The Pre-K Movie Premiere

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Last night, we held our seventh annual Movie Premiere where we debuted the masterpiece: The Pre-K Movie. Our stars arrived in their fancy garb, walked the red carpet, had their picture taken by the paparazzi, ate pizza and popcorn, and even received their very own 3D printed Oscars. We could not be more proud of all of the creativity and hard work this class put into this movie!

If you’d like to see the script for this four month long project, you can check it out here.

Thank you to all who were able to join us last night and to all those that made this fabulous evening possible!

The Pre-K Movie Script (2019)

Below is a copy of the script written over four months by our Pre-Kindergarten class. This project began in small groups with each making a shared story. Once all of the stories had been written, we read them as a class to find any common themes. Coincidentally, all of the stories spoke of the characters trying to find a home. This became the central problem in our story. Through discussion, we decided how this problem might be solved. Each group then went back and edited their stories to support both the problem and the solution. Eventually, all of the short stories were edited together near the beginning of March. Final touches were added as we took note of how many lines each child had written for themselves and how many scenes they appeared in. Each child decided when and if they wanted to speak during a scene.

Scene 1: Old House, interior

——–

Narrator: Shark, Donut, and R. Princess are sitting in their old house.  

R. Princess: I don’t really like any of the activities in our house.”

Donut: I don’t like the fish at our house because it’s rotten!”

R Princess: I don’t wanna watch the movies at our house.”

Shark: We should look for a new house!”  

R Princess and Donut:“That’s fine with me!”

Narrator: Together, they decided to go far away to the woods to look for a new house.

Scene 2: Train Station, exterior

Narrator: Meanwhile, Falcon and Mouse are at a train station.   They want to go to the store.

Train Engine pulls up.

Falcon: Train, will you please take us to the store?

Mouse: I want some cheese.

Train: Absolutely, I’ll take you there!.

Narrator:  They are looking for a house and decided to go to the store to buy new things for the new house that they will find.  They get the store and the Train Engine goes away.  

Scene 3: Store, interior

Narrator:  While at the store, they see their friend Bunny, who is shopping for bunny food.

Bunny: I’m looking for bunny food.

Falcon; Do you want to come with us to get some supplies for our house?

Mouse: I want cheese.

Bunny: I’ll come with you! I need a house, too!

Narrator: Falcon and Mouse invite Bunny to go with them to find a new house.  They pay for their things and leave. They get on the train, who takes them to the forest to look for a house.  

Scene 4:  Pool in a Magic Garden

Narrator:  Meanwhile, Volcano and Pony are cooling down in a pool in a magic garden, drinking yummy drinks.  

Pony: Oh I love this pool!

Volcano: It’s so warm! I just want to stay here forever.

Pony: It’s so nice!

Narrator:  Suddenly, an Alien crash-lands in the water with them!

Alien splashes into the pool.

Alien: AHhhhh!  Cannonball!

Volcano: Are you ok?

Pony: Do you want something to drink?

Alien: Yes please!  I’m ok. Have you seen a space home?

Volcano and Pony: We haven’t seen one.  

Alien: I have an idea!  Let’s build a city.

Pony: I want a rainbow city

Volcano: We can build a rainbow city

Alien: I want a space city!

Volcano: We can build an alien home!

Alien: How about half the city is rainbow and half is space.

Volcano and Pony: Yes!

Alien and Volcano and Pony: Let’s get building!

Scene 5: The Forest

Alien, Volcano, and Pony walking around, searching the forest.  Pantomime picking up items.

Narrator:  Together, they begin looking around in the forest of supplies to build their new homes with.  They find lots of metal and pink cheese and bricks and start building a space station for the alien, a castle for the Pony and Volcano, and a whole giant town!  They are very hard workers.

Scene 6: The Forest

Narrator:  Meanwhile, Snowflake Princess, Tiger, and Baby Shark are walking in the forest, all looking for a home.

Snowflake Princess: “Let’s find a pink house with sparkle cheese!”

Tiger: Yeah!

Snowflake Princess gets distracted and chases a squirrel, getting lost.  

Scene 7: Squirrel Chasing (Forest)

Snowflake is running around in the woods.

Scene 8: The Forest

Shark Robot Alien meets up with Baby Shark and Tiger.

Shark Robot Alien: Where’s Snowflake Princess?

Baby Shark: She got distracted chasing a squirrel.  We don’t know where she is.

Shark Robot Alien: Let’s leave a trail of acorns to lure the squirrel here!  

Narrator:  While Shark Robot Alien, Tiger, and Baby Shark are searching for the Snowflake Princess, they see Shark, Donut, and R. Princess who are looking for a new, fancy house.  

Shark: Hey! We’re looking for a new house.

Tiger: We have to go find a different house, too.

Baby Shark: Let’s go together!

Scene 9: The Forest

Cut scene to Snowflake Princess alone in different part of the woods?

Narrator: While Snowflake Princess is chasing a squirrel, she realizes she is lost and is very sad.

Snowflake Princess: I’m scared!

Narrator: Suddenly, the Train with the Bunny, Mouse, and Falcon on it pulls up.  

Bunny: “Do you need a ride?”

Snowflake Princess: I’ve never been on a train before!  I’m too scared to go anywhere.

Falcon: Bunny will sit next to you on the train!

Train: There’s nothing scary!  I’ll take you to your home.

Scene 10: Magical Town

Narrator: Shark, Donut, and R. Princess stumble upon a magical garden.  They see the beautiful town that Pony, Volcano, and Alien had just built!  Everyone finds an awesome house that is perfect for them.

Characters walk into set and look around amazed.

R. Princess “Wow!  That house is amazing.”

Donut “That shiny pink house is incredible!”

Shark “And a golden roof!”

Donut “We should live here!”

Shark “That’s a good idea.”

R. Princess “Do you think we should add a grill and table so we can cook and eat outside?”

Shark and Donut “Yeah!”

They talk more about how they’re going to decorate their new house.

Scene 11: View of Magical Town

No one else is in shot.

Narrator: The Train pulls up to the brand new town.  There are amazing homes for everyone!  

Mouse, Bunny, Falcon, and Snowflake Princess get off the Train and look around.  

Mouse: I want cheese!

Falcon: We should find a falcon house!

Bunny: I see a house I love it!

Falcon: My house has cheese too!

Mouse: We can be next door neighbors!

Train: Bye-Bye!  I’m going back to my house!  I’m turning into a subway and going underground!

And the train leaves.

Other characters wave goodbye and look around for a cool house.  

Scene 12: View of Magical Town

Baby Shark and Tiger are standing with the town in the background.  Snowflake Princess enters the scene.

Narrator: Snowflake Princess finds Tiger and Baby Shark.  They are so happy they found her!

Baby Shark and Tiger:  We found you!

Narrator:  Everyone is finding a house that is perfect for them

Scene 13: Montage Scenes of Individual Houses

(Orange Peel House) Shark Robot Alien: I see a paper house made out of orange peels!

(Pink Cheese House)Snowflake Princess: Look, Baby Shark!  Look at the pink cheese house.  Let’s go look.

Baby Shark: Sure!

Tiger enters scene.

Tiger: Can I please come in too?

Shark Robot Alien enters scene.

Shark Robot Alien: I’m going to put my house next to yours! Let’s have a giant party!

(Rest of individuals with their houses.)

Scene 14: Magical Town

All characters present and having pretend (quiet) conversations.

Narrator:  After everyone gets settled in their homes in the magical garden, they all have a party with their favorite foods and activities to celebrate!

Party Ensues

THE END.

Campus Pride Day

Today’s all-school Morning Meeting was all about taking care of our campus. We love playing and learning here and sometimes we can help by taking some time to care for the grounds ourselves. Grade levels each had their own tasks to accomplish this morning. Some were in charge of removing any large rocks that had migrated to the grass and placing them back in their landscaping homes. Other grades donned safety gloves, scouring the woods and playgrounds for trash.

Pre-K’s job was to begin weeding the much overgrown Pumpkin Patch. Though we only uncovered a small swath of dirt, we worked hard pulling weeds until it was time to go inside for snack.

What’s that potion?

We have a nice selection of liquid motion bottles. The children call them potions. One day, a few became curious about what the potions could be used for. (Think magical potions.)

They decided that the best idea would be to label them so they could remember their magical powers. This one informs us that it is a “Sparkle Potion.” According to the author, this puts sparkles inside you when you shake it.

A Break in the Weather

Brr… Yesterday it was 2 degrees with a wind child of -10. This morning it was 40 degrees. We took advantage of the much warmer temperatures and headed outside. Although it began to rain, we still enjoyed sledding for the first time this year. The children also became very curious about a large section of the field that had iced over. They decided it made the perfect skating rink.

Who made these? (part 2)

On the path of the great vehicle mystery, we encountered even more tracks. Some, we identified quickly as deer.

Others we weren’t quite sure of.

We are going to investigate these prints further in the following weeks.

One child remarked, “Wow! This animal must have a lot of legs to have so many different foot prints!”

Who made these?

We found some very strange tracks in the field this week. We wondered if they came from a tractor. We decided to follow them, looking for more clues.

Oddly enough, they split off into two different directions . The young detectives felt the path on the left held the most promise.

At the top of the hill we found a faculty parking lot. At first the children suspected a small compact. However they realized it was much too clean looking. Then someone noticed the wheel wells on this truck. A clue! Could this be the culprit?

It looks like the tires are a match! We found our answer. Now we just have to figure out why it was driving around in the grass.

In a later post we’ll show you some of the other tracks we found while following these man made ones.

What’s living out here?

While looking for signs of life in the woods on this unusually warm (60 degrees F) January day, our Pre-Kindergarten children found a little colony of beetles.

They were worried about putting the rock back over them because it might kill them. This is the response from the child who suggested we return their roof.

https://youtu.be/6FwI3c4uFVQ

Gaga: it’s what’s up outside

On Monday we found something new on the playground.

For anyone that hasn’t seen one of these yet, it’s called a Gaga Ball Pit. Think less traumatic dodge-ball. While the older children are working with Mr. Cooper to create a set of school-wide rules, Miss Davis taught our class a simplified version. All players start on the edges of the court while one person tosses the ball into the middle. At that point, all of the players begin running around either avoiding the ball or trying to push it with their hands. If the ball hits you between your knees and feet, you are out and climb out to cheer on the other players. What makes this much more relaxed than traditional dodgeball is that the children are not allowed to throw the ball. They have to swat it toward other players. If the ball flies out of the court, the last person to have touched it is out. Although the big kids may eventually design more rules and procedures, this version is just fine for our five-year-olds. The playing field is more level for beginners than any of the ball grass games we’ve played and game time is fast. It’s also a great way to encourage the children to pump up those heart rates and get a little cardio in.