Mud Day: Success!

  

International Mud Day is a real thing.  And we REALLY celebrated here at Harmony's House!  (Thanks to C. Tweedy for most of these awesome pictures!)  The perfect mud is a mixture of clay, dirt, soil, and water.  It was great for painting the climbers and playhouse, making "mud brownies" and "cupcakes" with "crushed Oreo topping," painting our bodies, and making super slick mud slides!

    

Do You Drink Lemonade?

Our classroom songbook has a song called "Oh What Do You Do in the Summertime?" and one verse mentions drinking lemonade!  Summer done right MUST include making lemonade from scratch.  :)

We used our scientific observation skills in this tasty process.  First Ms. Harmony sliced open the lemons and the school friends removed the slimy seeds.  After the seeds were out we put the lemon slices in ziplock bags to be squished, smashed, twisted, and more to juice those babies!  We really got a kick out of beating up these poor lemons!  :P

The kiddos tasted the lemon juice on their hands and realized that it was SO sour!  We then heated a cup of water and dissolved one cup of sugar in the water.  Each child took a turn using the wire whisk to stir the hot water.  Then we added a few more cups of cold water to the juice and sugar mixture.  After an hour we came back to sample it, and it was SO good!  "Better than my mom makes!" one child said!  ;-)

It's probably because they worked so hard to make it themselves.  While enjoying lots of cups of lemonade on the playground, one child wanted to make more lemonade.  I told him he needed more lemons, and he should plant the lemon seeds.  He wanted a "lemonade tree" so he took on the responsibility of planting the seeds in a pot, and watering it profusely.  We will see how that works out.  Hah!

Multi-Age Classrooms

Having a classroom with mixed ages has pros and cons.  At Ms. Harmony's House, Toddler "K" and Baby "E" attend because they live there, not because they are necessarily old enough or mature enough to participate.  But having younger participants allows the older students to develop patience, leadership skills, and self confidence as they see how much they themselves have grown!  And, occasionally it leads to very FUNNY commentary.

Friend "Hammer" was working on his plan building a "bridge road that goes over the water" when Baby "E" started getting fussy and tired.

He said to Baby "E", "I don't know what's wrong.  THAT sounds like whining to me!"

Ms. Harmony laughed and laughed because you could tell that he had definitely heard that line before from a grown-up!  Ms. Harmony explained that because Baby "E" was only 7 months old, she couldn't talk to use her words and tell us what was wrong.  It sounds like she whines a lot because she can't talk yet.  ;-)

BIG Art

This week we lined a swimming pool with sheets of paper, filled various squirt bottles with watered down Tempera paint, and squirted away!  It was awesome to create this extra large, teamwork masterpiece!

There was some trial and error for the kids to work through.  They initially wanted to use the spray bottles normally used for cleaning or hair, but quickly found that the perineal cleanser bottles from the hospital sent out a much larger spray volume per squeeze!

Once we took the sheets of paper off we found that the individual sheets were just as amazing as the big masterpiece.  The children enjoyed the process so much that they requested we do it again when we returned outside later in the morning.  We sprayed and sprayed until all the paint was gone.

Summer is Happening!

Summer is FINALLY here and happenin'!  Our spirits were high with energy to match!  Here's some of the plans we made on our first day back.  The sand wheels and cups were turned into a Juice Factory where drinks were served complete with straws and fuzzy stick adornments.  ;)

Friend "Hammer" worked on magnatile floor plans, Friend "Kangaroo" built pyramids with wedgits, and Toddler "K" and Friend "Sandwich" used cusinaire rods to fill in the maze.  All of these awesome plans really stretched the friends' spatial awareness and fine motor skills.

Friend "Sunflower" and "Sandwich" couldn't wait to get to the House Area where they enjoyed playing baby and doctor.  Their collaboration in this role play activity was extensive as they worked through an "appointment" and then traded roles.

Friend "Hammer" first found his favorite pink hiking boots, then took care of the babies in the nursery, and even cooked dinner.  It is quite impressive to see his expertise in cooking, and how carefully he rocked his baby in the cradle.  That is a tender heart right there.  :)

Lastly, we moved outside to play in the water, mud, with brooms and books, and also with gross motor equipment.  Ms. Harmony recently fenced in the playground area so that Outside Time could be a more developed part of our day instead of just a few minutes in duration while we wait for our parents to pick up.  It was really humid today, but none of the school friends even mentioned the heat.  We were too busy having fun!  Can't wait till Thursday!