Last week, we transitioned into discussions about how we take care of Our Earth. In our introductory week, we learned that Earth has special resources (land, water, and air) that living things need.  We must take care of those resources so that they can continue to support us!  Most of the Tugboats are familiar with recycling and can easily identify the universal blue bin, as well as the triangle shape that indicates recycling.  We talked a lot about the different things that can be re-made into new things: paper, plastic, metal, and glass.  We don’t use much glass at Harbor City School, so we limited our sorting activities to the first three.  The children practiced identifying the material an object is made of, as well as sorting those objects into their appropriate piles.  We also challenged them to search the classroom to find each of the three materials.  Finding new objects is a bit tougher than sorting the ones the teachers chose!  Finally, we closed out the week with an exploration of a different kind of recycling: making art!  Each child selected materials from a large pile of recyclables and made their own unique sculptures.  The process of choosing, envisioning, and assembling their works was quite intense and really a joy to observe.

In addition to Our Earth, this week was our time to study the letter F!  We assembled a list of words that begin with the letter F, including one of our own Tugboats.  We also made feathery footed Fs for our sensory letter project.  Our week ended on a mischievous note: while we were on the playground, a leprechaun visited our classroom and played tricks on us!  He or She left green footprints, swapped items around on the shelves, hid bits of gold, and even used the toilet!