Marching for Peace!

Today was the big Peace Parade! We made new peace flags and set out to the big school to deliver the Peace Sticks that we had made for the classes who had helped us with our meanness research. We sang peace songs as we marched, and our flags waved cheerily in the breeze. In each room, the children took turns delivering the peace sticks and telling the children about our research. We also sangTeaching Peace to everyone we encountered. By the smiles on their faces, we could tell that we were indeed spreading peace!

pretzel snack in the hall

We are continuing to learn some new songs at Morning Meeting, and today acted out the slow sprouting of a seed!

Here are the words to the song:
Plant Our Seeds
Make yourself into a tiny little seed under the dirt.
This is the way we plant our seeds,
Plant our seeds,
Plant our seeds.
This is the way we plant our seeds,
When springtime is here.

What happens when it comes alive?
This is the way we sprout our roots,
Sprout our roots,
Sprout our roots.
This is the way we sprout our roots,
When springtime is here.

This is the way we pop through the dirt,
Pop through the dirt,
Pop through the dirt.
This is the way we pop through the dirt,
When springtime is here.

This is the way we stretch and grow,
Stretch and grow,
Stretch and grow.
This is the way we stretch and grow,
When springtime is here.

This is the way we shoot up tall,
Shoot up tall,
Shoot up tall.
This is the way we shoot up tall,
When springtime is here.


This is the way we open our bud,
Open our buds,
Open our buds.
This is the way we open our buds,
When springtime is here.

This is the way we bend in the breeze,
Bend in the breeze,
Bend in the breeze.
This is the way we bend in the breeze,
When springtime is here.

This is the way we smile at the sun,
Smile at the sun,
Smile at the sun.
This is the way we smile at the sun,
When springtime is here.

Its A *PARADE*!

The Turtles were a-buzzing before the day had hardly begun! Today was the day of our big PARADE! Some children had made flags yesterday, and the rest of the Turtles wanted to make their own flags, so we set out to gather more sticks.

 Next, we decided that we wanted to invite more people to come to our parade, so we made invitations.

We had to take a quick time out to solve a problem. We went to the Peace Table and Jacob and Ella were able to solve the problem (with the help of friends and the Peace Stick) and decided to take turns using the flag. "The Peace Stick worked!" was the excited exclamation, and high-fives were given all around.

 Off we went to deliver the invitations, and people were excited to see us with our beautiful flags. The Little Frogs even invited us to a dance party.

Before we knew it, it was time for our Parade! Dave pulled up in the bulldozer, and we gathered on the playground. Other classes joined us, and some had even made their own signs about kindness. Holding the Meanness Chart aloft, Tamara officially banished the meanness from the school. A chant of "Get it out! Get it out!" erupted from the crowd.

Tamara put the Meanness Chart into the bulldozer.

We processed through the parking lot!

The Toddlers were delighted!

And into the dump it went with a cheer!

Together we sang Teaching Peace, waving our flags!

It was an amazing day!

Turtles, Turtles, Brave and True

The Turtles began their morning exploring the areas around the room in new ways.

The skinny ramps were taken out for the marbles,

a new matching game was carefully played,

and beaded necklaces were made that were as tall as the kids!

Most fun of all, all the Turtles had the chance to experiment with the clay, which is great for their fine motor skills!

Then we split up for Flip-Flop Day where we got to play with more clay and much more!

Finally, to top off our fantastic morning, the Turtles gathered together outside for a special ritual that will bring kindess and problem solving to our room, and most importantly to bring love into our hearts! In order to do this, magic was used on our peace stick! Each of the Turtles struck the gong, chanted our chant, sprinkled magic glitter, and carried the peace stick back into the classroom.  Since we carried the peace stick through the playground, we are hoping the peace and love will spread all throughout the playground too!