wings and wheels

Explorations! Today was an incredible sunny day full of enthusiastic wings, wheels, and hot lunch.When the Flying Fish learned that they would be learning about birds and focusing first on wings, they immediately determined that they would like to make their own human-sized wings that they could fly with. Today, Mackenzie presented different materials that the Fish could use to build their own wings.First they looked at photographs of different kinds of wings that appear in nature: in birds, insects, and mammals. Then they drew their ideas as rough draft designs they could turn into realities.Everyone got to work taping and cutting.The currency group met for a long time today and were able to come to some important conclusions about Kid City currency and its value.Sean talked to the Goats about bikes and the way they work.The Fish created three kinds of wings: ones that were loose and flapped dramatically, ones that had added stability, and ones that stayed straight and acted like gliders.Ben and Lola make last adjustments.Test flights!When everyone came back together, they discussed the reasons why their homemade wings are floppy when a bird's or a bat's are steady and stiff. They talked about the importance of the rachis in a feather and the extended fingers in a bat's wing.Full wingspans.The Goats created index cards puzzles for each other: they folded a card, drew a picture, then unfolded the card and gave it to a friend, who then had to refold the card to see the message or drawing.Theo courageously worked on improving his biking skills for an entire hour in front of the school.The Ninja Cats' first trip to the park was long! They scooted bikes to the park without using the pedals, and this provided firsthand experience of using a velocipede, one of the the first versions of the bicycle. There was a lot of moaning as they tried to scoot up small inclines.Quinn checked his helmet fit for proper forehead coverage by using the "two finger rule."Securing helmet straps.After performing some stopping drills, the Cats slalomed through the cones. Chane helped them work on stopping safely without skidding the tires, checking the bike for safety issues and proper helmet fitting and adjustment.Nicky's bike chain jammed into the frame so he turned it over to pull out the chain.The Ninja Cats ended the day with a game of "Toilet Tag," led by Theo.More explorations to come...