… is Lucy’s Nana! The hot chocolate was just the thing on a slushy, rainy forest day. People asked us if we were going to go out. We decided not to have a fire because of the wind and rain. But with snow gear under our Grundens, we were happy and warm! There is no bad weather, just inappropriate clothing!
Today we read Quiet by Peter Parnall, where a little boy lies on the grass waiting for birds and chipmunks to come eat the seeds he has sprinkled on his belly: “The only thing they can hear as they dart in for a seed is my heart saying, ‘Stay. Stay little birds. Stay with me Chickadees.’ “
We tried it. We didn’t see any chickadees but we heard woodpeckers and saw one! Then we sprinkled our seeds on the ground as gifts for the forest animals.
Lucy was holding a stick for a perch for a bird.
We heard lots of other groups of kids playing through the woods. We were so quiet that no one would have known we were there!
We had our first fire of the year! It helped warm our chilly fingers.Seesaws quickly became the coolest toys in town.Jerry found another oak gall, the structure that is formed when a wasp lays its egg in a leaf. More cats–wild or pet is the question!ICE! The first of the year!Kierrah was making cupcakes out of frozen mud.
What a year! In many ways, the woods was what kept us all sane during this pandemic. It was where we could play the most freely, be the most comfortable with mask breaks, and of course discover all of the surprises that each new season brings. Without the woods, it would have been much harder for all of the kids to connect with each other the way that they did. We have an incredibly tight kindergarten community, which makes it hard to say goodbye. This year will be one that none of us will ever forget!
The whole class spent the last week or two taking down one fort to expand on another one. This picture doesn’t do it justice. It is a proper castle! Huge and very strong. Lots of big sticks. The kindergarteners were preparing for their very own party on the last week of school.
Mabel and Zeke came to see if the fort was ready for the party. They approved!
We also discovered that some people had been working on a trail to connect our outdoor classroom with the Red Rose Preserve Trails. They put a sweet bridge over our mud! It was very good for pretend fishing from with sticks.
Slide to see how our class picture taking went… Eventually everyone looked at the camera! Here’s to a fabulous year together! (Not pictured: Aubrey)
Please take your families and friends to our outdoor classroom this summer and enjoy it together. You can tell your kids that they can add to the forts or build new ones, but please do not take any down. We can all be stewards: if you see anything concerning or a mess, take care of it the best you can. Let me know if there is anything big. (And invasive plant experts, if you see honeysuckle or rosa multiflora, which I know is out there, feel free to get rid of it any way you would like! You know who you are!)
We have been having so much fun in the woods this May, almost too much fun to take pictures! We have had rain, hot sun, blustery wind, and everything in between. One day we took a long hike on the Red Rose Preserve Trails. We have continued studying trees and small plants as everything turns green. On the rainy day, we looked under logs for salamanders and found about five– and even Mrs. Johnson held one! And our writing is getting easier and easier to read. Check it out!
We were pretty fast on the flats, speeded on the downhills, and a little slower on the uphills. Bowdoinham has a lot of hills!
A redback salamander on a mushroom. We found a few of these under logs on a rainy day. You have to look fast because they squirm away!
Corban is describing our science activity where we collected and sorted small plants we found growing.
Peregrine described his excitement seeing his tree get leaves at last!
Sadie’s observation of a salamander.
Caleb found a roly poly. “His head went in and out.”
One day we got out tape measures and magnifying glasses and studied the trees in our woods. Cameron measured a big pine that was “65 inches around.” Wow!
Fred’s journal shows some of the tools that botanists use to study trees.
We had an amazing Woods Wednesday today– with a “squeaky bird” that we all heard at Sit Spots (aka, a woodpecker!); a very involved tree study with botanists measuring, inspecting, and collecting; and another delicious picnic lunch. But I’ll highlight our new play kitchen which we took full advantage of today! We absolutely loved it. An especial hit were chocolate chip cookies (also known as pine cones). Everyone tried them and everyone loved them.
Thank you families who donated old and used kitchen supplies! We got a lot and we are all set.
And a HUGE thank you to Corban’s dad, Andy, for building our beautiful kitchen. And to his mom, Beth, for helping haul it out to the woods. And to Cameron’s mom, Caitlin, for the stainless steel sinks from the Restore. We appreciate your hard work so much!!
This week, we moved to Woods Wednesdays which fits better with our new spring schedule. This means that we now have time for a favorite forest routine– Forest Journals! This year’s forest kids have never done them before, but they are well-seasoned writers who took to the idea quickly.
Rowan was checking on many of the trees in the forest and finding that they were in fact healthy!
Aubrey: “I was licking the tree and it tasted like bark.”
Elliott: “I am talking to my tree.” You can see that he is saying “Hello,” and his tree is saying “Hi” back!
Emilia: “I was making a machine.” She and Madelyn made it with trees, stumps, a rope, while wearing Grundens!
Sadie: “We can meet our trees.” She is talking about the trees we are studying. We spent a long time getting to know them today, exploring them with our five senses, and talking to them.
Gabe: “I found a worm.” He found a LOT of them, all over the woods!