Dear Studio Blue,
We had ghost stories this week! We imagined what we might see inside the silver car, or how we might decorate the outside of it. We wrapped rope around sticks for the hawk’s nest! We built all kinds of vehicles out of Tinkertoys. We built structures and made tools. Whew!
Ghost Stories
Kairan: Once upon a time there was a boy named Ferdinand. He lived in his house and it was dark and he had Augustus with him. They there was a ghost and a scary monster. They couldn’t make dinner anymore because the refrigerator and stove were off. They put on boots and jackets and they went to a restaurant. They all ate and when they got home the lights were on. And they all lived happily ever after.
Dax: The ghost is in the bouncy house. The ghost went into the jail. The ghost went into the pipes and got soap in the sink.
Camden: Once upon a time, a frog ghost kicked me off the bed. The frog ghost picked me up and took me away. He took me in the dungeon and then on the roof. The ghost covered my mouth and put tape on my belly so I can’t move. Then I broke free. I hit the ghost and kicked and fought and put him in the trash can. The end.
Later in the week,
Camden announced, I tell you a scary story!
(The previous stories were told to Nancy as she wrote down the children's words on a clipboard. Diane has only a camera in hand so she records Camden's story to transcribe later.)
He continues...Once upon a time, I sleeping, sleeping, sleeping and I woke up with my eyes and I saw something. A sleeping ghost. And him woke up. But it’s turning into something - a frog ghost. Him was bad. Him took all the gum. And ate it. And throw it on the ground. And him went to the dungeon. And him was sleeping. Camden makes snoring sounds as he walks around in a big circle with his eyes closed. He returns to his original spot in the room, Ta Da! And went down to the stairs and step all the way down and we hear a noise. Another noise. I not can’t tell you...it’s a secret! The end.
Camden asks to see his story on the camera. Diane tells him that we can't do that but maybe he could draw a picture of his story that he could see?
Camden: Nope.
I wonder if you could tell your story using playdough or legos or another material so you would have something to look at?
Camden heads to the Lego wall.
I need to turn out my light to show what’s happening. So, I go to my mom’s room. Her have a bed. And we have bunk beds. This is my side. I have two. Two. Have two. And I fell down and I cry and cry and cry. But I fell down from the ladder. I slipped down and slipped down and slipped down and I tumbled, tumbled, tumbled. I cried and cried and cried.
Arlo, you told a story on your clipboard, on the lego wall and then with your bird!
Look what we drawed. It said, Ferdinand’s the roof down. Ferdinand’s roof. I just nailed it down with a nail. That’s the big nail.
You and Ferdinand had been building tools with the Tinkertoys. We are curious what happened and how you worked together to fix the problem.
Arlo, you must have overheard part of Camden's story. You then began to tell your own story using the Legos.
I’m making a bunk bed with a top bunk. That’s my story. I’m sleeping over there. Jude’s here. (on the bottom) That’s the dead end. That’s me up there. Now this is where Lorena’s sleeping. Look at my bed I made. This is not a dead end. I go all the way down. This is the ladder. That’s a ladder to climb up, up. That’s where you walk. I’m gonna show you what’s gonna happen. When I wake up, I’m gonna climb down the ladder. I’m gonna go like this, look what my fingers do. Ta-da! Look at my bunk beds!
When you heard the bell ring, Arlo, you had a new idea. My bird wants to tell me something for meeting. A frog lived in a box.
Is that your bird’s story?
Yes.
Will, you told a story with the play dough and some animals:
The bird is pecking and pecking. A porcupine comes along. And a slimey that was too slimey. That bird is really pecking. Now he’s pushing his head.
Making Hawk's Nest Softer
Hawk's nest was just too hard, and Blue Bird told us that Hawk would like us to make it softer by wrapping string around the sticks. Now the sticks are softer and more colorful, too!
What's Inside Silver Car?
Building a Place to Take Care of Something
So many of you have been building places for taking care of things!
Will, you started by making a home for your bird (we don't have a photo of it, sorry!), and when Jemima saw it, she and wanted to make one for her bird, too. You said she could use the big blocks when you were done. Jemima, your bird is inside at the bottom, isn't it?
Augie, after you made an oven for pizza (the felt squares), you made a place for your vehicle. You worked hard to get all the Tinkertoys just where you wanted them.
Vivian and Cassie, you began making a place to take care of babies, and it turned into a hospital for all the animals.
Ferdinand and William, you came over to help with it!
We are curious: What is the ring for that is on this baby's head? And what about the one below with rings on its belly?
Making Tools for Building and Painting
After you made a place to take care of animals and babies, some of you put together tools for building. Here are some of the tools you made:
Hammer
Saw
Paint Sprayer
And here are some more tools you made:
Mallet
Paint Roller
Paintbrush
How do you make these tools? Here are some instructions:
HOW TO MAKE A SAW
Get two green bristle blocks like this (red ones work, too)
Put them on top of each other like this, and push them together. All done!
Here are William's saw (red) and Mark's saw (green)
TWO KINDS OF PAINT ROLLERS
Joe, you made two kinds of paint rollers. First you just used this bristle block.
And you rolled it on the window, like this.
Then you decided to add this green piece.
The green piece worked as a handle, and you could roll the table!
Paper Folding: Cats and Dogs
Sometimes we need instructions for making tools. On Wednesday, we got instructions for making paper cats and dogs out of paper. Rie (Llewyn's mom) helped us. It's tricky, but once we had the paper folded the right way we drew faces and decorations on them. (The ones on the right are Jemima's and Dax's.)
Many of you pretend to be kittens, puppies and other animals together. We read some stories this week about cats and dogs. During meeting time, we read the Olive and Pekoe book in parts, like a chapter book. We heard about their first three walks already. We will read about their last walk during meeting time this week - Olive and Pekoe are going to visit the dog park together!
