There were many emergencies on the playground this week that required the help of many firemen and policemen.  Fires and bad guys were running rampant!  We also had some construction taking place.  A pool and a hot tub were installed, then converted into mud pits.During Monday Art the students were introduced to the use of lines.  For a project they made many straight lines across their papers, intersecting to create different shapes and patterns, which they colored in.  Black paper and pastels were also available all week, which resulted in some eye popping art. Henrietta and Wolfgang came down for a chat on Tuesday.  They both told us a little bit about themselves.  We learned that Henrietta is pretty energetic and active, while Wolfgang is more reserved and observant, and that they are best friends.  Henrietta told us that she is working on recognizing personal space and they both shared how they feel and talk together when Henrietta’s body enters Wolfgang’s personal space and hurts him.  We re-read the story Accept and Value Each Person at Henrietta’s request. Officer Lyon from the Lancaster Police Department stopped in on Wednesday to talk to us about his job.  He shared that his main responsibility is to help people.  He also makes sure that people are following the rules and being safe.  Many students shared experiences when they saw a policeman, particularly when a driver was pulled over for speeding or other traffic violations.
The month of October was ushered out by a witch, a vampire, a fireman, a Ghostbuster, an astronaut, Batman, Robin, Spiderman, Superman, Bumblebee the transformer, a superhero, a peacock, Fancy Nancy, Cinderella, two Anna’s, a purple butterfly, a bumblebee, and a ballerina.  They were super excited to celebrate Halloween with some fun activities, including mask making, skeleton assembling, worm and rat tossing, pumpkin carving, and spider web weaving.  Everyone very much enjoyed all of the delicious treats that were sent in.  There were even enough to send some home with everyone.  Thank you to all who contributed! We also celebrated a special 5^th Halloween birthday on Thursday. The birthday boy walked counter-clockwise around the candle sun five times while we counted for him.  After an entertainingly out of sync rendition of “Happy Birthday” he blew out the candle and we enjoyed yummy pumpkin cupcakes topped with cream cheese frosting! Happy 5^th Birthday!
Friday students had a relaxing day.  They did some painting, some sound games, played with the new community vehicles, had fun chatting during snack, and many of them made books.  Toward the end of the day we did our science project.  We shaved down crayons and began pressing them together to form a sedimentary rock, the second of the three types of rock we are studying.