Mystery Lemur

A little over a week ago a box appeared on the bench where we gather each day. On it was a velvet frog with a word balloon above it. The frog introduced himself as Fred and invited the children to submit yes/no questions about who was in the box. They excitedly wrote questions. The next day "Fred" had answered their questions, giving them clues. More questions, then answers followed. The students worked to think of good yes/no questions that would give them helpful information. After a week several of the students had solved the mystery of who was in the box. They wrote "Is it a lemur?" and they got the answer, "Yes!"

So we opened the box and met Lee the lemur. Now students will take turns taking Fred and Lee home for a night. Fred and Lee have a backpack that they "ride" in along with a journal for students to record their adventures with Fred and Lee.

Writing a Big Book Together

In addition to the individual writing that the children are doing, we have made our first book together. We recently read Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle. Then we read a "big book" that my language group put together last year inspired by that book. My current students got excited about what animals they wanted to include in a new version. I drew names to determine the order in which each student could choose an animal and color to use. We made sure there were no repeats on animals or colors. Then we set to work illustrating our book, inspired by Eric Carle's vibrant illustrations in the original book. Our book is called What Do You See? and features an array of our own colorful animals. The photo shows some students looking over the list of colors and animals that they chose.

Soul Writing

Last Friday we took a break from our story work and did some "Soul Writing." In this kind of writing we go out and find a spot in nature, taking our writing notebooks with us. After a minute for each student to find a comfortable spot and settle down, we begin working in silence. First we notice what is around us. What do we see? What do we hear? What do we smell? What do we feel (in the sense of a soft breeze on a cheek or the grass tickling our legs)? It is an exercise in focusing on the present moment and the natural world around us. As the students notice these things they record them in their notebooks.

On Friday we sat in the area of the playground that overlooks the neighboring pond. A couple of large wisteria vines climb on the fence and into some of the trees. After we wrote for about 15 minutes, we gathered and those who wished shared what they had written. We enjoyed noticing when someone else had noted the same things we did.

The Mystery is Solved

Today several of the students had solved the mystery of who's in the box. They wrote "Is it a rabbit?" for their questions yesterday, and they got the answer, "Yes!"

So we opened the box and met Mimi the rabbit. She reminds us a little of Knuffle Bunny. Now students will take turns taking Fred and Mimi home for a night. Fred and Mimi have a backpack that they "ride" in along with a journal for students to record their adventures with Fred and Mimi and a digital camera so that they can take pictures of Fred and Mimi at their houses. Later we will make a slide show with the pictures and the students' writings.

Who's in the Box?

My language group has been trying to solve a mystery. Last week a box appeared on the bench where we gather each day. On it was a velvet frog with a word balloon above it. The frog introduced himself as Fred and invited the children to submit yes/no questions about who was in the box. They excitedly wrote questions. The next day "Fred" had answered their questions, giving them clues. More questions, then answers followed. The students are working hard to think of good yes/no questions that will give them helpful information. We know now that it is a stuffed animal, and the animal is a mammal. They also know that the first letter in the kind of animal it is, is the same as the first letter in one of their names, but not a letter that is close to the beginning of the alphabet. The students are close to figuring out who is in the box.