This morning we made banana pudding out of very ripe bananas and cocoa.
We smashed up some graham crackers to give it a more pudding pie taste.
After some deep breathing at morning meeting...
...we had a story. Then we talked about Choice Time.
One of our choices was to make calm down glitter bottles with a Catbird parent.
Another was to try out our pudding. It needed a little more sweet and then it was delicious.
There was lots of stirring and shaking involved with our bottle making.
When we were done, we headed out to the garden.
We brought out big bamboo poles for the Catbirds to use. They tried them as dumbells.
They tested how far they could reach with them.
They made ramps and ladders with them.
Occasionally, they bonked each other with them. Giving them 6 foot long bamboo poles is an intentional effort to engage in manageable risk-taking. There is a great deal of research on the benefits and need for children to engage in risk taking as a means to learn the skills necessary to assess and manage risks throughout their lives. (https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/freedom-learn/201404/risky-play-why-children-love-it-and-need-it). If you aren't familiar, I encourage you to google, "children and risk taking." It's some fascinating reading.
We spent the remainder of the morning outdoors and it's here the Catbirds' imaginations and creativity really shine.
Rocks!
Ramps!
