We knew it would be stormy today so we had drop off at the building! The children got right into their rain gear and ended up entertaining themselves in a puddle right out front for 45 minutes! We had planned to explore the field but the wonders of puddle stomping, some stick and leaf “boat races”, and playing with the runoff from the porch, were too engrossing! But at 9:45 we went inside due to thunder. Just as we got our rain gear off, we got a tornado warning and went to shelter in the two bathrooms in the building! The teachers quickly grabbed some entertainment and backpacks and we helped children change into dry clothes as needed. We spent 30 minutes doing clay, coloring, and reading books. We also had Miles’ mom Mary, who was there when the siren went off, and our UGA intern Annabelle with us. When we got the all clear, it was snack time so we headed into our classroom for our usual snack of tea and trail mix. The children were captivated by several books, especially one about a water fairy named Aelin. The children were so engaged with the centers we had set up in the room, including a felt board, clay, art supplies, and a puzzle that we ended up spending the remainder of the rainy day inside, with great success. The clay was especially a hit. They first collaborated (as a full class!) on a city and then did more individual creations when we made even more clay available. The imaginative play that usually takes place in the forest was transposed quickly into this new medium, with children using pencil tips to add detail to their creations, and experimenting to learn ways of splitting the clay, which they noted was much firmer than playdough! Some children were sad to have to leave their clay creations, so we took pictures which we will print and distribute next time. We had lunch indoors as well, and were happy to see the children working together to clean up and transform our classroom between its many uses today. We were happy not to have any other tornado warnings and to make it through an unusually INDOOR day of AFK!
