Wind and Weather

We took advantage of the high winds this week for some learning opportunities outdoors. Early on, we observed the high winds as they shook the trees quite dramatically. The following day, we saw that those winds had been powerful enough to blow the canopy off our play structure!

Kids started wondering what might have happened if one of the trees near the building had fallen - might it reach the school when it fell? Looking at the tallest of our oaks in the outdoor classroom space, we tried to estimate its height using the size of a first/second student as a unit of measure.

Many kids guessed the height of the tree would be the same size as 14-15 students standing one atop the other.  To help us visualize this, 15 students laid down on the snow, head to foot.  We judged our estimate to be pretty close, if not exact.

We also had some fun on Friday exploring in the snow. Many kids tried to make a perfect slope for sliding while others noticed the insulating effects of a blanket of snow! It seems like March will bring a lot more snow in the days to come...