Tool Time

It's getting colder in Wildwood Forest, but it's not slowing down these hardy kids.

Last week we officially opened our wood shop with real hammers, nails, and saws. These kids are getting strong pounding 2 inch nails into wood - not easy! If you come across any (non-pressure treated) scrap wood at home, send it in.

Every month our school district focuses on a different social justice theme, using books and conversation to explore a topic. This past month's topic was "Love is Love" and this week we read a book by that same title. The book, featuring two dads, ties beautifully into our "Families" study, and celebrates the many ways that families show love an care for one another. Our goal in sharing this book is to help children see that love is what makes a family, and that families can look many different ways. We also want kids to know that it's okay to talk about these differences openly. We find that being straightforward and using words like gay helps take away confusion or stigma, and helps children understand the diversity of the world around them.

Lots of pictures from the past two weeks - enjoy!

We spent a day using screw drivers and screws before retiring our pumpkins into the forest.

Check out these clever authors! You can see their work on our "Author's Wall" in the classroom.

Bring out the Elmer's glue! Our art shelf now has "sculpture" materials, including full access to glue. Creativity is shining strong.

Great teamwork building this city.

The woodworking table is officially open! The concentration and stamina involved is impressive.

Each child gets special training before using the saw.

These kiddos are decorating their woodworking creations.

A little rain, a little stew

Wet chalk makes for a great sensory experience.

On a cold, damp day we boiled some water with our Kelly Kettle. Ask you child how it works...

The next challenge in our birdhouse puzzle was to put together a gigantic puzzle. It took us a while, but with the help of some fourth grade buddies we did it!