Welcome back and welcome to the holiday season at AFK! Like many after the first break of the season, we had a casual start to our first day back. Amy joined us in the forest, which is always a fun surprise when the children arrive. Jarrett and Sammy spent some one-on-one time together waiting for their friends, and used magnifying glasses to explore the frost (eek!) gathered on the leaves and grass. When Eden and Charlie arrived, we gathered, greeted one another and made our way into the forest. We noticed that the forest was much changed since our last visit. Most of the leaves had fallen from the trees, which gave the space a more open feeling, and we noticed we could see much farther through the trees and much more of the lake than before. A game of superheroes erupted and continued after Larkin and Wendell’s arrival all the way until snack. At snack, we began discussing trees and the things we know about them. Amy read Albert’s Tree. We then offered a tree-exploring opportunity with a color hunt, and leaf matching challenge, and chalk for drawing on different kinds of bark. After engaging in at least one exploration, the researcher-artists were invited to take a polaroid photo of some part of a tree. Many chose to take a photo either of a chalk drawing or their favorite tree spot. These activities were interwoven with continued play before returning for lunch. After lunch, each child was asked about their experience with taking the polaroid and were offered the photo they composed to take home. Stay tuned for documentation on their exploration! Interesting questions to start a conversation until then: How did you decide on the composition of your tree photo? How was the photo the same or different than what you imagined/expected?