Session 2, Day 2

Due to our change of venue this session, we are spending more time in the courtyard each day--which is the upside!  Many thanks to the teacher whose room we are borrowing for an indoor space this week.  Rangers were active and busy as usual, and we had an unexpected gift from Mother Nature today.  An Urban Ranger first!  Scroll down to find out what happened!  Once again, the pics say it all!  Highlights:

In the courtyard...

the flycatchers

Snail painting--that's snails dipped in food coloring and let loose on a big sheet of white paper.
These little mollusks have proved to be quite artistic!

mud painting

We asked the Rangers to "take a break" for the day on the 'human drain', which requires water continuously dumped into the giant excavation site.  We love the mud, but would like to see what other things we can do with unrestricted play and exploration in this area.  Scroll down to see more...

Practically everyone spent time making bug collections today, and there was wonderful variety of types of insects as well as amounts.  Several Rangers "adopted" a creature or two for the day, and it was hard to say goodbye, but in the end, being an Urban Ranger means protecting our environment and those little creepy crawlers belong in the courtyard.  We look forward to finding our friends tomorrow!

 

A trio of Rangers spent quite a bit of time digging deeper--even getting into the hole themselves!  There was talk of finding iron and stone, and of growing up to be miners.  Very exciting stuff!  This is where the teachers act as guides--the water thing could have continued and morphed into something else, but by asking (showing respect for their ideas!) them to 'take a break', a different group entered this space for the day, and the water Rangers had the chance to do something different too!  Mutually beneficial--for the adults who had to clean up after the mud troops of yesterday, it was also a nice change too!  ;)  'Taking a break' also leaves the door open for the former work to continue another day.  It will be interesting to see what tomorrow brings!

Our budding entomologist, Phoebe, collected a grand total of

59 (I think that was the last count) roly polys!  Squeals of pure joy 

and excitement filled the courtyard with each new addition,

and several Rangers got involved in the count!

Painting en plein air with the new easels from Mr. G's Donors Choose grant!

Usually we offer lightweight paper for casual painting in the courtyard, but this time we used good quality watercolor paper.  The difference in paper is obvious, and I have to say we were amazed at the quality and effort each artist brought to their work.  The results were beautiful, thoughtful paintings of personal observations of nature.  These will be on display Thursday for parents!

We spent quite a bit of time planting today and discovered these weird, egg-shaped white seeds--or so we thought!  Chantal discovered they had legs and were moving!  Michael identified them as spittle bugs!  We are working on confirming that tonight!

Using our snack waste from yesterday to feed the fly collection!

Nature journaling was serious business today.  It was as if they've been doing this for years!  Everyone jumped right in with ideas of what their entries would be today, and set off!  Some journaled in pairs, some in small groups, and some found special spots to really focus and reflect.  Amazing to experience the quiet, still, yet entirely active engagement.  We have to remind ourselves that these are the same Rangers who only moments before were racing around the courtyard.  We ran out of time today, but look forward to sharing our reflections as a group tomorrow!

Roly polys are the kings of the courtyard this session!

Our snail artists progressed slooooowly throughout the morning.

 

Today we weeded three planters, and planted lavender seeds..

marigolds with our mint and parsley...

and watered!  We also planted sunflower seeds--yes, July is late to plant, but
the UR philosophy of gardening is:  if you plant it, something will grow!  Has not failed us yet!
Lots of marigolds sprouting from last week and we are watching Marcella's sunflower garden
for those first hints of green pushing through!

 

the miners at work

nature journaling

 OK--here's the big discovery of the day!
As you can see, we spend lots of time with the courtyard snails--and do so every year.  Today, however, we witnessed something completely new--never before for the URs!  We think of it as a "gift from Mother Nature"--something that's right there in front of you, but only the keen observers amongst us notice.  Today, in Vincenzo's snail habitat, one of his snails laid eggs!!!!!

How amazing is that?!?!?
For more info on snail eggs, check out: http://www.kiddyhouse.com/Snails/
*Be sure to check with your parents before searching online or checking these links!

In the classroom...

Our usual art room rhythm is off because a classroom is not an art room, and it's harder to let go and make a big creative mess when you are on someone else's turf!  Rangers as always, are quick to adapt and busy themselves in constructive ways, while also being mindful of "borrowing" this space and being careful.  T-shirt painting commenced quickly and with much success!

sketching with friends

We couldn't find our weaving boards from last week, so we are working with kumihimo instead!  Kumihimo is an ancient Chinese method of braiding.  We are using wool-blend yarns to create our braids, but the same technique!  There are lots of friendship bracelet kits that employ this method as well.  Rangers had some very interesting ideas about what to do with their creations--hair extensions, bracelets, and more!

 

Rangers who opted for something other than kumihimo or t-shirt painting, used the recyclables we collected from families this week.  They built structures, knocked 'em down, and built them back up.  They are exercising some basics of engineering here--how do shape/size/weight affect balance?

Other Rangers spent time sketching and observing interesting artifacts from nature, as well as their creature friends from the courtyard! 

One Ranger used her kumihimo board to meditate...

which her sister found hilarious!  "Kumi-meditating" :)

We offered field guide pages depicting two wild plants from the courtyard--the red clover and daisy fleabane.  We brought some live samples inside to include our own observations and sketches to the pages.

more engineering and design

Another great day for the Urban Rangers!  Be sure to also check out our previous posts from Monday and Challenge #3--to continue Ranger-ing at home!