Dear all,
We worked on our volcano for three days layering and adding crumpled newspaper, careful to leave the crater open. We smoothed two days' worth of clay over the paper to give it an earthy feeling. We read two myths of Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of volcanoes, and her oppositional sister who ruled over the sea. We looked at pictures of Hawaiian Monk Seals and read Margaret Wise Brown's The Little Island. We also read Zoom and noticed a volcano on an island. Lilly shared a book she made at home about volcanoes and showed us her experiment.
In the yard we have been observing snails, larvae, worms, and birds. We talked about how to observe animals to learn more about them. A group of children sat for a while watching two snails and making observations. The children discovered a dead baby bird in the yard. There was much speculation about how the bird got there, if it had fallen in the shell that was beside it, or out of the shell. Some children thought another bird may have robbed it and dropped it there. We observed a nearby bird chirping and the children wondered if that was its mama or daddy? After quiet time a few children buried the bird. Speaking of quiet time- five and six sleepers early in the week. Seven on Friday.
We finally got to add potion to the volcano. There were squeals of delight aplenty. We added vinegar, baking soda, dish soap, food coloring, and paint. We predicted which side of the volcano the lava would roll down. We added small dinosaurs so we could see how the lava might have extinguished them. Our dinosaurs survived our eruption.
We also did a soda and Mentos volcanic-like explosion in the yard. Everyone sat a safe distance away while we watched the soda spew up into the air. It was an exciting mess.
The children made cards for Mother's Day filled with love and some with letters.
We have been occasionally having small meditations, for several weeks. Many children already knew how to sit with legs crossed and hands on knees. We have sat quietly for one minute using a chimed timer mediation app. The last two times we did it several children asked if we could try two minutes. The two minutes was a bit more challenging. We talked about using quiet bodies during meditation, quiet time, and calming our bodies when we're upset. One person said when he's at home and gets angry, maybe he'll go in his room and meditate to calm down.
Next week we will plant seeds and watch them grow. And of course we'll make more lava!
May the force be with you,
Therese