preschool "endeavors"

Liesl's classroom at school is trying out something new: every Wednesday they meet in small groups, with a teacher and friends from their own Dragonfly class and the next-door Butterflies, with the aim of exploring a subject in depth. The children were asked to rate five choices: science (bugs and seeds), murals, movement (dance and gymnastics and yoga), sewing, and book-making. They'll stick with the same theme and teacher for the next two months.

Liesl picked science and murals as her top two, and was placed in the murals group (along with bestie Nina!).  They have so far spent time learning about the concept of murals, going on a field trip to see giant-size murals in downtown Portland, looking at pictures of murals in various library books, brainstorming together about the theme and subject of their mural, and sketching out their ideas. It's been amazing to see the excitement about the various projects. I wish all school could be like Liesl's preschool.

Their concept and display wall, with various photos of their sketches and collaboration, their field trip, and just their learning about the ideas of murals and seeing pictures of famous murals.

On an unrelated note, they've been playing around with felt collages and storytelling using collage materials. This is one of Liesl's creations and the accompanying story.