Clay Day!

TODAY'S ACTIVITY
We worked with clay today, much to everyone's delight. The activity was completely wide open with students making, forming and building whatever forms and figures they wish. Of interesting note was how some carved and wrote in the soft clay, much like the scribes of ancient civilizations.

Madrid's "Racetrack with a guy on the side waving the checkered flag."

MORE HANDS-ON LITERACY!
Yet again, literacy emerges spontaneously as more children joined in forming the letters of their names. Some of the more complex letters to form, such as 'S', 'B', and 'R' were worked out with a little patience and perseverance. Even those not yet able to spell were eagerly constructing letters and arranging them to form different "What does that one say?" phonetic 'words'.




TODAY'S STORY
Chapters 2 (yesterday) and 3 of Elmer And The Dragon, by Ruth Stiles Gannett.

In Chapter 2, The Storm, Elmer and the Dragon fly off towards Elmer's home only to be downed in the middle of the night by a treacherous storm. Fortunately, the water is not deep, yet they have to sleep standing up in the cold water, not realizing that they are on a sand bar.

Chapter 3, The Sandbar, finds the two weary and sore from standing in the cold water all night. As the fog clears they see an island nearby. They wade over to the shore where the dragon lies down to dry out and rest. Elmer follows a path which leads to a ladder up a cliff. Tomorrow, Chapter 4, The Island.