Today’s delightful weather may have contributed to the air of delight that surrounded many of our activities today! Kylie scouted out a new play site for us and we hiked into the forest on a new and longer path. The new site has so much to explore! Totally different downed logs to climb, more flat areas, younger trees so a different view of the sky, and a nice muddy area to set up the mud kitchen supplies. Charlie and Wendell were baby dragons while Sammy and Beck were grown up dragons. They used large pieces of bark as shields and we worked through some battles, reassessing personal boundaries as things developed. Jarrett took a big tumble and felt comforted by lying sprawled belly down on the fallen tree where we had set up our water station and books. He listened as Sarah read story after story to Miles and Larkin, who were enthralled by the many fantastical books that we had today. We discovered a strange black thing hanging from a tree and made guesses and observations about many of it’s qualities. Children guessed its weight by the droop of the branch it was attached to and poked it gently with a stick to guess it’s texture. When we left the forest, some eagle eye children spotted several more hanging in other trees! The children have continued to be interested in pastels, so we set up art supplies outside in the meadow before lunch. The children have continued to pull their dots away from the circle at lunch time and set up in smaller groups to have access to sun, shade, hills, flat spots, etc. It’s notable that they aren’t doing it to exclude others and even though I miss the whole group lunch experience, we are happy to be able to let the children continue leading on this!
