The entire Lower School has recently become immersed in a study of Iceland, this year’s Global Focus country. In preparation for their original play called The Great Volcano Rescue, Early Childhood students have been learning about puffins.
Part of the research included watching a video about a tradition in Iceland called Puffin Patrol (click here to see the video). After the students became very excited about the idea of rescuing lost pufflings, teachers transformed an area of the classroom into a Puffin Patrol Research Center. Here, students could search for missing pufflings, record data, band the birds, and release them back into the ocean. Students have even gone on Puffin Patrols throughout the Lower School to locate these adorable birds.
From the Early Childhood Journal Page on January 15, 2020:
Today we did some more thinking about the amazing tradition in Iceland of the Puffin Patrol. The students shared what they remembered:
“You save baby puffins.” Sylvia
“Kids and grownups.” Rosie
“Them save them and throw them in the lake. It’s water.” Nora
“The ocean.” Henry O.
“It’s salt water.” James
“They follow the town lights.” Elise
“A cat could eat them.” Wyatt
“A car could run them over.” James
“They might not find enough to eat.” Violet
“It happens in Iceland.” Alice
“They could get eaten by other animals.” Sylvia
“Or they might starve for a long, long time.” Hope
“They put them in boxes. They just look for them.” William
“They find them in the package place with the trucks.” Adrian
