In this class we become characters, move and act out adventures in imaginary environments, and collaborate to come up with and try ideas to solve our mystery.  We will read a different picture book each week, which will give us clues to help solve our mystery.  Students also have opportunities to explore a variety of art forms  as we draw and share our ideas, sing songs, create poems and choreograph dances.  There will also be scientific inquiries, fun facts to learn and social emotional skills to practice along the way. Students will be given the opportunity to continue our creative processes between class sessions and present their work to their classmates if desired.

A typical day in class:
-Greetings and creative warm-ups for the voice, body and imagination which introduce the animals and ways of traveling we will encounter during the day's lesson.
-The instructor reads a letter to the students, which contains background information about our mystery, pictures and instructions from Miranda and her rabbit (a puppet) about how to find them in our imaginary world.
--Step into role and begin our adventure!  This is where we move through imaginary environments, transform ourselves into a variety of characters, and help MIranda and her magical rabbit in their quest to find the missing poodle.  Students will be acting, sharing ideas and knowledge, learning songs or carrying out short scientific investigations and hunting for and discovering clues during this segment.
-We read a picture book related to the adventure, noticing and discussing similarities between the content of the book and our own adventure. 
-Using concepts or information included in the book, students draw and/or write individual ideas about how to proceed in our efforts to solve the mystery. The instructor plays some music during this segment, and we talk about our ideas as we work.  During this time, students can receive help from the instructor sounding out words if they are writing, and will receive encouragement and positive feedback from the instructor and their peers.  When the music stops, we share our work and take at least one suggestion from everyone as we make a plan about how to move forward in our story.  
-We say goodbye to Miranda and her magical rabbit and transition out of our imaginary world, and spend our last few minutes taking turns sharing moments we remember, skills we are proud of using, or things we imagine might occur when we next meet!

Week One
Themes:  Working as a team, schools of fish, colors of the ocean. 
Scientific inquiry:  What makes things float?
Book: "Swimmy" by Leo Lionni

Week Two
Themes: Frogs, volcanoes, showing respect for animals and the natural world.
Song: "The Bear Went over the Mountain"
Book:  "Frog Girl" by Paul Owen Lewis

Week Three
Themes: Identifying trees by the shape of their leaves and the texture of their bark, patience and perseverance.
Investigation:  How do we interpret maps?  How can we make maps that are easy for others to interpret? 
Book: "The Secret Shortcut" by Mark Teague

Week Four
Themes:  Camouflage, kindness and giving new things a try.
Challenge: Riddles and rhymes.
Book: "Picky Mrs. Pickle" by Christine Schneider
We will solve our mystery and find the missing poodle on this day!