Harvesting Spuds–Comparing Size

        
As we pulled the plants out of the dirt most of them broke off but one gave us
                           promise that there were potatoes below.
 
     I loosened the soil then the children started to dig and find more potatoes.
                    
It was obvious that it would take a lot of work to dig to the bottom of the tub
                             so we dumped it on the ground.
                     
    
Eureka we found lots of potatoes, roots and the seed potatoes that began it all.

       
                        
I brought out a comparison chart with three different sized circles; small, medium and large.  The children sorted, compared and asked about the sizes.  There were a lot of medium sized potatoes.  Do we count the little bitty ones?  Of course which brought our total from this tub to 58.

  
We took them into the school and washed them.  Which gave us a chance to take a closer look at each.  We saw bits of dirt stuck in little holes (the eyes).  Some wanted to taste the potatoes fresh (raw) from the garden.
              
      Now the are all ready to be cooked.  Next post I’ll share our first recipe.

A Bus Ride and Gelato

I like simple field trips like the one we went on yesterday.
    
We started with a city bus ride across town.  That in itself is a great field trip.
  
Then we walked to a business called Hot Chocolates.  Yes they sell delicious
                           chocolates but they also sell gelato.
      
At this time of year they offer free mini cones to any class that want to visit. 
This is our first year taking advantage of this offer and since it was a success
                           we will probably go again next year.
  
We enjoyed sharing books while each family waited their turn to go into the store.
             
Then it was time to head back to the bus stop to catch the bus back to school.
    
We had the same bus driver coming and going and he was great.  He took a detour to drop us closer to the store.  Getting back on the bus he was patient to allow the children to pay for their grown up.  And finally at our last stop he parked closer to the school so we didn't have to walk as far.  His thoughtfulness really enhanced our trip.

Story Hunt

I lent one of my StoryWalks to a fellow StrongStart facilitator and she shared with me her idea of going on a Story Hunt.
      
She hid the pieces of The Very Hungry Caterpillar in the forest by her school and the families went hunting for them.  I decided to do the same thing with our Big Buddies.

The big buddies went out in the morning and hid the pieces. 
       
                     Then took their little buddies out to find them.
 
 
When all the pieces were found they headed back to the field so we could tell
                                            the story together.

           
                      
As I told the story the buddies fed the pieces to a caterpillar, that I made from
                           a coffee can, until the butterfly came out.

 
              After the story hunt we spent a bit of time on the playground.
  
    
We finished with our Icky Sticky Bubble Gum song.  This is our last time getting together this year.  Our big buddies have been compassionate and enthusiastic partners.  We wish them the best in high school next year.

Emerging Butterflies

    This week our butterflies have started to come out of their chrysalis.
 
   We took a close look and then went to the art table to create our own.
 
                  
                  We did some mock tie dyeing without the tying.
         
                  Another day we did ink blotting using paint.

Then when the children went home I removed the caterpillars from the chrysalis
                            and added a butterfly.
     
The first day just a few butterflies were out then the next day I added more. 
               The children searched the board for their chrysalis.
     
                           The hallway looks very colourful.

Fairy Lane has Re-Opened

Yay, after a long winter working with our city Fairy Lane has been re-opened.  I posted back in early April that the city had created signs and they have now been posted, one at each end of the Lane.

I invited adults into the centre one evening to make new doors as the first homes.

They were so creative and we ended the evening with thirteen wonderful doors.

 They are now tucked away behind stumps and at the bottom of trees waiting for Fairy Believers to find them.

When the city posted the signs they also cleared away a few trees that had fallen across the path.  They were thoughtful to leave the stumps so we could create a meeting place.   Looking forward to celebrating International Fairy Day on June 24th. 

I hope you can take some time to visit Lerwick Woods and the magic of Fairy Lane.