February 3-5

This week, we read folk tales and fables from around the world. On Monday, we read “Glass Slipper, Gold Sandal: A Worldwide Cinderella.” This story combines Cinderella stories from countries all over the world to make one, beautifully illustrated story. It was interesting to see how the basic story stayed the same, but the details changed based on the country and it’s culture.

On Tuesday, we spent our morning in the forest. Mrs. Sue brought bubbles for us to play with, and we had fun trying to pop them! The students also engaged in wonderful pretend play in the forest. They made their own ice cream shop, pretended to be pirates, and created a fort for superheroes. We also worked together to gather 100 items from the forest for our friends to count at school on the 100th day of schools. Later, we read a story about children who go on a walk in the woods in winter and find many different clues that animals have been there. Afterward, we went on a walk and noticed those same clues! We saw a tree with bark rubbed off of the bottom of it, which, according to the story, could be evidence that a buck had been there! We also decided to go across the bridge and venture farther on the trail then we had ever gone before! The children were excited to see a new part of the forest, but the long walk definitely challenged their endurance.

Wednesday was the 100th day of school. Children came to school to find 100 things from nature displayed on the tables in groups of 10. Some children counted every single object, some counted the groups, and others just had fun using their senses to explore the objects. After everyone had been given enough time to count and explore the objects, some children brought up the idea of building with them. We decided to make a house for the 3 little pigs using the natural objects. Someone grabbed the pretend tools from the dramatic play area to help us with the project. Children were “sawing” large pieces of bark into smaller ones, “hammering” pieces together, and “measuring” how long the building materials were. It proved very difficult and messy, but it was fun! Later, we read “Abiyoyo,” a lullaby and folk tale from South Africa. We were going to read 2 more international folk tales on Thursday and Friday, but we were surprised with 2 snow days in a row!