Wild Rumpus, Week 3: More rain?

 

Normally, I try to avoid talking too much about the weather because honestly, it's not very interesting conversation usually, BUT... weather is a HUGE factor in this program, not only in how the play unfolds, but also in attendance.  This week, the weather was gorgeous all day long until right about the time we pulled up to the park with all the materials.  Then, these dark clouds rolled in and by the time we were unpacked, it looked like this:

It was too late to change location plans and the forecast said it would clear up, so we decided to stick it out.  (spoiler alert: we ended up with slightly more people this week than last week at the Lussier Center but not a huge increase.)

The first kiddo to show up was delighted that we were okay with him getting wet in the rain.  He stood for quite awhile below a strong drip off of the eaves of the pavilion putting his hand in the stream of water -- sometimes with sand on his hand, sometimes without.

The water below splashed into a plastic tub and he enjoyed playing with that too.

The "zipline" was built again this week, along with the ticket booth and ticketing system and signage.

 (see that black velcro strip?  That's the ticket.)

 Here the zipline is being demonstrated.

I introduced some wooden frames I built with the help of my dad over the holiday weekend into the sandbox.

Watch this video to find out how Thomas the Tank Engine makes an appearance in this imaginative play.

 

This young sand sculptor worked on getting the sand to stay in columns like the one on the right over and over and over. Such patience!  Such persistence!

 

This young builder liked building tall skinny columns and then when he decided to get rid of one to build something different he'd knock down the first one to get it out of his way, not seeming to mind the loud, startling noise or the bother of re-building.

 

And check out this great "racetrack" (also an excellent vocabulary word)

Lots of great writing and drawing happening on the white boards this week!

 (this one is a picture of lilypads, according to the artist)

 Aaaaaand on hands.

 Aaaaaaaaaand on super cute faces....

We did have a rather small turnout at the park today, but the families who came seemed to be having a good time.  Here's hoping that next week's weather will (SURELY!) be better?

Here's the East Side Rumpus Report from week 3. 

Please note: "Anji Play,” refers to a specific philosophy and comprehensive approach to early education developed by Ms. Cheng Xueqin in Anji County, China. I use the term "Anji Play" to describe my programming and throughout this blog with the explicit permission of Ms. Cheng because our programming has been developed as part of a close collaborative relationship with her and her team of Anji Play educators. If you are interested in learning more about how you can bring Anji Play to your community, please visit www.anjiplay.com