We met at Pavilion 2 with the intention of building a fire but even with relatively dry wood from Sarah’s stash at home our experienced wilderness expert Kylie was unable to get a fire going because anything we gathered for kindling was too wet! It was a good experience for the children nonetheless and most were quite at home in the cold drizzle. The ones who preferred to stay under the shelter helped teachers organize supplies and also colored with pastels. Jarrett and Mabry really bonded today, sharing silly hypotheses with one another about why the caterpillar that Jarrett discovered looked the way it did and also doing some playing in the trees together later. It’s always a delight to watch new friendships bloom! We decided to make a fun treat out of eating snack near the bench in the warm and cozy shower area inside the pavilion since we didn’t have a fire. We made tea differently today, using a clear glass French press so that we could observe the process and the color of the lavender tea. Today we added lemon juice and honey to the tea. We cut our forest play time a bit short today because some of the children weren’t respecting the physical boundaries being given at this new(ish) site. The long walk across several meadows was a beneficial change. In the classroom we followed their interest in fort building and allowed them to move tables together and work together to use large drop clothes too. Children chose to listened to audio books under the fort or play with the felt board while waiting for lunch. We are so proud of the children for engaging with nature so wholeheartedly and “nonjudgmentally” throughout weeks of cold and rain!