The River Otter class enjoyed a fantastic week in the forest, having the opportunity to experience spring’s variety of weather. Forest play included the building of many different fairy houses and fairy villages. The students are using their creativity and fine motor skills with the different resources available to build these beautiful small structures. The mud kitchen continued to be a popular activity, with the water from the creek now being used to make different consistencies of mud. Students also continue to dig and build bridges in the area behind the mud kitchen, and to practice balancing (and drumming) on logs in the forest. On Thursday, the students found an injured dragonfly near the mud kitchen and were very careful to only observe the insect. They also cared for it by digging a small hole nearby and filling it with water to drink, placing a soft bed of leaves nearby, and trying to catch mosquitoes for it to eat.
This week we continued sanding, working on smoothing one of the long, beautiful sticks donated by a school parent. These sticks will become beautifully decorated wall hangings and other class projects. We also wrapped sticks from the forest with colorful wool. The students showed great patience and motor control when wrapping them and they brought beautiful color to some gray days. We also had the opportunity to color on Thursday afternoon when the weather gave us some indoor time, and students enjoyed experimenting with color through their watercolor painting lesson with Ki Fatima on Friday.
The River Otters were very excited to begin Spanish class with Ki Maria this week, on Tuesday and Thursday. We began learning a song that teaches us greetings in Spanish, you may start hearing your child sing it around the house (it is a very catchy tune). The students loved learning through songs and games, and even a puppet show, with Ki Maria. On Friday, the class enjoyed ASL class with Ki Emily and continued learning about weather and feelings through fun and exciting songs and games.
This week’s story was a tale from the North American Indigenous Tsimshian people titled “The Meeting of the Wild Animals”. In this tale, the Tsimshian are great hunters who hunt year-round and catch so many animals, the animals fear for their survival. Grizzly Bear invites the other large animals to his house to suggest they ask Him Who Made Us to make winters very cold so the hunters will stay in their houses and not pursue the animals into their dens and hunt them. The large animals agree, and Wolf suggests asking the small animals and insects to join them to increase their strength The large and small animals gather on opposite sides of a wide prairie and Grizzly Bear announces his proposal. The large animals fully support Bear’s idea, and they ask the small animals what they think on the matter. After they are silent for a while, Porcupine speaks up and reminds the large animals that while they have thick fur to protect them in the most severe cold, the small animals and insects have no fur to keep them warm and would not be able to find food if it was that cold, and asks that they do not ask for more cold. Grizzly Bear says that they do not need to pay attention to what Porcupine says and the large animals agree to ask for the severest cold on earth, anyway. Porcupine again speaks up and reminds the animals that if it becomes as cold as they are asking, the roots of the wild berries will freeze and the plants will wither and die, and the hungry large animals will not have food in the spring or summer and will starve. The small animals eat the bark or gum of the trees, and would still be able to survive. After speaking, Porcupine bites off his thumb to show how bold he is, and this is why porcupines have only four fingers and no thumb. The large animals are speechless and Porcupine’s wisdom and agree with him and make him their wise man, the first among the small animals. Together the animals agree to six months of winter and six months of summer. In his wisdom, Porcupine also says that in winter there will be ice and snow, in spring there will be showers and the plants will become green, in summer the weather will be warmer and the fish will swim upstream, and in fall the leaves will drop, it will rain, and the rivers and brooks will overflow. Then all of the animals will go into their dens and hide for six months. This is why animals large and small take to their dens in winter. Only Porcupine does not hide, but visits his neighbors. He also went to the animals who had slighted him at the meeting and stuck them with the quills of his tail, and that is why animals remain afraid of Porcupine to this day.
Golden Knights
This week the Golden Knights heard a new story, an adapted version of Rumplestiltskin. On Thursday we used clay to sculpt our favorite parts of the story, and when we discussed the stories we have heard so far most students said every story has been their favorite. On Monday, students continued working on different projects with Ki Fatima, and on Tuesday and Wednesday, we had a special activity called Singing Flowers, which the first-grade class did earlier in the month. Ask your child how this surprising and beautiful activity works. Each student also brought home a sheet with the flowers to color and cut out at home if they wish.
Reminders
Toys and other items from home should not be brought to school. While they are a lot of fun and we know students like to share things with their friends, these items can become lost or broken and are a distraction from our work and forest play.
Please send your child with waterproof boots on rainy days or when it has rained in the last few days. Our puddles stick around in the forest after a rain, and children need waterproof boots to splash in puddles, and rain pants or rain suits to jump in very big puddles, so they do not become wet and cold.
Friday 4/2 is 12:30 dismissal for all students, and they will not need a lunch. The following week is spring break- enjoy!
Thank you for sharing your children with us and for being part of our community.
Warm regards,
Ki Holly and Ki Fatima
