Head

On Thursday, which was a rainy day, some of the children chose to sit under a tarp with Hamlin and listen to him read a book about bugs. They loved discussing the insects in the book, and sharing their love for bugs! We also identified some new fungi in the forest this week, one of the most notable was an Elm Oyster Mushroom! Following their interests in learning more about biology will bring us lots of new experiences in the coming weeks.

Heart

Picture Day! Our friend, Caroline Singletary kindly visited us on a beautiful morning to take photos. The children loved following her around with her camera, and we can’t wait to see the beautiful photos she captured! At the end of our second month, a strong sense of community is forming. Children recognize each others’ parents and siblings at drop off and pickup. A couple of our students love to announce to their friends when their grownups arrive at pickup!  

Hands

Black walnut dye! Two weeks ago, children gathered black walnuts. Utilizing Ashley’s expertise and passions, the children learned to made a dye over two days. Then they took turns carefully adding their bandana to dye pot and stirring . They took their bandanas home Friday; if your child was absent Friday, we have a bandana reserved for them when they return! As always, rain brought lots of mud play! The mud kitchen was a big hit, and we observed lots of house play developing from that. Nat and Reed took muffin pans to the house they created, and built an oven under a log. It’s so sweet to watch them bring their sense of home life to the forest! 

Holism

The students are really gaining resilience on these wet, chilly days. So many children these days simply don’t have the opportunity to navigate challenging weather for hours on end, it’s a real gift to not only learn to feel comfortable, but to find joy in the rain and chilly days! Learning what their body needs (dry clothing? a rest and snack?) is a wonderful skill to build while feeling secure with their educators near to help.  We are not visitors to nature, we are PART of nature!