Simone’s Pre-School class made fishing poles and today they added hooks and sinkers, squirmy live worms (or bright salmon eggs) and went fishing at twin ponds. The beautiful ponds are a short hike from the school. The weeping willows along the banks made hairy caves to play in. Last year we heard that they caught a fish and cooked it right there. This year, the feast was hot dogs and smores.
It turns out that today is more than just Fishing Day. It is also “Crazy hair day” and the kids take those instructions seriously. Eliza volcano hairdo hides a water bottle. If you look closely at the photos you’ll see spray paint on a shorn scalp (Daniel) or pink hair (Claire) or silly pony tails (Ruby, Evelyn & Simone) or red hair (Zane).
12 preschoolers, 12 buddies and 3 teachers
Each preschool student has a buddy from the Third grade with them. These buddies have been visiting throughout the school year. I overheard one buddy trying to get his underwing to try some of his fishing technique suggestions that he said would attract the baby coho salmon to bite. The buddy explained to his 3 year old understudy, “You see you are just half my age, which means I am two times your age and thus I know twice as much as you and you should listen to me.” The youngster did not understand this math and thus proceeded to do his own thing with the fishing pole…coho biting or not.
In the back of the classroom picture you can see a fish tank. Right before we left on the fishing expedition, Simone told Dorothy Shark-bait, the fish that lives in the classroom fish tank, “Don’t worry Dorothy, I’ll bring you a worm, we have more than enough bait. There will be worms left over.” The picture also shows the planets hanging from Teacher Judith’s classroom ceiling. A few days after this event, the same ceiling was strung with a gray whale, an orca and a blue whale amid a massive bloom (or swarm) of jelly fish. All of which, the kids made. When they aren’t acting out their studies, they are building them. It is a creative place.