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Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Play Dough Is a Great Teaching Tool

It's Scott from Brick by Brick. I love to repurpose materials—use materials in ways different from their intended purpose.

Repurposed and reused materials = homemade teaching items. One of my favorite homemade items is play dough. We repurpose all those cooking ingredients into a great teaching resource.



Here's how we make it:
  • In one bowl, mix 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup salt, and 2 teaspoons cream of tartar.
  • In another bowl (or just a measuring cup), mix 1 tablespoon cooking oil and 1 cup water. Add a few drops of food color if you want colored play dough. Otherwise you will have white play dough.
  • Combine dry mixture and wet mixture. Stir thoroughly.
  • Pour mixture into stick-resistant pan. Stir constantly over low heat until dough forms and pulls away from pan (about 3 minutes). I usually use an electric skillet set on about 200 degrees rather than a pan on the stove - but I've done that, too.
  • Knead dough until smooth. (Watch it! It will stay very warm.) Usually I knead on a piece of waxed paper or a plastic cutting board.
  • Cool the dough and store in airtight container or bag.

Sometimes we do this:
  • Make it with the kids. Take an electric skillet and ingredients to the classroom. They can mix and stir the ingredients and watch as you cook it.
  • Create surprise play dough. Make white play dough. Form small balls. Make a small hole in each ball and add a few drops of food color; pinch to seal the hole. Give dough to kids to knead and watch the dough turn from white to a color.

Here are some things we've done:
  • Use cookie cutters - we have letter cookie cutters and other shaped cutters.

  • Use lots of tools on it - it can be purchased tools or repurposed tools. Check out the kitchen utensils area for play dough use (frosting spreaders, plastic spatulas). Craft sticks make great play dough cutters or drawing tools.



  • Incorporate other items with it, like these gems. Add coffee stirrers, straws, shells, small plastic animals, and other small items for exploration.


  • Make words with it. We sometimes make snakes to create letters. We sometimes spell with our letter cookie cutters. Print a word you want to make and slide it under a clear placemat or in a page protector so kids can spell right on top of the word.



Homemade play dough may help teach but it also makes great memories. I remember my mother making play dough for us. We would use it for hours. What kinds of things do you do with play dough?

(I've put more play dough links on my blog.)

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Garden Lessons, Typographic Art Apps and Thank You Notes

Posts should be short. People don’t expect or want books when they read a blog.” 
Brigid’s husband

Hello, everyone. Ms. Brigid here, from Merit School of Music in Chicago, IL. Thank you for joining me! My post today arrives in three parts. Part I – Parallels between gardening and teaching, Part II – Typographic art apps to repurpose for writing thank you notes, and Part III -  Garden in June. 
Enjoy.

Part I: Garden Lessons
 With the understanding that art is purely subjective.

1. Welcome what gladdens the eye, nourishes the heart, and brings wonder – then pass it on!
 Gardening is working with growing things in a constant state of becoming. It’s simultaneously a solitary and communal experience. Based on the success of the previous growing season (reflection), the ideas gathered from other’s gardens (observation) and preference, I plant and transplant, dig, discard, and hope. I hope to distill beauty and share what brings me the greatest joy. Hope that the garden will inspire and be carried on by of those who see it.
Teaching mirrors the same process: Reflection and observation of what works, what doesn’t and why. A quest of sorts, it requires making a deeper connection to not only those one works with, but also to the material chosen. Sometimes things don’t work. Try something else. Improvise. Embrace outside solutions or collaborate. Create. Choose songs/stories/ musical activities that resonate both personally and with your group. Make sure they are, in Dr. John Feierabends words,“…still delicious after 30 repetitions.” Then pass them on.

2. Seek out the sun.
Take pleasure in the present. Smell the roses, notice the new bud, and celebrate thriving transplants. 
Savor the moment, after weeks or months of non-participation, when a child takes part in an activity or sings for the first time. Delight in the laughter that ensues when you introduce a stuffed rabbit to be erratically bounced on a parachute during “John the Rabbit” (Oh, yes!).

3A. Let it grow! Let it grow! Plants do what they do best – they grow.
Channeling “Frozen” here (sorry). The plant cycle is simple and profound: Sprout, thrive, send out roots, grow up, leaf out, bloom, pass it on, and give back.
It would be nice if the biologic imperative were so simple when applied to children (or myself). Nevertheless, my job in the garden and the classroom is the same – to facilitate the process!

3B. Life is interconnected, and richness comes from multiplicity, not uniformity.
Sedum golden acre - with a million golden stars.
Students continually come up with delightful and unique ideas that would never occur to me a million years. Their contributions often change the direction of our class or scope of inquiry for the better!

Whether it’s a garden or a lesson, this applies. If too much content/matter is pushed into too little space/time with not enough clarity/reason, everything suffers!

5. Notice. Welcome the unexpected. Gardening is science and visual art at its purest and most accessible.

6. Never say never.
For years I ignored zinnias – now I can’t get enough of their brightness.
Teaching children and adoring it? Me? Never! Never say never!

7. Bunnies are everywhere.
Hitchcock had “The Birds.” Skokie has the bunnies, bands of marauding bunnies, and chipmunks, squirrels, possums, skunks and occasional coyotes (No raccoons as of yet. That was our old house!). Who knew the ‘burbs could be so wild. Sigh.
Teaching necessitates adaptation and resilience. Who knew life could be so wild. Sigh.

8. The universe provides.
The Husband says this is getting too cosmic, so I’ll let you interpret this on your own!

Long live petunias!
9. Say thank you.
Thank your garden or the cheery pots on someone’s porch or balcony. Really. In movies, there are often “My compliments to the chef” moments. Why not say (or think) “My complements to the gardener” when you encounter plants doing what they do best – growing and blooming.
It’s always time to say “thank you.” Embrace Buberian philosophy at it’s simplest, and treat everyone and everything as a “thou” rather than an “it.” 



Part II: Three Thank You Apps
June is the season for endings and new beginnings, graduations, partings – and writing thank you notes. While an abundance of excellent e-card services have done wonders for my erstwhile erratic approach, further rehabilitation  has arrived with the advent of typographic art apps. Saying “thank you” has modulated from a dreaded task (I’m sorry – I freeze up), to a creative experience allowing the use of adjectives with abandon!




My approach: Create a bank of  words and phrases that center not only on the occasion or gift, but on the giver’s attributes.  It is easy to include personal details, names of other family members, etc. For example, if I were to send our cat, Bing, a thank you, I might input these words and phrases: Perfect, cow cat, Princess Bing, purr, the best kitty in the world, soft, silly, ribbon chaser, sun and pleasure seeker, meowser, baby cat, Binglet, Will, Brigid, Briana (human family), Chico (dog).
Type as an expressive medium is not a new idea, but the ability to use this tool has typically rested in the hands of graphic or commercial artists. In the past few years, technology has changed all that. The following apps are perfect to use for personal and engaging thank you notes. Each app has it’s charm, quirks, and pleasures. All are currently priced at $0.99. Set your Apple Sliced app price alerts!

Tech Tip – If you’re not a fan of the iPad keyboard, type the text on computer and email it to your iPad. Copy and paste the text bock into the text window. Words can still be added or changed.

Color “theme,”  or “color scheme” is the term used for text colors. Text appears on white backgrounds unless a colored frame encloses the “theme.” The frame (black, purple, blue, etc.) indicates the color of the background – a nifty feature present in all three apps.

Wordificator is the easiest of the three apps to use and provides a free version, so lets start there.
The three icons on the top of the screen guide you through the process successively.
Touching one activates a dropdown sidebar where choices are made, so the image remains visible at all times.  Of special note: This is the only app of the three that allows for phrase use. 

1.Click on the T for “text” icon.
a. Input desired words in the text block provided. Use quote marks (“ ”) around phrases you want to stay together, i.e., “don’t worry,” “be happy.” The app is sensitive to punctuation. Delete commas!
b. Select a font (upper case only) and font size. Font size can be easily changed with a slider. Letter direction appears as horizontal, vertical, or both. Words and phrases appear multiple times.
c. Text blocks will be saved until you input another word block.

Wordificator with "same words, same color" option.




2. Click the artist’s palette icon to choose a variety of color themes.
a. “Same words same color” may be turned on or off, depending on your vision.
b. Backgrounds options are primarily white. Framed “themes”  include purple, black, muddy turquoise and  muddy brown (my designation). The framing color will appear as the background.






3. Click on the box icon, and tap on “shape.” A page of twelve shapes appear, three of which can be used immediately in the free version. The other nine require a payment of $0.99 to remove the watermark.
4.The final step: Press “Wordificate” to watch the magic happen. If the ensuing image does not speak to you, press it again, and the text will rearrange itself. The image may then be immediately saved to your “camera”/photo album, emailed, copied, messaged, printed and/or tweeted. At any point you can change theme, color palette, font, font size, or shape. You can even add additional words - then “wordificate” again! Fair warning: It's addictive. 

What this app gets right: Dropdown sidebars are easy to use. Good sharing options. Free version.
What needs help: It would benefit if more shapes and richer color “themes” were offered. The muddy mustard yellow hue should be terminated (art is subjective, and so is the visceral response to color!).
 Of note: Wordificator is available for computer-use experimentation. The options are stripped down, but all of the templates are available sans cost!


Cloudart, like Wordificator, is a gateway app. Of the three, this is the only one that allows for text blocks to be saved. It also provides the clearest instruction. Upon opening the app, “press the cloud button to begin” appears. Do so. A screen appears, the only time one is used. Additional icons on the bottom of the screen control the text manipulation from this point.  A particularly helpful feature: Pressing the circled question mark  icon  displays information on how to use the app – a rarity!
                                                                                                                                             

 “Color scheme” and font choices are limited but nice. Access them through the settings icon.


Things to know: 1. No shapes, only text. Words randomly interact on a rectangular background and layout includes  horizontal, mostly horizontal, vertical, crazy, and less crazy – my favorite, by it’s mere existence.

2. Words don’t automatically repeat, so need to be typed into the text box again if repetitions are desired. Text blocks can be permanently saved through the “share” function.


3.There is no way to create phrases. Even when words are linked with a hyphen or enclosed with quote marks, they do not stay together.
4. Sharing is limited to email, email PDF, saving to camera roll,  and save and print.

What this app gets right: Great info on how to use. Text blocks can be saved. Nice, though limited, color and font options.
What needs help: Some of my words disappeared even though they was inputted! Yikes. Phrase creation would be nice, as well as more options for sharing.

WordPack  is the most developed and visually rich of the included apps. It’s also a bit more complicated than the others, because each of the three screens (input text, customize, and share) needs to be closed before moving on to the next step. Clunk-o-rama time! 
Navigating the "Customize" controls.
Fonts use both upper and lower case letters, though there is an option to employ only upper case. There is no way to change font size. Text blocks will be saved until you input another word block. 

120 shapes are offered, as well as 45 fonts and 80 color theme choices.
Three pages of shapes are available! Some are beautiful.
Word direction includes “any” which creates angled word-fill direction. Color themes are vivid and rich, though more jewel tones would be an asset. Sharing includes save to camera roll, email, facebook and twitter

What this app gets right: Loads of shapes – even marauding bunnies. Vivid and rich color options. Varied font selection includes upper and lower case letters. 
What needs help: With a few changes, this app would be perfect! Progression between screens is clunky. Phrases need to be connected by a hyphen for words to stay together, which cries out for a more elegant solution. A font size slider would be useful.

Word direction: "Any."

Part III - Garden in June
Peonies!


Ah – June. In Chicago, we are a full month behind in the growing season due to a winter that just wouldn’t let go. Another series of Freeze, Flood, and Flourish before we arrive at the final midsummer cycle – Fry! But now it’s June, and everything is fresh, green and hopeful. It’s also “No Child Left Inside Month" – and though I’m a hundred years old, I’m following that dictate!
Welcome what gladdens the heart and brings wonder – then pass it on!



Goat's beart: Aruncus Sylvester


Our back yard is mostly shady, a study in textural variation and gradations of green. It’s towered over by massive oak trees that do an excellent job of showering hard green acorns and blocking the sun. The patio, however, is a sunny window, so it’s richly populated with pots of herbs, tomatoes, chard, bok choy and summer visitors (my indoor plants) “taking the air.”
Seek out the sun.

River birch - be still my heart!









Our front yard is dappled shade, except for a long, sunny triangle. It’s thick with perennials and annuals, anchored by a graceful river birch, a nod to growing up in the great white north. A billion daisies are budding. Coneflowers, iris, Chinese lanterns, roses, billowy Russian sage and bee balm are all mixed up in a heavenly confusion. Spiderwort nods in the breeze, just about to bloom. Rivulets of  groundcover, chartreuse sedum acre alternating with ajuga’s deep burgundy, surge out of the undergrowth.
Let it grow! Let it grow! Plants do what they do best – they grow.
Life is interconnected, and richness comes from multiplicity, not uniformity.

 Once upon a time, only six years ago, the yard was all grass and large trees. There was no garden. While contemplating the space, I resolved to keep in simple, unlike the garden at our previous home. That garden was glorious, but needy, at times becoming more of a burden than a delight. I determined to never let that happen again!
Tis the gift to be simple...

The plan: Bit by bit I dug up and amended swaths of hard, compacted clay turf and planted with intention, relieving harsh angles with carefully considered groupings.  That’s where this garden is so very different. It is mindful, rather than an ever changing experiment. It is informed design developed from knowledge gathered over two decades, which allows for change and evolution. It acknowledges key botanical truths: Sun plants grow best in sun, shade plants grow best in shade, and if a vine’s plant label says the vine is aggressive, believe it! (Step away from the akebia!).
Notice. Welcome the unexpected. Gardening is science and visual art at its purest and most accessible.

I thought that I was done with digging up the yard. I had no intention of starting another garden, but fate intervened, thanks to the April 2013 “storm of the century" that assaulted the Chicago area.
Never say never.

The storm precipitated extensive regional flooding. It also decimated our foundation and basement, and necessitated the rearrangement of our front yard (aka new sewer line installation). Although the plumbers assured me the ground would soon settle back to its original state, the unsightly excavation defied their pronouncements. Instead, over 14 months, the four foot high mound has gradually diminished to a gentle, but determined, berm. Last fall I planted two hydrangeas on the crest to soften the grave-like appearance. Ever since, I’ve been grappling with how to make the space connect and flow with the existing gardens. Unexpected help arrived from three sources: a lovely family, a thoughtful friend, and the garden itself!
The universe provides.
Bright and edible nasturtiums!

A lovely family gifted me with a gift certificate to a garden center. I thought long and carefully how I could use it best, so to honor them while benefitting the garden. The purchased perennials  are focal points and serve to remind me of a this special and supportive family.  A thoughtful friend brought over an abundance of wild geraniums from her garden, and they now fill the long empty stretch on one side of the grave. The garden gave me the rest. I divided established clumps of perennials aided by the recent rain. Interlaced roots easily separated, easing their transition to new, spacious digs. This new garden, though unsought, is becoming a lovely, and welcome, addition to our home. Baby powder and red pepper flakes are keeping bunnies at bay – so far.

Thank you for reading. This image was created by WordPack.
And in the end...how did I use my iPad in the activities and blog creation, anyhow?  
Apps: WordificatorCloudart, and WordPack for image creation, Camera for garden photos, Diptic (photo frames), Screenshots of  typographic app instructions, and more!

I am continually inspired by the Children’s Music Network (CMN) community. an international group of socially conscious musicians, educators, librarians, families, songwriters and good people, who “celebrate the positive power of music in the lives of children by sharing songs, exchanging ideas, and creating community.” Please visit CMN, and find a gathering in your region. 

©2014 Brigid Finucane  * 847-213-0713 * gardengoddess1@comcast.net
http://prekandksharing.blogspot.com 
http://brigidfinucane.blogspot.com





Monday, June 16, 2014

Ducks Like Rain - and I do, too!

A MacSoup Parent/Child class quacking it up!
What do you do when the weather’s wet and you can’t go out?

   “Miss Carole” Stephens  of Macaroni Soup Music here with a musical solution.
  
            BE DUCKS! 

    InDucks Like Rain” children pretend to be ducks that quack and waddle – and like the rainy weather – water runs off their feathers!

    I first heard this song on my daughter’s favorite cassette (yes – it’s that long ago!) by Raffi.  As I began my own recording career, I knew I’d want to sing that song with the current generation of children, some whose parents knew Raffi’s work from their childhood. Sadly, the kids I taught did not. 

Father/Son ducks!
   “Ducks Like Rain” was a perfect fit for my second cd – “H.U.M. – Highly Usable Music, All Year Long!”  What better choice for one of April’s songs?!? I scoured the internet to find out who wrote it – Raffi did not - and I found no credit on his recordings.  So, long story short – when I came up empty-handed, I went ahead and recorded it.   It's been a favorite with the under-6 set once again!

    Fast forward 7 years.  In 2010 I received an email from one Franciscus Henri of Australia, saying he was the author and I did not have the necessary paperwork filed (it’s called a mechanical license) to have recorded his song!  I quickly rectified the situation with payment and the required papers, and well, things are just ducky (sorry, had to do it!)  Franciscus is a well-known TV personality Down Under as “Mr. Whiskers!”
    So, let’s get you and your students quacking and waddling, too!  You can use my “H.U.M.” recording, or Raffi’s.  You can “super-size” this song easily by adding books, art projects and other rain songs (see below for ideas.)

First you might want to make Duck Sticks.  Yes, that’s a duck on a stick!  I use yellow poster board with the duck pattern here.  You can get 9 ducks out of one board!  The pattern is on my website’s Song of the Month page for April 2007.  I use packing tape to attach the duck to a 12” dowel.  
Got music?  Got duck sticks?  You’re ready to go!




Lyrics:
Ducks like rain! Ducks like rain!
Ducks like splishy splashing in the rain.
Ducks like rain! Ducks like rain!
Ducks llike the rainy weather
Water running off their feathers
Ducks like splishy splashing in the rain
Quack quack quack quack quack
Quack quack quack quack quack
Quack quack quack quack quack
Quack! Quack! Quack!
(repeat quack series, then do verse again.)

   


    I end with this spoken DUCKIE COUNTDOWN”.  Stop waddling and face the middle of your circle.  We wave our sticks up and down on each “quack”.  
    As we say the final line, the children quack their way to me and lay their Duck Stick carefully on my hands.  I make eye contact and quack back “thank you!”

I quack "thank you" - they quack back!
One little duck says Quack! Quack! Quack!
Two little ducks say Quack! Quack! Quack!
THREE little ducks say Quack! Quack! Quack! 

And they Quack-Quack all the way home!

    Yes, I sometimes get whacked in the face with a duck - but it's worth it.  I get one-on-one time with each child as they bring in their duck!

    There you go!  If you’re in a drought, at least sing about rain!  If you’re being deluged (it’s been quite wet here in Chicago this Spring/early Summer), sing about rain!  It’s really a three-season subject where I live.

Some of the books I like to read before or after this song include:
Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey

Five Little Ducks (big book) by Penny Ives

The Story About Ping by Marjorie Flack & Kurt Wiese


What’s Up, Duck? By Tad Hills


Another song about ducks:
“Little Duckie Duddle” on my “Tiny Tunes”cd – great song for motions!  MAY2008 Song of the Month on my website!

More songs about rain on my “Season Sings” cd:
“Rain, Rain Go Away” – great steady beat activity
“The Raindrops Are Falling” – fast, slow and intermediate rhythms
“Jump in the Puddles” – SOOO much fun!
“It Ain’t Gonna Rain No More!” – super-silly, gets everyone clapping!

Teachers can be ducks, too!
    
    There you go!  If you’re in a drought, at least sing about rain!  If you’re being deluged (it’s been quite wet here in Chicago this Spring/early Summer), sing about rain!  It’s really a year-round subject where I live.

Do you have suggestions for more rain songs or books?  SHARE!



Yours for a Quacky Song!
“Miss Carole” Stephens


Sunday, June 15, 2014

Montessori-Inspired Construction Vehicle Activities Using Free Printables

Free Construction Vehicle Printables and Montessori-Inspired Construction Vehicle ActivitiesBy Deb Chitwood from Living Montessori Now  

Happy Father's Day! In honor of the holiday, I'm featuring a popular theme with males ... construction vehicles. Of course, construction vehicles are popular with many girls, too. Today, I've created some Montessori-inspired construction vehicle activities using free printables. 

You'll find many activities for preschoolers through first graders throughout the year along with presentation ideas in my previous posts at PreK + K Sharing. You'll find ideas for using free printables to create activity trays here: How to Use Printables to Create Montessori-Inspired Activities

I also have a post at Living Montessori Now with resource links of Free Printables for Montessori Homeschools and Preschools.  

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links at no cost to you.  

Matching Cards and Construction Vehicles 

  Construction Vehicle Matching Tray

For this activity, I used the free Construction Site Vehicle Match Up Printable from Every Star Is Different. My now-adult son loved his Micro Machines from childhood and saved all of them even though he only saved a few Hot Wheels. The construction vehicles in this post are all Micro Machines, although you could use any small construction vehicles. 

I used a medium-sized tray from Montessori Services for the activity and a hemmed work rug for the layout. You could have your child match the three-part cards similar to the activity in my Montessori-Inspired Music Appreciation: Peter and the Wolf post, or you could do a simple layout like this or even one with the images and no words. 


Construction Vehicle Matching Layout  

Construction Vehicle Magnifying Matching Activity

  Construction Vehicle Magnifying Matching Activity

This activity was super easy to put together. I just had to print and cut out the Construction Vehicle Magnifying Match Game by Erin Horn. Then I simply added a magnifying glass to create a simple but appealing activity.

Cement Mixer Cutting and Pasting Tray 

Cement Mixer Cutting and Pasting Tray

This was another super-easy-to-prepare activity. I used the free Construction Vehicles Cut and Paste from KidSparkz and the Cutting Strips from C is for Cement Mixer by Royal Baloo. 

I added scissors and glue to create two simple cut-and-paste activities with added interest for many children who resist working on cutting skills with other topics.

Cement Mixer Number Tracing 

Cement Mixer Number Tracing Tray

If you have a miniature cement mixer, this is another very simple activity to prepare.This activity uses the Trace the 3′s from C is for Cement Mixer by Royal Baloo. I added a green control label to each number to show where the child should start tracing.

The large 3 would work well as a road for the cement mixer. The child could trace each of the other 3's with his or her finger.

Dump Truck Counting Activity

  Dump Truck Counting Tray 
This uses the Dump Truck Counting Mats from The Measured Mom, a wooden tray from Michaels craft store, a candle coaster to hold the numerals, a Montessori Services basket, and Spielgaben wooden cubes. 

You'll find a number of different ideas of materials to load and count in the post from The Measured Mom. I used the counting cards and wooden cubes for numbers 1-20, but you could use 1-10 or even 1-5, depending on the age and ability level of your child or students. 


Dump Truck Counting Activity

Construction Movement and Reading Cards 

Construction Movement and Reading Cards 

This activity uses the Construction Movement Cards from Royal Baloo. I used a a Montessori Services basket (small willow basket, which is a great size for many card materials). 

You could make this into a phonetic reading activity by using only the CVC cards (and maybe adding the other phonetic cards). If you have children at more than one level, you could have a reader read the cards for the other children to act out. Or the activity could simply be a movement activity where you read the cards for the child or children to act out.

More Free Construction Vehicle Printables 

Go to today's post at Living Montessori Now for links to lots of construction vehicle freebies from around the blogosphere: Free Construction Vehicle Printables and Montessori-Inspired Construction Vehicle Activities.

Go to my last month's post at Living Montessori Now for links to lots of transportation freebies from around the blogosphere: Free Transportation Printables and Montessori-Inspired Transportation Math Activities.

For June calendar observances and activities (and summer activities of all kinds), check out my June Themed Activities for Kids at Living Montessori Now.
Montessori at Home or School - How to Teach Grace and Courtesy eBookIf you'd like to focus on manners with children, please check out my eBook Montessori at Home or School: How to Teach Grace and Courtesy! It's written for anyone who'd like to feel comfortable teaching manners to children ages 2-12.
Have a great day and a great summer!
Deb - SigantureLiving Montessori Now Button  
Deb ChitwoodDeb Chitwood is a certified Montessori teacher with a master’s degree in Early Childhood Studies from Sheffield Hallam University in Sheffield, England. Deb taught in Montessori schools in Iowa and Arizona before becoming owner/director/teacher of her own Montessori school in South Dakota. Later, she homeschooled her two children through high school. Deb is now a Montessori writer who lives in San Diego with her husband of 39 years (and lives in the city where her kids, kids-in-law, and baby granddaughter live). She blogs at Living Montessori Now. 

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