rivka

Our RE class is continuing to explore the natural world. We've started a long string of classes devoted to elements or features of nature: animals, fish, birds, air, water, darkness, light, sand and soil, trees, flowers. Today was all about air.

Instead of beginning class with chalice lighting and circle time, today I started us off with a game. Before class, I used masking tape to outline four six-inch squares on our big round snack/craft table. When the kids arrived, I handed out drinking straws and bright little cotton pom-poms. I had them put their pom-poms in the square closest to them, and explained that we were all going to try to move them to the squares opposite us without touching them, by blowing through the straws. Happy mayhem ensued.

When they started to settle down, I suggested that we form our circle. We lit the chalice and said our familiar opening words: This is the church of the open mind, this is the church of the helping hands, this is the church of the loving heart. Then I introduced our topic for the day. "Today we're going to talk about something invisible that's all around us! You can't see it, but if it wasn't here, that would be the first thing we'd notice. It's something powerful and important that we use all the time." They couldn't guess, so I told them: air.

As it happens, today was very windy. I asked the kids if they had felt the wind on their way into church, and we talked about how wind is moving air. We fanned ourselves with our hands and noticed that you can't feel air when it's standing still, but you can when it moves. Wind blows your hair around and can make you feel cold. I read a picture book, The Wind Blew, about a windy day blowing things away. They liked the book a lot, but it got them wiggly - several of them kept pretending that wind had blown them over. So we all stood up. I had them imagine that they were trees in the wind. First just a little breeze ruffling their leaves... then a stronger wind making their branches sway back and forth... then a storm... and then a tornado that spun them violently around. Finally, the wind stopped, and our trees stood still. When they sat down, they were calm again. (I've got to remember that technique.)

"How else can we feel air?" We did some deep breathing and talked about how good it feels when air moves in and out of our lungs. We tried holding our breath. We talked about how everybody breathes all the time, even when they're not thinking about it, because we need air to live. Animals need to breathe. Even fish need to breathe - there's air mixed up in the water. I read some selections from Air is All Around You, a preschool-level science picture book, to expand their understanding of air further.

What else can air do? I took a small stone and dropped it on the floor. Then I took out a feather and asked the kids if they thought it would drop like the stone. No, they said, it will float on the air. I demonstrated, and then handed feathers around and let them all experiment with letting the feathers float on the air. Air can hold light things up.

I reminded them that we all need to breathe air, and that air feels good to breathe when it is clean. Did anyone ever breathe dirty air? They weren't sure. We talked about how smoke makes the air dirty, if you have a campfire or if someone is smoking. I explained that we can help keep the air clean by walking or riding bikes instead of asking our parents to drive us places, and by remembering to turn off lights because making electricity usually makes the air dirty. The kids were a little unclear on the electricity part. They totally got, and enthusiastically explained to each other, that the air around cars is stinky and doesn't feel good to breathe, but bikes don't make the air stinky.

We had snack, and blew air bubbles in our water using the straws from our opening activity. Then it was craft time. Everyone decorated a sheet of construction paper using markers, crayons, and stickers. Meanwhile, my co-teacher and I cut a bunch of two-foot lengths of crepe paper. The kids taped lengths of crepe paper to one edge of the back of their decorated paper, and then rolled the construction paper into cylinders to make a wind sock. We put on our coats and went out to the little fenced area in front of the church to see how the wind made our wind sock streamers flutter. They looked just beautiful.

The kids seemed to enjoy class quite a bit. I think they'll be thinking about air for a while. I love the way these classes open up their awareness of the wonders of the world around them.