Category: Uncategorized

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”.

Dear Oak,

You picture wrote at the mark making table. You made red circles on all the paper. Near the circle stood a person. You pointed them out to me, but oh no, you covered them in red. I suggested you call the doctor or an ambulance. The story changed. There in the circle were two people.

They were in jail. One had a very large hand. Above the hand was a giant leaf. The leaf was so large it stretched from the jail to another page. I wonder if the person with the large hand grabbed onto the leaf and climbed from the jail. Their hand was so large, they could rescue the other person too.

You made a rainbow circle of the last circle, magic perhaps.

Love,
Teacher Michelle

Dear Mulberry,

Did you hear that Elsie likes to swing by her toes? Did you hear that Nickie eats Sloppy Joes? Oh no. Whoops! Backup. Can I get a redo? I care about you, and I care about Elsie and Nickie too, so I don’t want to talk about them. I thought it might be funny, but that doesn’t feel good.

Instead, let me introduce you to Elsie, so she can tell you what she likes to do. “Hi. I’m Elsie. I like to swing. I can pump my legs and swing really high.” And here’s Nickie. “Hey Nickie, do you eat Sloppy Joes?”

“Sloppy Joes? What are those?” Oh-oh.

Love,
Teacher Michelle

P.S. Nickie wonders where the 1 went from April 21 and whether the raindrops are melting our News.

Dear Oak,

You were swinging and singing. The swing went forwards and backwards, and your voices followed back and forth, back and forth. John was weeding, pulling up foxtails. You went to help, taking care of Rainbow School.

Some of you grabbed from the bottom pulling up the whole plant roots to the ends, the foxtail itself. Some of you grabbed from the middle big handfuls of green. One of you thought to just pull off the foxtail itself, the part that turns yellow and pokey and grabs onto you when you walk by, the part that wants to be carried off to grow new foxtails far and wide, the part where the seeds are.

Later, I switched places. One of you joined another to play drums for a while and make up new songs. A few of you gathered around me to look at the daddy long legs, pill bugs, beetles, and pincher bugs that had been living among the roots of the foxtails and were scurrying to find new homes.

Love,
Teacher Michelle

Dear Oak,

I heard a band today. Did you hear them? They have a number song that goes like, “A 1 and a 2 and a 3 and a 4 and a 5 and a 6 and a 7 and a 8 and 20!” I liked it. They had a gig at the Reading House. I think Cutie Possie possum was dancing under the deck to the song. It was very catchy. Cutie Possie told me that they have a Possum Song too. I haven’t heard that one yet.

Then they went on the road. They packed up their drums and sticks and headed out. Their next gig was at Mud Mountain. Over in the Mud Kitchen, someone made cake with sprinkles. It was a pitcher cake, and I thought it looked delicious, so I took a picture.

Love,
Teacher Michelle