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Meaningful Math

We had a wooden teeter totter donated to Fairywood last week. As they began to try it out, the kids wanted to figure out how many of them could fit in the teeter totter. They all began counting each other's heads and it was decided that 5 kids could fit comfortably. Then they began to notice that one side of the teeter totter was heavier than the other, with 3 kids on one side and 2 on the other, it was out of balance. They continued to explore balance and quantity as they played and it was wonderful to see a child-led math activity that was spontaneous and meaningful to them. We showed the kids some wild edibles like chickweed, violets, and dandelion leaves and then they helped forage f

Our First Field Trip

Our trip to the T. C. Steele State Historic Site was so much fun. We explored the forest, climbed trees, and hiked to a 150 year old log cabin. We also got to go inside T. C. Steele's barn studio filled with his paintings. Everett said, "I want to be like that Steele guy and be a famous artist and paint all day." Thanks to all the parents who were able to join us! On Thursday, we went on a hike along the creek looking for wildflowers. They're starting to pop up everywhere! We found Trout Lily, Spring Beauty, Toothwort, and Rue Anemone. We played in the mud kitchen. The kids made "chocolate soup for the chickens." We observed a lot of great social play and collaboration.

Salamanders and Water Striders

We noticed two fascinating creatures in the creek on Friday- a salamander and a water strider bug. Andy said, "I wish I could be a salamander so I could hide under rocks." Felix said, "I wish I could be a water strider bug so I could walk on water." We talked about how we shouldn't touch salamanders because our skin's natural oils can be poisonous to them. We also found a tiny dead mouse and we decided to bury it. We marked the burial with a geode. We baked pretend treats and served them to each other. We played one of our favorite blindfold games, My Tree.

How Deep is the Creek?

Lots of rain and snow melt filled up our creeks and ephemeral pond. We got out some yardsticks and rulers to measure how deep the water was. "The water is all going the same way." "The water from behind is pushing the water forward." "The water is following the rocks." We also experimented with long paintbrushes, allowing us to paint up in high places. Everyone enjoyed using funnels and pvc pipe to conduct their own water experiments. There has been a lot of excitement around dictated stories. The kids have been telling stories about dinosaurs, wonder woman, and their friends at Fairywood. We write down their words into journals and read the stories aloud around the fire circle.

 

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