Dear Families,
The last week before break was filled with intimations of spring! On our trip to Darrow we saw clear sap dripping into buckets and stood inside the sugaring house, where a huge fire made sweet steam billow up through the roof as the watery sap transformed into golden, sweet syrup. It was so wonderful to experience the process involved in creating this local and seasonal treat.
“Tip tap, dripping sap – the first sure sign of spring!”
Stoking the fire under the big pan of sap.
Sugar steam evaporates and rises through the roof.
Back at school, we continued to look closely at the pale green shoots cracking through our wheat grass seeds and marveled at the way spindly white roots pushed through the containers in search of more room to grow and water to drink.
“The seed got cracked!” “Like an egg, it cracked!”
“I see it changing! A little tail is coming out.”
We recreated this spring green by mixing white and green and yellow paint to make beautiful springtime pictures.
Come see what everyone thought of – the pictures and words are all around our room!
With our leftover paint we began covering boxes. Some children thought of their boxes as homes in a city and others imagined their boxes as walled gardens. There was much excitement as children began creating and brainstorming. Many people cut paper into window shapes and animal shapes and attached these pieces to their green buildings and walls. We will be continuing our work on these constructions when we return from our break and telling stories about the work that will go into books.
“That’s my turtle and those are magazines for him to read.”Lots of cutting and snipping: “Let’s save all of these pieces – ok, guys?”
“This is a bridge way to get in.” “This is a big, big roof.”
I hope you all enjoy a wonderful break and I look forward to seeing you next Tuesday!
Happy spring!
Sarah
Thanks for chaperoning, Dan!