Fishing, tasting, and working our way into our new groove!

In our weekly faculty meeting Kylie and Ashley reported that one of the highlights of their week was seeing the children try new foods! They noticed even more interest in the special food that Kim prepared as the week went on! We know that the more we can make meals a social and sensory experience, the more engaging children find them. Discussion about the beautiful colors in our quinoa this week brought children into a curious mindset. Sylvan tested his hypothesis that the “white” foods would taste the same and then reported his findings: “This stuff is tang-dy, and this stuff is not!”

Screenshot 2021-09-06 163304.png

Every year as we watch children fall in love with beloved and new play sites throughout the forest, they find their own groove in play. This class is VERY into pretend fishing off of the bridge! They’ve also named the area under the bridge “the hole”. Seeing play patterns and naming procedures happen so quickly during our short three-day week is so affirming!

Week 2’s new addition, the AFK “adventure vest”

Week 2’s new addition, the AFK “adventure vest”

A big part of our work this week was establishing procedures and jobs - Educators and children alike! At check-in, we have been so proud to to see the children get familiar with their three “jobs”, 1) have their temperature taken 2) put their backpack in the wagon 3) put their water bottle in the basket. This week we will add a fourth and fifth job —putting their “adventure vest” on before they go to play AND washing their hands! The children have been so eager to help with pushing wagons, getting things set up at the site, helping to get the full load of supplies back to the pavilion at the end of the day by carrying their own backpacks for the final day’s hike!

Oliver is such a beloved part of the group already! His deep connection with nature and his “big kid” presence is such a calming force for the children. Here Luca observes him doing some homeschool work that he lovingly describes to his young friend.

Oliver is such a beloved part of the group already! His deep connection with nature and his “big kid” presence is such a calming force for the children. Here Luca observes him doing some homeschool work that he lovingly describes to his young friend.

The children also loved having our substitute Hamlin with us for all three days this week. Hamlin is a music teacher and brought instruments to share! It was prompted by Luca’s love of drums, and led to some jam sessions and impromptu song sharing. We love that Hamlin formed some strong bonds with the students and we will miss having him daily but we know that easing back into the hands-on portion of our parent-cooperative model will bring so many benefits!

The game “Fire in the Forest” was a hit this week. Cooperative games and familiar outdoor activities such as sidewalk chalk are such a great way to get our group dynamics and general comfort in the outdoors established. This group of children is highly sociable and nature-connected already. They are going to have a great year together!

Celebrating our first day - Fall 2021!

I heard from so many parents as well as teachers that today was successful, maybe even healing, for all of us who have been challenged by the isolation of pandemic life. Teachers marveled at the wonder of seeing children connecting with one another so easily. Humans are such social creatures and it is always a joy to see them play and learn with one another!

Our morning circle centered on a game where children introduced themselves with their name and a dance move that everyone repeated. There was a lot of jumping, spin-jumping, and kicking involved!

During a period of free play, Hamlin witnessed the power of allowing curiosity to guide a child’s academic development. Reed took a very strong interest in Hamlin's name and after Hamlin repeated his name dozens of times, Reed grabbed a clipboard and proceeded to try to spell it. He asked “is there a six in your name?” which then prompted an authentic discussion of letters and numbers. Making the acts of writing and reading a functional and natural part of children’s lives is such an important tool for building lifelong literacy.

We are enjoying developing routines and building norms with the children’s input. That will create a culture that is unique to this group of students, who are sharing a special experience during a challenging time. We hold that responsibility as one that is sacred; helping influence the culture and community of the next generation is deeply meaningful work.

Daily Diary 2/27/20

What a beautiful day! It was so nice to have all 9 children present, AND dry sunny weather! We warmed up quickly once we took the long walk to our new favorite site. Annabelle joined us midway through the morning as she does every Thursday. The dominant form of play we witnessed today was a variation on the ever-present superhero play that the older boys love. They started a superhero training school! Mabry, Willa, and Larkin were initiated into the realm of superhero play by completing certain obstacle course type challenges. Miles joined in near the end as well. It was very friendly and supportive and the play expanded and evolved over HOURS. Kylie also gave us a lesson on collecting pine needles for tea today! She taught the children about harvesting (not taking too much from one place) and how to prepare the needles for tea (taking off any stems fully). We enjoyed it with fresh squeezed lemon and local honey. Pine needle tea is full of vitamin C! A sweet new friendship that really blossomed today was between Miles and Jarrett. You can see in the photos how Jarrett made a “sun shade” over Miles at lunch. Multi-age learning is wonderful for the older and younger students both!

Daily Diary 2/25/20

The forest was quite saturated with water today, but the rain had ceased. While we waited for students to arrive, we played a complicated version of the tag game known as “Fire in the Forest” and then raced over to our circle of tree stumps and had a short circle as well as a brief salutation to the things the children chose from the forest and their imaginations to greet. We made our way to our new site looking for imaginative clues of hidden dragons, snakes and serpents on our way. The children spent a great deal of time constructing dams, rerouting small rain streams, building, and collecting as part of their imaginative scenarios. Some deep sludgy downstream mud tugged at the children’s boots and soon everyone was once again wet through and through. After some drying off on the tarp and some changing of clothes we had our snacks and conversation together, and eventually read a book about mindfulness (Mindful Monkey, Happy Panda) which paved the way for a discussion about listening as a skill (like tree climbing and making a fire) and how talking in circle might be different than everyday conversation with regards to taking turns to talk and listening to everyone’s voice. The children revisited the many options of ensuring people talk one at a time such as raising their hand, saying “excuse me”, “I have something to say” as well as the possibility of using a talking stick, and expanding that to any item chosen for that day. Today we used a talking twig which led to a tiny misunderstanding as to whether sticks could talk and also the very cool stick bugs that occasionally appear in our gardens and yards. We returned to much more sedate water play in the last of our dry clothes, and after gathering everything, made a very quick exit out of the forest and back to the visitor’s center for a delicious lunch and a hasty close out to our day. We saw some good negotiations and emerging leadership skills going on today with some of the kids taking the initiative to include someone who might have been formerly left out. It was heart-warming to see.The forest is still very wet, as were the children, but the day turned into a pretty one and flowers are just starting to emerge everywhere partially hidden under the forest leaves.

Daily Diary 2/20/20

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!

Daily Diary 2/18/20

Another day of misty rain, delightful puddles, and late morning showers shaped our day’s activities. We had a smaller group today all dressed for the weather, and students alternated between making art, such as popsicle stick puppet figures (forest animals, dragons, unicorns and egyptian deities) and some work with clay in the form of bejeweled bowls) along with playing in the puddles near the pavilion creating dams and scenarios for imaginative play. After an excellent book on the power of words “Say Something”  at snack time, we took the opportunity to talk about how we use words at AFK, discussing with the children hurtful, positive, and powerful ways words can be used. The discussion was relatively short and most students had something to say about their experiences. We will continue to engage with the children as a group about what they are thinking and feeling regarding topics that relate to their time in AFK and how they treat themselves, each other, and the forest. After snack the rain picked up and so did we! We then traveled to the small forested band near the pavilion open field where a tarp had been set up by Sarah and the children happily made mud pies, climbed trees, and identified “bases” and other objects of interest. The children continue to negotiate their relationships and call each other out regarding fairness and honesty. It is good to see them saying how they feel when something doesn’t feel right, as well as advocating for one another on occasion. We had a quick damp walk back to the visitor’s center, and lunch inside with mangos added to our rice and bean toppings. So sweet!

Daily Diary 2/13/20

Today began with rain so we set up some options in the pavillion for children to duck in and out of rain play as they wish. The wire cheese slicer provided some interesting clay possibilities today! We set up a tarp in the forest area closest to our “drop off field” and the children were happy to find a tree they were able to climb! As parents are already probably aware from climbing activities at pick up time, AFK Educators don’t lift of assist children into climbing positions, so the younger children watched the older climbers with fascination. Many of the children have an immediate association between the tarp shelter and playing house, and we witnessed that to varying degrees of complexity with the ways our 3, 4, and 5 year olds played NEAR the tarp! The children were positively gleeful at the large amount of standing water they found on the walk back to the building and we let them traipse through ankle deep water for a long and splashy walk back to lunch!

Daily Diary 2/11/20

In preparation for the variable weather forecast, we spent much of the first part of our morning in and around Pavillion 2, creating with clay at the picnic tables, and integrating found objects and ideas into our art. A true treasure hunt commenced for small confetti litter (gold discs, stars, hearts and other bright tidbits) left behind by some celebration, as well other special items including large quartz crystal rocks, and other surprising finds. Some artisans used natural items and fabulous textures for their clay creations. Use of the magnifying glass allowed for the viewing of very tiny creatures more easily. Nearby in the field and on the perimeter of the pavilion, the children began doing foot races and other action or movement games including riding “power motorcycles.”  We ate snack at the picnic table together and read a compelling egyptian myth about Isis together. Then we traveled together to a nearby forest area with with lots of downed logs and a very shallow rainwater stream. We used the mud kitchen supplies there and did some safe sloshy mild water play. Action games commenced, that were paused due to a possible snake sighting, causing the game to be reoriented away from that “base”. We did some nature “fashion design” as well! After walking back to the main building we gathered for snack inside. The day was unusual due to weather adjustments, but quite lovely.

Daily Diary 2/6/20

We knew it would be stormy today so we had drop off at the building! The children got right into their rain gear and ended up entertaining themselves in a puddle right out front for 45 minutes! We had planned to explore the field but the wonders of puddle stomping, some stick and leaf “boat races”, and playing with the runoff from the porch, were too engrossing! But at 9:45 we went inside due to thunder. Just as we got our rain gear off, we got a tornado warning and went to shelter in the two bathrooms in the building! The teachers quickly grabbed some entertainment and backpacks and we helped children change into dry clothes as needed. We spent 30 minutes doing clay, coloring, and reading books. We also had Miles’ mom Mary, who was there when the siren went off, and our UGA intern Annabelle with us. When we got the all clear, it was snack time so we headed into our classroom for our usual snack of tea and trail mix. The children were captivated by several books, especially one about a water fairy named Aelin. The children were so engaged with the centers we had set up in the room, including a felt board, clay, art supplies, and a puzzle that we ended up spending the remainder of the rainy day inside, with great success. The clay was especially a hit. They first collaborated (as a full class!) on a city and then did more individual creations when we made even more clay available. The imaginative play that usually takes place in the forest was transposed quickly into this new medium, with children using pencil tips to add detail to their creations, and experimenting to learn ways of splitting the clay, which they noted was much firmer than playdough! Some children were sad to have to leave their clay creations, so we took pictures which we will print and distribute next time. We had lunch indoors as well, and were happy to see the children working together to clean up and transform our classroom between its many uses today. We were happy not to have any other tornado warnings and to make it through an unusually INDOOR day of AFK!





Daily Diary 2/4/20

Today was overcast but warm, and the children were in good spirits. Evelyn, our Atlas intern, was with us, and we played “I spy with my little eye” while waiting for others to arrive. Sarah used a game regarding the cardinal directions again to assist the students in finding a seat in the circle, making it a little more complicated this time by seeing if the children could name the seat “between north and east”. We walked out to the new site near Parking Lot 9 using Sarah’s method of having the students stealthily track her into the forest. Students are rotating between playmates nicely these days.  Mud kitchen with special decorated cupcakes to share with others, moss lab with elaborate tools, pipes and storage areas and various self-described superhero scenarios are favorite activities. Jarett regularly provides various specialized “tools” to the others. He explains in great detail how they work, to which the interested party will inquire if they are “for sale” to which Jarrett hands them over proudly. Some of the children are currently preoccupied with dismantling dead trees and conversations regarding how to do that safely are ongoing. When they do this they are “good guys destroying enemy bases” or “good guys in their training gyms”. Looking at the types of bark, the patterns underneath, and occasional discovery of tiny living things became a side activity as well. Several of the children requested the magnifying glasses to see things more closely, and to double as an adventure tool. Willa did so much intricate ripping and stacking of leaves today! It was inspiring to see her focus and she returned to this activity over and over throughout the day. At snack time we had some delicious lavender tea with honey along with our trail mix and read from an old book of Greek Myths about our city Athens’ namesake, the goddess Athena. We also read about Poseidon and Heracles (Hercules). As expected by the developmental stages of our oldest children, play centered on power and strength is beginning to become more nuanced! Sometimes teachers initiate these conversations about how not everything is black and white but we are intrigued and inspired to hear these conversations initiated by the children themselves at times! Speaking their minds, and negotiating peer reactions is a skill they are all working on, and that we actively support by giving the younger children suggested scripts to say to each other in times of disagreement or remaining close by to supervise similar conversations with older children. The children themselves often rotate roles regarding who is being adventurous, and who is checking to see if it’s safe, and who is discussing methods and guidelines. At lunch, we are returning to eating together in a circle for a while to avoid children getting dirt in their food or having food knocked over by peers. It’s nice to be together for these extra few minutes again! 

Daily Diary 1/30/2020

Today was not nearly as chilly as the past two sessions of forest kindergarten have been. Students arrived bundled up, but quickly began removing layers before morning circle. Sylvan had been ill, so Sarah was unable to serve as an educator today. Jarrett’s dad, Brian, joined us as our first Forest Helper of the year and received training on the go. With a background in forestry, he was very comfortable in the forest and had a lot of knowledge and passion to share with the children. Mabry joined the circle “in character” as Mabry Puppy and stayed in that role for about 45 minutes. After morning circle, we followed the road further into the park to the first parking lot north of the drop off circle. The students ran to the “rock monster” and climbed on it before heading to our little section of the ravine. There there is an open, flat area between the beech trees for art and mud kitchen play. Mabry, Miles, and Larkin drew with oil pastels and talked about building fairy houses while the other students played in the ravine. After snack and tea, students were ready to go back to playing their games and creating art. We began to pack up early to make the journey back to the visitor’s center. Most of the children painted their vests and collecting bags in the fall but as new children have joined the group, we’ve asked them if they wanted to paint and for the most part they’ve seemed disinterested. Recently Jarrett started asking about it so we got the supplies out today to do some painting outdoors before lunch! Sarah would like to thank everyone for being flexible with the staffing today, and thanks to Brian for jumping in to learn and help! 

Daily Diary 1/28/20

It was frosty in the morning, but it warmed up nicely today! In addition to Sarah and Robin, Evelyn from Atlas joined us as an intern again today as part of her school project! It has been wonderful to have her with us. At our opening circle, we referenced “East”, which Robin had taught to the children with the placement of the sun many months ago and without any direct instruction about how to figure it out, we invited 4 students to sit in each of the four cardinal direction positions. It was so cool to see them work it out together! One of the children’s favorite circle activities recently is to let each speak their name in different voices and had them echoed back by the group with the same volume, voice, etc. We held a vote as to where we would like to spend our day. Given the closeness of the vote, we decide on BOTH locations! We started our day at the “new” location, which is off to the left of “Parking 9” if you’re there exploring without us someday! Imaginative play along with tree climbing, elaborate moss labs, fancy cakes with our mud kitchen, and strategic dismantling of dead logs and stumps as “enemy bases.” It was an active but relaxed and wonderful morning. We had warm Bengal Spice herb tea as an option with our trail mix snack and read the book/fable, “Everyone Knows What A Dragon Looks Like” and “The Lucky Hat” about the fabled Grand Canyon! Shortly after snack we returned to our original site location and they enthusiastically jumped into familiar places, including the trench with standing water. Since the day was warm, we allowed children to get into the water in the trench. Students continue to identify and collect wild onion with great delight. Today we had a short closing circle at the edge of the forest where we passed a “special message” around the circle. It was a warm and sweet moment watching each child whisper solemnly to their neighbor “I like doing forest kindergarten with you”. We had a late lunch and found a favorite tree at the Visitor’s Center had been dramatically pruned! It was a great day, and the warm sun and new sprouted grass lifted everyone’s spirits.

Daily Diary 1/23/20

What a cold and windy day! Drop off was moved to Pavilion One so we could have a fire in the fireplace. After the students were dropped off with Sarah, they followed the paved path to the pavilion where Kylie had a fire started for the students to keep warm. Sammy and Wendell opted to play around the pavilion and the surrounding field while the other students gathered by the fire. Miles, Beck, and Willa were sick today and unable to join us. After all the students arrived, Kylie led the group in a fire pyre building exercise. Students collected three varying sizes of sticks, pinky, pointer, and thumb widths, and organized them on the picnic table adjacent to the fireplace. All students were very excited to collect and organize sticks. The students were shown how to build an error proof fire pyre that would allow a small flame to grow into a large fire with a single match! After the pyre was placed in the firepit and lit next to the existing fire, Wendell, Charlie, Sammy, Mabry, and Jarrett were interested in moving their play away from the pavilion to the forested hillside leading down to the lake. Boundaries were set and the students were allowed to follow their curiosity up and down the hillside. Annabelle, a student from UGA, joined us, as she will every Thursday, for observation. Jarrett and Mabry became very interested in a tall stump that was decomposing. Jarrett found many old silk cocoons and holes throughout the wood, evidence of insect activity. They were curious about what kind of insects may have created the cocoons and holes. Sammy, Charlie, and Wendell found a different tree stump to incorporate into their play. They became superheroes depositing leaves into the stump as part of their play. Snacktime came quickly. Students gathered by the fire once again, drank tea, ate their fruit and nut snack in addition to cheese that Sarah brought. Sarah read part of our book, “The Eleventh Hour”. After storytime, the students wanted to run across the field in front of Pavilion one to the volleyball court. They proclaimed it was snow and began to make snow angels! Deer and dog footprints were found and Sammy followed the deer prints around the sand. Students broke off into small groups to follow their own interests in the sand. Sammy, Charlie, and Wendell dug a very deep hole in one area while Larkin and Mabry began to dig a hole of their own close by. Students took off shoes and explored the cold sand with their feet. As our time in Forest Kindergarten always seems to fly by, soon enough it was time to pack up and walk back to the visitor’s center for lunch. The children really love their habit of reading books before or after lunch! They gathered in the Visitors’ Center while the classroom was being prepared for an indoor lunch away from the wind. It was a great day!

Daily Diary 1/21/20

Today we had Marci White subbing for us, since Robin’s dog became very sick late last night. We are so happy to welcome Marci as our regular Tuesday substitute. Marci is trained as a Montessori teacher and used to run her own Montessori preschool! We also welcomed Evelyn today from Atlas Agile Learning Center. Atlas is a small school devoted to self-directed learning and located in Winterville. Evelyn is 12 years old and has requested a 2 hour per week internship with us so look for her on Tuesday mornings regularly! 

While we waited for the whole group to arrive we played “Mother May I” in the field with Marci.  They more or less got the rules straight, and most enjoyed it. It was noteworthy, though not surprising that they seemed to like for the rules to be enforced. Being  told “no” to your question is an integral part of the game (if you don’t say “mother may I”!) 

In our morning circle the children were given “edible hand warmers” — baked potatoes in foil.. They held and enjoyed the warmth for our hike in to our first play site and then most of the children did eventually eat part of them to “warm up the insides” as one astute child noted! We went to the new space that we discovered last Thursday that is clearer and flatter. The children were very intrigued to see that the water in the small gully had dried up in the four days since we had been there. Miles and our intern Evelyn discovered ice crystals when they were peeking inside some decaying stumps and the rest of the group were offered magnifying glasses to see if other spots around the site had any ice. A big grape vine wound around one of the trees and someone noticed that it looked kind of like a woman with a cape, like a superhero. “This is cool! Like a little hideout.” It was there the prior week, but a new discovery today!

As always, there was some negotiating around sticks, pushing, poking with sticks. There was also considerable time spent finding and dragging big, long sticks around. If it’s a very long stick, the educators typically say  “move far away from where anyone is.” But that can be hard to do when friends are trailing after you because of your interesting stick! Miles built a dam in the gully with sticks and leaves. Willa and Charlie were inspired to build a similar one nearby. Miles guarded his dam and told Larkin that she could build her own nearby rather than help him; we welcome that kind of boundary setting!

Then went over to a “new to them” part of the park - the outdoor amphitheater. The kids took turns performing, acting out an animal, then the audience guessed what it was. They seemed to really like this and were attentive for one another. In the middle we had them sit more closely together so they could be a real audience until the “performance” ended. Most of the kids wanted to perform 2 or 3 times. After the first round with animals it morphed into superheros and creatures like dragons, unicorns. Being a respectful audience member is a good life skill and since it emerged rather organically, I think it was really meaningful to the children. We had a long walk back and ate lunch late. It was a wonderful day!

Daily Diary 1/16/20

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!

Daily Diary 1/14/20

It was VERY WET out in the forest today! We played a rousing game of red light and green light while waiting to begin circle and added yellow light (sloooow movement) and blue light (for “fainting”) with a few of the students as leaders that called the game. Sarah led the children into the forest allowing herself to be “tracked” by the children’s quiet stealthy movements. The gulley near our favorite play site was FULL of water, and the children dove in with great enthusiasm, jumping, exploring and and building dams with branches and leaves. They also installed a “worker worm” to make dirt binding the dam together. The students coached each other to find good pathways in and out of the steep and slippery embankment. Everyone was quite wet through and through within the hour so after changing into dry clothes, we traveled back to the pavilion through some light rain for a snack and stories. The children who arrived at the pavillion first decided to cheer for those who were still running across the field! We enjoyed the sound of the rain on the roof of the pavillion and read “Sam and the Tigers”, which was a great parallel to shedding all the wet layers of clothing we had done minutes earlier! We also read“Pass it On”, which was great for spreading joy and laughter. Since the rain was continuing, we traveled back to the Visitor’s Center for some inside activities. In the Visitor’s Center, the children selected books and then echoing the earlier “Pass it On” story, Sarah led the kids in a session of Laughter Yoga to experiment with whether laughter is contagious. Indoor options in our classroom included an art station, a building station with elements from nature as well as wooden blocks, and a create-your-own-game station with A Penny For Your Thoughts, a social emotional card game. The children really thrived with having important jobs to do throughout the day, particularly cleaning up our indoor supplies, setting up for lunch, and matching boots to backpacks. The students were strong and resilient in the wet weather!

Daily Diary 1/9/20

Today Sarah and Kylie taught Wendell, Larkin, Sammy, Beck, Jerrett, Charlie, Miles, Mabry, and Willa. The day began with very cold temperatures; the children ran laps around the drop off area embodying different animals to keep warm; dragon, kangaroo, falcon, etc. We gathered in the sun for the opening circle and, by Wendell and Sammy’s lead, laid on the ground to sing our morning song, using feet instead of hands to create the movements. Once standing, we sang the song one more time at “medium speed.” We welcomed Mabry into our class. Each child introduced themselves using their own unique voice (e.g. grunty, operetta, squeeky, etc.). The children enjoyed the playfulness of morning circle and gathered relatively quickly to enter the forest. We followed a more direct path to the play ravine and quickly decided to play in a different area because of the branch hanging from a tree we are waiting to have removed by park staff. The children were enthusiastic to explore what they found. Willa was nervous to climb into the ravine by herself and seemed to “test gravity” by throwing things into the ravine and watching what happened to them; leaves, sticks, and kicking at dirt. She came so close to sliding herself down the wall of the ravine, but got nervous and asked for help to get out. We read Crinkleroot’s Guide to Walking in Wild Places and Millie’s Chickens during snack time. A tradition has emerged where the children try to guess the flavor of the herbal tea each day at snack. Beck, Sammy, Wendell, Larkin, and Miles were very interested in coloring with the oil pastels after snack and smudged the colors together to create a different effect on their paper. A new lunch tradition has emerged too in which the older children want to assert their independence by moving their dots out of the circle to sit facing away from the rest of the group! Rather than turning the communal aspect of lunch into a power struggle, we welcome this; particularly after a day spent cooperating, caretaking, and co-constructing the meaning of their education through play.

Daily Diary 1/7/20

We had a delightful time returning to the forest today! There was a sweetness and joy in the kids in general out in the woods. We are happy to have Miles and Willa as part of our Tuesday group now. They were both great additions to the AFK community, filling out forest play activities in new and satisfying ways.

We had a surprising amount of standing residual water in the dry creek bed in our forest play area, and the water was a little deeper than many of the kids expected, making clear appropriate footwear as well as extra socks, shoes and rain pants are a winter essential, even on some sunny days. Eden brought an antler with her today that was employed as a tool in many contexts. She was gracious about sharing it with others and they were respectful about asking for permission to use it. It was clear to all that this was a special nature treasure!

There were so many beautiful moments today where children guided each other through difficult endeavors as they explored the forest around them.  The elements, strong wind, and water played a role in the children’s imaginative play, along with some tree climbing. With trail mix and blueberry hot tea we read a sweet story, The Thing Lou Couldn’t Do. It is about learning to try things that are new or frightening  (in this case climbing trees) and it’s particularly endearing because she DOESN’T master the skill at the end of the book, she just decides to practice more the next day!

Students discovered some very cool mushrooms growing on their special “base” log and an egg sack out in the forest today that they were fascinated by, and will check on again. There was some serious mud cupcake baking today: chocolate, cherry and butterscotch. There was hand cleaning on the soft moss nearby, as well as some actual making of  “clay” items with soft mud that were integrated into imaginative play. The students also used pastels to do some vibrant art. Magnifying glasses were used to view tiny things in the forest, but also as “pillows” which entertained and delighted Larkin, Eden, and Willa with fits of giggles for way longer than one could ever imagine. Some of the children spontaneously saluted the sun’s warmth during lunchtime after an active, blustery day. It was a good day in the forest!

Daily Diary 12/3/19

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?