Dear Families,
It feels like Spring has sprung as things are starting to look green around the edges in anticipation of an explosion of growth and color! The children always look so big this time of year as their growth spurts become evident in their longer limbs, joyful energy and engaged minds – bursting with all they know and are curious about! We have had such a wonderful time over the past several months exploring Adventures in Imagination. We have taken so many unique and interesting twists and turns along this journey. Katey’s Monday/Wednesday crew took turns evolving individual adventure ideas – Isobel wanted to bring her interest in penguins to the journey; B. a desire to excavate dinosaur bones; X. a fascination with sharks; and J.’s love of Unicorns. Katey’s Tuesday/Thursday crew had a collective interest in Zoo Animals and Zoos so they worked together becoming zoo animals and creating and playing in a zoo. They then wanted to write and illustrate a book entitled Dinosaur and Dogs Fun Party! They did this while pretending to be cats…………talk about IMAGINATION! Jane’s Monday/Wednesday crew took their imaginations to Outer Space. Their “pretend” spacecraft required a control panel, a battery to power the “rocket”, and a refrigerator that was decorated with artwork on the front while housing a creature inside (puppy; unicorns; and a giraffe.) Once these essentials were created the countdown and journey to Outer Space could begin! The Tuesday/Thursday group became architects as they designed, sketched and built innovative houses influenced by shapes. There was a triangle, a rectangle with a rainbow, and circular designs. Puppets created to live and play in the houses completed the experience. Next they became a passel of princesses wielding their royal power with the aid of pet dragons! Watch out! Each of Janet’s kids wanted to contribute an idea to the journey, and everyone was delighted with “trying on” each others imaginations as the ideas came to life. L. loves historical figures and shared her passion of knights of old as we made helmets and shields to aid us while protecting the kingdom from dragons. L. loves fashion and inspired the creation of well dressed wooden people. F. enjoys the freeform use of tubes and tape and the room was a buzz with busy hands and minds. D.’s passion is video games, which inspired creating a pretend iPad and a few fun games. M. rounded out the Monday/Wednesday peeps by taking us on a journey with knights from the future – Jedi’s wielding light sabers. On Tuesday/Thursday E. (a farmer at heart) challenged us with making a John Deere combine to harvest corn. L. picked up the pace with his interest in race cars, and M.’s love of unicorns enticed us to bring them to life in a magical forest. Our imaginations will continue to guide us each and every day, but as we are finishing up the last bits of this journey we are also preparing for the next one. A theme that has emerged in the children’s play throughout the year is DOGS! So we will be shifting to a new focus soon. Keep your eyes and ears peeled for what pops up along the way – maybe a little tail wagging, fetching, and some canine tricks? Studio Discovery Fridays will continue with an exploration of shapes. Can anyone say “Quadrilateral?”
HAPPY SPRING!!!!! Jane, Katey and Janet