Climbing with Jack!

Today we read the story of Jack and the Beanstalk.  

This little fellow wanted to retell the story just like we did with Rapunzel.  Here you see his beanstalk, cow, and Jack!  What can't they do???

For snack today we built castles with our cinnamon square cereal.

The boys and girls were so creative with their shapes.  We had an ice castle, a round caste, Rapunzel's tower, and some traditional castles.  I love to see what they come up with when given the opportunity to create freely.  

We learned how seeds grow.

Then we planted our own beanstalks.

We made castles in the clouds for our beans to climb. 

Now the boys and girls know how to take care of their plants.  

Our Jack math lesson had us using non-standard measurement and estimation skills.

We found things that were bigger than, smaller than, and equal to the size of our Giant's foot. 

 

Look at us doing yoga!  We learned Dragon, Twisted Dragon, and Warrior today.

Only really amazing teachers post humiliating pictures of themselves to show how proud they are of their kids!

Going on a Dragon Hunt

Yesterday we tackled the Giant, today, we slay the dragon!

On Monday we made crowns in the art center, yesterday we made shields.  

Today we made jewels for the royals.  

This little royal made his in "Bu-dog" colors!

More dress-up fun in the castle!

In the block center we built a pretty amazing castle.  

Can you see the pattern in the roof line?

Peek-a-Boo!

In our story today, The Paper Bag Princess, a bad dragon burned down the Princess' castle and stole her Prince.  This tough princess went after that dragon and outsmarted him.  She saved the day!

Well, we chased that dragon all day.  We went on a dragon hunt and got close...

We know we got close because that dragon toasted our marshmallows for our s'mores!

We crafted these little fire breathing dragons to remind us of this special day at summer camp. 

Working with a mixed age group is so rewarding. 

This project was one that required skills that our littles don't yet possess.  

In order to give them the same opportunity, we cut the curved lines of the dragon face for them, and asked them to practice cutting the scraps.  Everybody got a dragon and cutting practice, we just modified the project to meet each individuals' needs.  

No 2 dragons are the same, so they say :)

We ended our day with a ridiculously silly game of telephone.  We remembered how Rapunzel and her Prince had a hard time communicating, and we did too!

A link to a you-tube video of some kids "Going on a Dragon Hunt".  Dragon Hunt

Falling for Rapunzel

Oh boy, you know that any book that starts with the throwing of underwear is going to be a good one!  Today we read Falling for Rapunzel, a fractured fairy tale about a prince and princess who are having trouble communicating.  He calls for her to throw down her hair, and she misunderstands him and throws down all of her underwear!  Once we recovered from the silly giggles, we read the rest of the book, exploring rhythm and rhyme.  Then we came up with other silly things that Rapunzel could throw out of her window.  Simply too much fun for a Monday morning!

Morning choices include play-doh beanstalks. 

 We threaded beans on the stalks for a fun fine motor exercise.

During centers, we dug for treasure in the sand.  

F found countless rare gems!

In the art center, there were lots of materials and an open invitation to make a crown.

The prince and princesses did an amazing job using the tools available to make their crowns. SO fancy!

Mike the Knight was on the scene to keep us all safe!

Couldn't have fairy-tales without prince and princess wear.  

 We dressed up and told our own fairy-tales. 

Finally, we made the characters from our story, Rapunzel and the Prince.  

We also constructed towers, as part of our setting.

Look at those golden locks on Rapunzel.
So proud of the boys and girls for using their scissors responsibly today.

Tomorrow we get to take these story-telling kits home and share the story with our families.