Clay Sculptures and PuppetWorks

Dear Parents,

This week we made sculptures using Mexican clay. The class said it is harder than play dough. The children squeezed, poked, rolled, patted, punched, and pinched the clay. They made: a museum building, an ice cream cone, a mountain, a moon, a bowl, and more.

We saw Aladdin at PuppetWorks. The genie was a human on stage with the puppets. It was a sight to see. One friend compared the show to the movie she had seen. In the movie she said, the genie had no legs, but this genie had legs, and fancy pants. Afterwards, children said their favorite parts were the dancing snake, the magic carpet, the jewels, and the tiny genie. One friend said they didn’t like the big genie because he made Aladdin and the princess go away. 

In gymnastics the children were balancing on a beam, and inside of a small hoop. While half the class tumbled with Larisa, the rest of us used our fine motor skills to punch bear, butterfly, heart, and star shaped holes in paper. The hole punchers are super hard to maneuver. Many, though, were not deterred, and struggled until they figured out how to punch, putting all their weight onto the tiny hole punchers. 

Have a spring weekend,

Therese

Sculptures: Paper and Wood

Dear Parents,

This week we made more sculptures. After sculpting with oven bake clay last week, we used paper and masking tape to build what some children described as bridges and obstacle courses. We used strips of paper to fold, roll, crumple, and bend. We taped them to a bigger piece of paper, and they are on display in the classroom. 

On Tuesday Pastor Cheri came to visit our classroom with her little dog Mickey. We learned that Mickey is sixteen years old, blind, and doesn't bark. He is friendly and was happy to let friends take turns petting him on his back. Everyone wanted to pet him except for three people. Two of the three said they had dogs at home. We heard about the children’s old cats and dogs, some of whom are no longer with us. 

After reading Animals A to Z, Hot Dogs and Cool Cats, and Any Kind of Dog, we went in the big room to run a little, and then in the yard to swing, climb, and dig in the sandbox. One person was on the swings for so long, someone said, “She’s never coming off!” The jungle gym transformed from an ice castle, to a spaceship, and then to a pirate ship. At one point the entire class was in the sandbox except for the one swinger. 

While half the class was playing a new color game with Larisa during tumbling, in the classroom we cut out shapes with scissors. The children were cutting up a storm.

On Thursday and Friday we worked on wood sculptures. The class used wood glue to secure pieces of old puzzles to wood, popsicle sticks, and a few gems. The next day everyone chose silver or gold paint. 

In the block area children have been building a big wall. Some said it was a castle. Many chanted, “My castle, my castle!” One person looked around and said, “Our castle!”

Have a wonderful weekend,

Therese