WPNS News

Dear Oak,

It’s green. It’s snapping. Is it a crocodile? Run! Get the water traps. No! We don’t need water traps in the Safe Area. Your books! Your writing! Your Art! We have to keep them safe. They MUST stay dry to stay safe. Plus, we don’t need water traps in the Safe Area because the Safe Area is SAFE!

More water! My turn! Yikes! Water is going into the Safe Area. We’re going to be trapped. To safely get the water to make the traps, first, put the hose in the canister you want to fill. Then and only then, turn on the water. Then, watch very carefully and turn off the water when it gets just below the top. That’s important! Otherwise, the water will spray out the too full canister and get you all wet.

The safest and quickest way that I saw was when you put the opening of your canister under the water in the bin. Watch the bubbles. When the bubbles stop, you’ve got water for your water trap. Or use the pitcher to fill the canister. Now, let’s go get that green snapper. Was it a crocodile?

Love,
Teacher Michelle

Dear Mulberry,

You were digging a BIG hole in the sandbox and asked your mom for help. She was reading, and I really like digging holes, so I asked if I could help. You directed me to dig deeper. We dug a long deep hole. Then, you started digging a long deep hole perpendicular to the hole you’d already dug, so I started one parallel to the one you were digging.

The 3 holes joined at the corners and looked like a U. You began a tunnel. I found a treasure. You noted that it was a mine. When my hole was about as close to the edge of where you were digging your tunnel, I started digging a tunnel too. Then someone else joined to help. Our tunnels met. You could see the scoop I was using from your end.

The two of you kept clearing dirt from the tunnel on your side, and others came over to help too. Someone fell into the first hole we’d dug and forward on top of the tunnel. I thought there might be a cave in, but there wasn’t. Then another person stood on top of the tunnel. A crack appeared. A pile of dirt fell on my side. And …. cave in!

Love,
Teacher Michelle

Dear Oak,

You asked where the rope was. You’d gone to see if it was still tied to the triangle. It wasn’t. I pointed it out on the shelf, and you went to re-tie it. Some others had a different idea for the rope. Three of you pulled one way. Three pulled the other.

I pointed out that you had asked for the rope when you first came in. One of the others went off and found another rope. They tied it to both ends of the swingset. They wanted to throw the middle over the top of the swingset, but I don’t think it was long enough to reach. They had another idea with red paint.

You asked me for help getting your rope over the barn. Then changed your mind when you saw a better way. There was already someone up on the roof of the barn. It took a couple of tries before you could each reach far enough. Finally you got it over. People used the rope all day to get up and down from the barn.

Love,
Teacher Michelle

Dear Oak,

Two geese flew overhead talking. They flew just above the trees, their wings wide, their long black necks shooting forward through the sky. The trees whispered to each other if you listened very closely. Twitters and cheeps accompanied our own conversations and stories.

A snakefly flew into someone’s shirt while they were taking care of Cache Creek and helping. Lots of you joined the two Cache Creek workers who were pulling out unwanted plants to make room for wanted plants to grow and flourish.

Love,
Teacher Michelle

Dear Mulberry,

Slime. Icky. Sticky. Ooey. Gooey. Slime. First, one discovered the yellow bin. In the bin was a tupperware full of slime. They carried the bin to the bottom of Rainbow Mountain. Then they tipped the tupperware. The slime oozed and goozed onto the bike path.

It didn’t come out all in one plop, but they had to layer it out in gloops and glops. Then we put the slime into the yellow bin. Otherwise, shoes and feet and bikes would be slimed, and we’d never get it off. They’d put their hands in, and I had to rub tops, bottoms, and in between to try and free their hands of slime.

Still, there were bits of slime clinging to their thumb and in between their pinky and ring finger. I got a dry washcloth and rubbed. I returned all the slime to the tub and put the tub on the table. Later, two others discovered the slime. They came running and calling, “Help!” Their hands were coated in slime.

Love,
Teacher Michelle

Dear Oak,

You’d been working with the slime. Two others wore slime gloves with ropes strong enough to even hold Rhino, who could smash through the school. After getting all the slime off your hands, you started building with the magnatiles. You built a tower using all the small squares.

I was busy desliming people and dinosaurs. When I looked up, you had begun another structure using the big squares and small squares. You built a box at the center using the big squares and coming off that box you built walls with 4 small squares each.

You then built ceilings with 4 small squares each too. I saw how you used an H structure to be able to hold the 4 squares up without them caving in. I wonder how you figured that out. You built 4 of these H structures around the central box.

You weren’t finished yet. You built another structure on top of the central box. At first you used the big and long triangles to make a tower on top. Then you discovered more small squares and wanted to use them all, so you added a box to the top of your triangles.

To do this you had to use three big and long triangles on each side. The two outer triangles touched at the bottom, and you turned the center triangle point down to fit in between. Then you added 4 more big and long triangles on top of the small box.

You worked for a long time building and didn’t want anyone to destroy it. Others might want to use the magnatiles, so you knocked it down. Your structure was so sturdy that it took 13 blows before it fell.

Love,
Teacher Michelle

Whoops! Today is April 29. Can you find my missing 9?

Dear Mulberry,

You dug a riverbed and made a dam. You planned to feed the hose through the dam for the water to flow from the dam along the river. Two others dug caverns. One said that there were monsters and spiders and minerals in the cavern.

When everyone was ready, I turned the water on. The water burst the riverbed and flowed into one cavern. I think you dug a canal between the river and the other when that cavern digger wanted to fill his.

A few people wanted to be in the river. You didn’t want them to be in the river. Our newest classmate just knew that they loved water and smiled and even sang out as they tried to keep their balance in the moving riverbed.

I let you know that I was turning the volume of water down, so we could use just what we need and save water for others. You wanted more water and no bodies in the river, and you figured out how to make it work with less water and some bodies.

Love,
Teacher Michelle

Dear Oak,

You worked together to move the kitchen into the dome. It took some effort. You didn’t move everything, but you moved enough that items covered the circle of the dome. You added the stilt walkers for good measure.

I don’t know what I was doing while you were working so hard on this project together, but I didn’t see all this work. I wonder if you moved things piece by piece or if you carried lots of things at one time. When I did notice, I pointed out that the kitchen things belonged in the kitchen. You could use the wagon to move them back.

Sometimes we use the kitchen things elsewhere for carrying water or delivering pizza, but if you fell on top of the kitchen things under the dome you might get fork prints in your bottom. Ouch! One of you worked really hard at moving everything back. The other peeled a leaf off the ground and swung on a swing.

You did the plastic things. Hornet Tornet did the metal things. You made a game of it, tossing items and aiming for the wagon. Taking care of Rainbow School. I wonder how you care for each other.

Love,
Teacher Michelle

Dear Oak,

You dug a deep canal with one of the diggers in a giant circle. In the middle was an island. You hopped back and forth between the island and the other side of the canal. You filled the canal with water. Then you filled a reservoir with water.

You dug out the soil from the front edge of the reservoir. You warned everyone to stand back in case the reservoir tipped over and spilled all the water in one go. Some of you sat on the shore and dangled your feet in the water.

Another thought to splash shovelfuls of sand into the canal. Whoops! The splashes splashed a person working on the island side. They moved to stay dry. The reservoir held, so you tipped it with your hand.

A wave of water splashed into the canal and over its banks onto the island. You filled and tipped the reservoir again and again until the whole island was covered in water. One of you thought to add sand to the island so you had a place to stand again.

Love,
Teacher Michelle

Dear Mulberry,

“Help! Help! They need our help,” you cried to the new grownup. You aren’t the newest Mulberry student anymore. A newer family joined our class today. Yay!

In the meantime, the person who needed help waited on the swing for someone to push them. You ran from the bottom of Rainbow Mountain all the way to the swingset, and you gave them a push. Then, you ran back to the new grownup to tell them.

Love,
Teacher Michelle

P.S. Can you find the monstor in the news? Most monsters are monsters with an “e.” I wonder what kind of monstor is with an “o”.