Call us fox or hummingbird, raccoon or owl. Today we released our given names and joined the world of furry mammals, high fliers, steadfast trees, reptiles and insects by adopting their names. This brings the language of nature into our everyday lives and reminds us of the value of the non-human residents of this land. They are teachers and mentors for us and we will use these names to find out more about them, guide our learning journey, and draw insight from their qualities.
Trees became our main interest today and we played a game which had us gather the elements essential to trees species such as Maple and Oak. Ask your child what these essential elements were and how many we collected for different species of trees. (soil, water, air, and sun).
Wander time is filled with busy activity, climbing, pounding, constructing and just thinking. This time is wonder-filled!
Grandmother Maple has her own story, she has stood here while first nations gathered food, witnessed conflicts, clearing, planting/harvesting, and so much building. We love to come to this place and gather for our little morning feast, chat, share and wonder about her history. Our tree friends are growing in our imagination. Ask how we explored our tree friend today, and what we noticed. Did your child add some detail to their tree friend picture today?
Library was awesome as usual! We laughed so much about Norman and his special relationship with his tree and the sneaky things he did when competition arrived. Chat about what Norman did to solve his problem and how regret led him to make a change which enriched his life. You should find a leaf turkey in backpacks, another brilliant craft idea from Mrs Eastman. We are so thankful for her dedication and caring for our nature school children.
Lunch time in the Grist Mill makes you feel like you are going back in time. Singing is beautiful in the Mill. See if your child wants to share our latest song, ‘Rocks and Trees’ and maybe ‘Mother Earth’ too!
We loved having Harry (Hemlock) a tree and plant expert come out so we could identify new trees in our school grounds (pond area). We will soon lose a very important identifying feature in the leaves, so it’s timely to get name tags in the ground so we can watch them change and learn new ways to differentiate tree species. We enjoyed having Larch (Leif) who is a young tree expert himself help us choose and find out fun facts about the trees. Ask your child which new trees we added to our journal (White Ash, Silver Maple, Paper Birch, Weeping Willow, White Oak), Thank you so much Harry for taking time to share your knowledge with us!
You may find that your child needs a nap after our BIG day of adventure and learning. I am so thankful for this opportunity to lead and learn with your children. We have a wonderful Heron team. Tamarack (Tammy) comes out each week just because she believes in nature education and LOVES the kids. We are lucky to have experienced educator, Dragonfly (Denise) join us for Friday mornings to bring her new perspective and knowledge to our group.
See you next week Forest Friends:)
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