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Tuesday, November 15, 2011

The Builders and their Projects

KO, IO, S, E, and IR discuss the village.
Me I'm thinking about this being a tree. (a tall stick)
IO: That's too tall!
IR: It's okay. 
Me: And maybe this rock is a building.
IR: And the little one is a house. 
Me: What could this be? (squash). 
IR: It's a big plant for the fairies to eat. 
IO: Here's another house.
IR: We can make a circle of houses!
IO: This can be a bamboo!
IR: This can be a tree!
IR collects wood blocks. 
IO: Are those walls?
IR: No.
IO: It could be a slide!
IR: Yeah! A slide!
IR builds a slide.
IO: But I had a different idea like maybe it can be taller and the fairies can jump off.
E comes over: What are you doing?
IR: We are making a village! You can help!
E: I can't help. I am playing with KO.
IO: It's okay. We can do it!
IO to IR: these leaves can be a river!
IO puts a wood piece across the side. 



Our Fairy Village.

Me: What's that?

IR: That's a bridge over the river. 
IO: But the river is over here!
IR moves it.
KO comes over: We need grass!
IO: Fairies don't like grass!
E: Yes they do!
KO: How do you know?
E: We've been to fairyland!
They all put grass over the village. 
IR: Fairies love to have grass on their houses.
E: And all over their town!

After a second I realize we have a rule about picking things that are growing and say, "Hey don't we have a rule about grass?"
All: We can pick things that aren't growing!! 




The building of the fairy village has sparked numerous other building projects. SC worked to build a bed for sleeping and jumping in. MR and TB worked with SC to arrange the dirt blanket on the bed. KO, G, and SM built an oil rig to carry oil to all the people. KO rode in the rig while SM pulled it and G cleared the way and made sure they were safe. IR and E worked to build a tunnel made of bamboo sticks. Then E tested it by crawling through it.

 




All of this focus on building has given the preschoolers a chance to work on negotiating space, whose job is what, and to practice collaboration. It's also taken their imaginative play into so many new directions! I am curious and excited to see how they continue to build on emerging story lines such as the fairy villages. 

The children revisit the fairy village later and continue to build.




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