Building confidence through taking risks while feeling supported is a hallmark of nature school. We can only be brave as a lion if we build up our self-esteem and confidence along with our capabilities. We looked at strong examples from the animal kingdom today as well as brave heroes standing up to injustice in war. The book, “Proud as a Peacock, Brave as a Lion" uses animal analogies to help children understand the difficult feelings that come with serving in conflicts and how to persevere through them.
Our morning began by jumping into the river and flying like a Kingfisher up and down the shore. From our perches we collected 'leaf' fish. How many fish would a Kingfisher eat everyday?
Ask your child to recount some about the Belted Kingfisher. Everyone was able to work as a team to spell a ten-letter word in under 28 seconds. What was that word? Hint: Not this bird:)
Along the trail we challenged the group to use their eyes, hands and imagination to discover some connections between nature and a Kingfisher. For example, find a big tree that a Kingfisher would use for perching on, find something blue, find a berry, look at the clouds and pretend you are flying. What kinds of connections did your child find and how do they relate to this bird?
Wander time in Mystery Forest was spent together trying to call in chickadees to feed. Some children made potions which turned people into frogs, others crafted birds from corn husks or left bird seed with their tree friend. We will have to check those spots next week!
Our west side tree friends were a welcome sight for all today. We designed special signs with their species names that will be put up in the future. Most of the kids used red twine and sticks to make a cross as an act of remembrance which were left for people walking in the park this weekend. Thanks to Hawk for showing us how to wrap the sticks to hold them together. Both these activities took some fine motor skills and creative talent. This was all done while sitting on a beautiful hillside listening to bird song near the pond. Butterfly Hill is our place of peace!
Cedar Highway was a quick visit for us this afternoon. Ask about some of the creative play that was happening here.
Other fun and playful moments. Is Hummingbird really levitating?
Back at the hall we met our new journaling buddies. These are Seedling/Sapling pairings that we will use for some journal entries to make sure everyone feels supported in this new task. Ask your child what we use journals for (thanks Larch for the great explanation). Did they enjoy the writing activity on the Kingfisher today? Was anything difficult for them? Your feedback will help guide us in making good partnerships, and ensuring your child has a just-right level of challenge for journal writing each week.
Thank you to Cricket for bringing her beautiful spirit to our program, and Osprey who adds an unhurried caring. Raccoon caught some amazing interactions for us (just like this one).
Dragonfly and Coyote wish you reflective and beautiful times with your family this weekend.
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