Jan 22 Forest Day

Puddles, puddles, and more puddles...provided the basis for our play and learning today. In the morning we found a puddle that was about 10' x 12' roughly (by afternoon it was done to 3' x 4'). There were puddles by the digging area that held the afternoon children's interest. Before we left the log (our gathering and story spot), we talked about the consequences of playing in puddles--clothes and mittens getting wet, getting dirty, feeling cold, etc. Even though there were puddles, most of our classroom was still relatively dry ground.

The children jumped, waded, sat, ran, and of course splashed in the puddles.

In the morning one child expressed their concern that we were disturbing the sea monsters who lived in the puddles. Another child measured the depth and declared, "Yep, it's six feet deep." A different child decided to measure the temperature and said, "I got to check the temperature. The temperature says it's...helium. It is full of helium." Some made a bridge and others pretended it was a boat.

In the afternoon the children played in the same area most of the time. They were busy carrying water from one puddle to another. Two puddles were close together and the water often ran from one to another. To stop the water they built a beaver dam. Another nearby puddle had kitties (rocks) on a board but they kept sliding off to go swimming.

We had a fun, wet, and exhausting day. We also learned that if your gloves, boots, snow pants, etc get wet you will feel cold.

As we ate snack, just before we left, I asked each child what they did today. Here is what the children remembered doing today in their own words:

Jocelyn--"I remember being a deer on a rock."

Will--"I remember playing with water."

Ryan--"I remember playing in water and me being a mountain lion."

Clay--"Floating some logs in the water"

Emma S.--"Plug a pond with a big log"

Mason--"Playing in the water and jumping"

Eve--"I remember making the water and building a boat."

Eliana--"Going on a walk"

Phylicity--"I like climbing on trees."

Laila--"I just want to play in the puddles."

Emma D.--"My hands got freezing cold. I played with the logs."

Angel--"I played alone and I played with some plants. I was putting some pumpkin seeds in there."

McKenzie--"I had fun playing with kitties (rocks) and puddles."

Kyra--"I was playing with that stick. I was laying on it."

Scotlyn--"I was busy playing kitty in the pool with McKenzie."

Morgan--"Jumping in that big puddle."

Easton--"Play in the puddle"

One standard addressed was:
Scientific Thinking
C. EL. 4 Forms explanations based on trial and error, observations, and explorations.