the creek!"

Almost as soon as we headed down to the creek, we spotted something new! A jumping frog! We saw it and perhaps a toad several more times!

We also found several rocks with things like algea and worms growing on them. Then we found a waterfall! At the top of the waterfall, the water went into a pipe, and when we went around to the bottom of the waterfall, there was a gushing stream of water!

Greetings from Baltimore

I had the opportunity to spend two days with early childhood educators in Friends Schools from up and down the east coast. We gathered at Friends School of Baltimore, and it was so wonderful to connect with so many like minded people, and to realize that the excellent progressive Friends education happening at AFS is also happening in places from North Carolina to Rhode Island. I particularly loved connecting with other schools who are inspired by the Reggio Emilia Approach.

It was also wonderful to articulate to my colleagues some of the deep work that we do at Abington Friends, and to have so many people be so interested in our work. Of course, I shared the Turtle Blog and one of the student portfolios (with permission) and people loved to see this innovative use of technology.
The Interim Director of Education for Friends Council had also brought the booklet Education for Liberation: Preschool Peace Education aka my Masters Thesis which was published by Friends Council.

I came away with a list of schools to visit, books to read (including The Sanctuary Garden), projects to do (like making a "picking garden" of herbs and lettuces) and colleagues who I look forward to keeping in touch with throughout the year. And, somehow I managed to get myself volunteered to help coordinate next year's conference. See what happens when you get excited about the work you do?

Making Up Problems and Taking Out Books

Today began with a box of new pencils. This is a really good way to start the day.

Then, we learned how to get a good point on them, and how good they smell when you first sharpen them.

Of course, there was some drawing and erasing.

At Morning Meeting, we worked on coming up with the Main Problem for our story. The Turtles had a bunch of good ideas.

At Choice Time, there was a wedding - or at least preparation for one...

...more rubber band play, as the Turtles figured out both how to shoot the rubber bands, and to make musical instruments out of them.

The sandbox was full of animals and water...

...and villains were on the lose.

All of the Turtles took turn researching which book they wanted to get from the library. And then we were off on our adventure.

When we got to the library, the Turtles got help finding the books they'd selected.

Some kept their books and chose a second, and others decided their original book was not what they really wanted and got help finding something new.

When we came back, everyone took to the Storytelling Stool to let their friends know what book(s) they'd chosen and why they picked it.