Trapeze Thursday

TRAPEZE ARTS!
Today we focused on fundamentals. We always begin by stretching all our muscles in Stephan's humorous way. We worked in groups of two to practice the "equal sign" maneuver. This one-on-one position if loads of fun and provides excellent practice with balance, alignment and strength. Afterwards, we adjourned to the trapeze suspended on the playground to practice safe mounting, hands-free balancing, and dismount on the big mat.

The Blue Egg, by Mollie.

TODAY'S ACTIVITY
Yesterday we measured how much pressure (weight) could be suspended by egg shells. We continued our exploration of pressure by picking up blocks without touching them.

WHAT?! Without touching them?! Yes, that's how we got the students' attention, as well. In small groups the children took turns with this experiment.

By applying pressure on only the outer ends of a row of blocks, you can pick up the entire row. We started with one in the middle and added one at a time. All agreed that one was easy, but you had to "press" really hard to pick up seven.

TODAY'S STORY
By popular demand, we had an encore performance of Hedgie's Surprise, by Jan Brett. The description appears in yesterday's post (scroll down). There's quite the fascination with a naughty kid getting his comeuppance from a little hedgehog and a vulnerable hen. They love it so.