Our first Thursday of rain! Under the forest cover, there was just a light rain, but it gave us a chance to rig up a tarp. We sat underneath it to eat our snack, then listened to this poem: Rainsong Raindrops are singing with clouds, and when there are too many singers, they all break away and start to fall. Now, raindrops are singing on children's tongues, singing on lakes, on rivers, on oceans, on roof tops, on cars, on umbrellas, on tree tops, on plants, on little tiny shoulders, heads, on every little blade of grass. Finally, when all of the singers have fallen, it all dries up. The raindrops go back up in a secret elevator, and sing with the clouds again. ~ Caitlin D., grade 5, Red Wing, MN (posted here) We made a rainstorm by snapping, clapping, slapping, and stomping, and it was wonderful to hear the rain dripping on the tarp. We are all connected in the web of life! We made a web using different connections found in nature: water to fish, fish to worm, worm to soil, soil to tree, tree to sun, and so on and on. We passed yarn across the circle until we had many connections represented. We pretended that the water system was very strong, and whoever had said "water" as part of the web, tugged ever so slightly on their yarn. When others felt a tug, they tugged too. Soon the whole web was tight and healthy. Then we imagined that something was wrong with the water, and the system weakened. The people holding "water" let their yarn weaken a bit, and when others felt the slackness, they let theirs go a bit too. We saw how it affects the whole system - when one thing is affected or weakened. The Link of Life The things of nature link together to make a chain. Everything joins in links of their own kind. Then there's the Link that holds them all together, taking each little chain to form One. Without One they are nothing, together they are everything, together they form the Chain of Life. Lindsay Weber, grade 5, Woodbury, MN (posted here) Then there was some ingenious tarp-rigging going on - using different knots, and tying rope to roots, trees, and sticks stuck in the ground. Some side effects of time spent in the forest: rosy cheeks, calm minds, muddy rain pants, and dirty fingernails! :)
2 Comments
Wendy
11/12/2014 05:38:34 am
I love the poems! Also all of the creative things you do with the children. It is beautiful to get a window into what they do each week. thanks!
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Rebecca
11/12/2014 08:04:13 am
You're welcome, Wendy! It's a fun way to document our weeks.
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April 2020
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