chalk + water = paint!

Today was the next to last day of the school year.   A time to finish things and change it up and keep things the same. All of the above.  With our unusually warm weather it was time for water play.  The kids had buckets and scoopers of many different sizes and for some kids that just meant scooping water for a long time-into and out of containers.  This is a way of learning the science of measuring-age appropriately with no goal-just the brain acknowledging that there are different sizes and that means different volumes.

Some kids found out that chalk + water = paint and had fun "painting" the walkway.  We also hid rocks painted as ladybugs around the tree-which was a fun activity hiding them and then finding them-and then putting them into a nest that Teacher Roo brought in from her home.  There was also a "nest" of dinosaurs that cropped up!

 

 

Some of the kids just spent their time by the hose, filling up buckets and eventually throwing the water up into the air and having it land on them.  A self-made sprinkler system!

 

We broke for stories and snack.  Everyone had a lot to say about The Gruffalo-especially since the small mouse encounters an owl and a snake! Animals we have learned a lot about this year.  For lunch we pulled the wagon over to the other meadow and ate a picnic lunch under one of our favorite trees.  Everyone was keen on having the cupcakes that Matilda brought for her birthday.   Thanks for the fun book and treat Matilda!  

Every good thing must come to an end.  We are sad to end this wonderful year.  Thank you to all of the great parents who have been very supportive of us teachers and our somewhat unconventional approach.  We love what we do and are thankful that we get to work with your kids!

See you at the picnic on Thursday.  Don't miss the performance at 1020am!

Slide, Jump and Roar like a T-Rex!

 

We are down to the last 4 days of The Outdoor Preschool.  Wow-how this year has flown.  The kids have grown up so much and gotten so strong and confident in the woods and farm.  I am so proud of their accomplishments.  There isn't a hike in the park that is too far, too long, too difficult or too complicated that they can't figure out how to get back.

 

During circle time today we talked about our last days of preschool and I asked the kids to think about what were their favorite things to do at TOP.  Then I asked them to tell the group what would they like to make sure we do one more time before the end of the year.  As the kids told the group what they wanted to do - I drew in chalk on the sidewalk the different choices.  They were:

• Go back to the dirt slide.
• Play Owl Babies
• Go to the tire swing
• Play in the mud
• Go to the stream

We voted to see which ones we would do today.  The stream and dirt slide won!  As we headed to the stream the kids seemed especially excited to go back to their favorite places.  I like it that they got to choose. 

The stream was an easy choice-close to the farm.  Soon it was time for snack. Everyone found a place on the bridge to sit and hear the fun story/song that Teacher Rhonda and Teacher Ann sang.

 

 

 

The trail took us through the woods, past the elephant tree, across the bridge to our first vote.  We have the kids "vote with their bodies" by standing next to the trail they think will lead to our chosen destination: The dirt slide.  We had many "unanimous" votes today as the kids used "the maps in their heads" to remember where the dirt slide was.    We had to choose 4 times before the kids ran ahead to one of their favorite sliding and jumping places.

When we got there the kids eagerly lined up to slide and jump off the high stump with the help of first Teacher Ann and then Teacher Roo.  It was a good lesson in taking turns, sharing the space and not shoving through. 

Some of the kids wanted to play "Owl Babies" instead.  A favorite pretend game, especially with Teacher Rhonda.  There were owl babies, owl moms and dads and predators such as coyotes and Peregrin Falcons.  I think at the end of the play there was even a T-Rex!

On the way back for lunch-the sun came out a little bit and there was even time for some tire swing fun.    Yeah!  That was when we realized that we hit 4 out of the 5 top things to do at TOP.  Not bad!  We will be continuing to repeat our favorite hikes, activities and play these last few days. 

 

PS Don't forget about our fun last day of preschool with you and your child.  Bring any adult who would like to see a little of what we do at TOP.  Plus a hayride and a barbecue.  Bring a dish to share for the potluck.  You can shoot me an email if you are wondering what to bring.



Tall Grass and tadpoles

The grass is high in the park.  Running through the tall grass has always been a fun thing for the TOP kids to do in the spring.  I anticipate us spending a lot of time hiding in the grass.  It is fun to find the mud underneath the green and squish through it-the ground is uneven and hard to walk on-another challenge for us.

Each time we find a new place to climb new challenges are presented.  Do friends need to help friends up or show them how to climb?  How do we safely get down?  As teachers we spend more time showing a child where to put their feet then we do giving them a boost.  They stay safe with our hands nearby-but they do it on their own.



The kids have continued to have fun hiding "Santa the Gnome."  He is out there somewhere.  Maybe we'll find him tomorrow?

The new cow and calf are adapting to the farm and we keep checking in with them and the other new "baby" animals. 

We hiked out to see if there were any tadpoles in the pond next to Juel Park.  We told the kids to stay out of the water this time while we searched for frogs and tadpoles-and so we didn't step on them.  There were two tadpoles spotted but they darted away.  We'll see if we get another chance this spring to see if they have turned into frogs.


 

Trees down, millipedes and grubs!

You probably know by now that we operate on a seasonal, weather, per day kind of outdoor experience.  It’s just because we have to!  Each day in the northwest brings such a variety of weather and the animals, bugs and phenomena that goes with it.

Yesterday we had an impressive storm blow through so I was wondering if there would be a big tree down in the parking lot-something that happens quite frequently in the northwest with all of our huge trees. 

 

I pulled in and the parking lot was ok!  A little messy with branches and twigs but ok nonetheless.  The day started out chilly then quickly turned into a fine spring day. 

 

We welcomed our new teacher in training - Teacher Roo -and her 5 year old Theo.  Theo and Roo will be joining TOP till the end of the school year.  We are excited to welcome Roo to the TOP team and Theo to it's crew.

During circle time the kids were able to tell Teacher Roo and Theo all about how we stay safe in the woods and how we act around the animals.  Then we got to sing some of our favorite songs to her.  Everyone was in fine voice today!

As we separated out into color groups the yellow group was astonished to find a downed tree that looked like it had exploded during the windstorm.  We think it was a Big Leaf Maple tree.  We spent some time examining the bark and wood inside.  It was really smooth!

The yellow group found 3 millipedes and a mealworm.  We put them into a bug box and took turns looking at them while we sang the sharing song.  "Take a look and pass it on."  Everyone was very good at looking and then sharing with their neighbor.  Then they got to take turns carrying the bug box.

Pretty soon we ran into the blue group and showed them the bugs and then they found Santa the Gnome!  How exciting to have someone else in the forest hide him!  We will hide him on Thursday.

We are looking forward to the last day of preschool which will be a big shindig!  We are having a potluck cookout at Logan's house which is walking distance to Farrel-McWhiter Park.  So make sure you put the time on your calendar.  We will begin the day at 10am, Thursday June 6th. You parents/grandparents/aunts and uncles can join us for a hike, a tractor ride and then a potluck.  Details to come! 

Nature's Ambassadors

We've had every kind of weather these last 2 weeks.  As I look at last week's photos-I can't believe we had all of those clothes on!  But such is the variant weather of the northwest. 

Since the air has been warm-we have been taking off layers and enjoying the cooling in the forest and waters of the park.  Last week we spent some time teaching the kids about being "Nature's Ambassadors."  What does this mean for them?  We want them to understand that there are reasons why we do not pick flowers in the woods or trample a mushroom.  I think the concept of ambassador is easier when they move a slug off the path so it doesn't get stepped on.  It is certainly more esoteric when the concept is not destroying a stream environment. 

When I have read Richard Louv's books on children and nature - one of the big concepts I agree with is allowing children to have their own experience in nature.  This means that they can try things that might look a little scary to adults such as balancing on a log or scrambling up a steep slope off the trail.  It also means doing some things that might not be great for the environment if they were done all of the time.  Such as pulling the bark off of a downed tree or stamping and splashing through the stream. 

As nature teachers, many of us believe that the strong feelings of nature-freedom and fresh air - will create environmentalists of the future.  This may require a bit of a hard workout for the forest.

To that end-I make sure that our own crowd of 12 kids doesn't play in the same place every week.  That way I am hoping that the forest will get a bit of a break from their boots and hands.  It also keeps us moving and exploring every single day of preschool.

As I interject little lessons on plants, forest animals and the environment  rest assured that I will also be teaching them to take care of the forest and to be ambassadors to our future while allowing them as much freedom as I can.

A Nature Book Review!

 

 

Color at the farm.

I have been eagerly reading a book sent to me by Redleaf Press.  The book is Early Childhood Activities for a Greener Earth.  This informative book is for any educator or active parent who wants some exciting ideas on how to introduce the science of nature to children.  The book is divided into sections such as "Water, Water Everywhere" and "The Food we eat." My favorite chapters are from "Exploring Nature "which will come as no surprise to anyone who reads my blog!  Some of the suggestions for outdoor activities I have tried in one way or another during my years as a nature teacher to young children; either in The Outdoor Preschool or during one of my Tiny Treks classes.  But there are also a lot of fun ideas on how to expand my teaching.

 

A suggestion I intend to use soon is the  Color Search.  The idea is to use paint swatches from a home improvement store and let the children hunt for something in nature that color.  I think that could be really fun to do at The Bellevue Botanical Gardens with Tiny Treks or in spring at Farrel-McWhirter.  Another one I hope to do soon is "Barefoot Explorations."  We’ll have to wait and see what the weather in the northwest brings in order to experience that one without freezing our toes!

Nature's Mobiles

As I look through photos of classes I have taught in the past, I can see that there are always more ideas on how to excite children about nature.  The nature mobile above was a cool way to learn the names of some of our local fauna and to practice balance. 

 

Another suggestion in the book is to take nature and make it playful and fantastical.  Both my Tiny Treks and TOP kids love The Talking Tree -who loves to eat pinecones!

The Talking Tree of course!

In this photo you can see a Great-Grampa and Great-Grandson enjoying and using their walking sticks made from a tree that needed cutting back. The walking sticks were decorated with leather and bells.

Great Grampa and Grandson with their Tiny Treks walking sticks.

 

 

 

If you would like to purchase Early Childhood Activities for a Greener Earth direct from her publisher by June 30th, you can use the coupon code GREENEARTH to save 30%.

If you would like to try one of the projects from the book as a "look/see",  the publisher has offered a free sample. It is a way to teach recycling by making a recycling monster.   You can download the Recycling Monster instructions here.   What a fun project for a rainy day!

Also-Redleaf Press is offering  one free book to the first person who responds with the name of a deserving early childhood educator who could benefit from this exciting book.

Sometimes it is just simple tools that the kids enjoy-here is a broom!
 

 

 

Gnomes, puddles and horses.

Blocks on the grass in the sun.

Today began with some new blocks and dry warm grass making a great surface to play on.  Teacher Jen and I were going to head to the barn to see the new chicks and check on their growth-but the sun was out-so we changed gears to have as our hiking goal a big puddle we had seen another day.  The wagon was loaded up with lunches and we were off.

As we usually do-we split into color groups.  This helps the kids to work together as small groups and also to connect more closely with their fellow TOP kids.  A group of 6 is a big difference from 12-as we  know as adults.  Imagine a dinner party of 12 and then visualize one with 6 people.  The smaller group means a quieter time, closer interactions and perhaps a bit of warmth as well.  Humans usually connect more easily with a smaller group.

Attempting to carry Teacher Jen's backpack.  It's heavy!

The yellow group pulled and pushed the wagon along-it was heavy with lunches and the water we were bringing along to wash hands.  Most kids took a turn-but for some it was just too heavy.  Many were anxious for their turn and others tried to sneak a ride on the water cooler-making the wagon even heavier.  But still they persevere-waiting their turn and pulling and tugging the wagon along the trail.

Anton and Michelle chatting in Russian as they walk along

The blue group took a different trial and stopped and climbed a tree along the way-knowing that we wouldn't be moving as fast as they were with our wagon load.  One of the kids said "We are excellent climbers!"  And they are!


During circle time, Teacher Jen told us that she had arrived early at the park and had re-hidden "Santa - The Gnome."  She gave us a clue about where in the park it was and where it wasn't.  We all stopped and thought for a minute - using the maps in our heads - to try and envision where the gnome might be now. While we hiked we looked and looked.    We were told some more hints.  He was hidden 5 feet from the side of the trail. (we practiced how far 5 feet was-5 steps)   Pretty soon one of the kids found him sitting by a big tree.  He got a ride in the wagon after that-and sometimes the kids wanted to hold him.  Valentina and Michelle "held hands" with the gnome for a while-each on taking a hand of the plastic fantasy creature.


Lunch was on a lawn speckled with flowers.  The kids are learning that they can pick the flowers in the lawn but not the ones in the forest.  Oh did I mention-the Trillium Flowers are in bloom.  We saw 3 pink Trilliums along our hike. I can remember the name because of the tri part of the word.  They are a beautiful 3 petaled flower native to the region.

Watching the horses work in the corral.

We did indeed find the big puddle on the Powerline Trail and splash and walk through the water.  On the way back there were horses going through their paces in the corral.  They came up to us and let us pet them.  One of them did some tricks for her owner.  We were duly impressed!

FYI- I've been given the wonderful opportunity to review a new nature book on my blog called Early Childhood Activities for a Greener Earth.  I will be reviewing the book this coming Monday, April 29th.  I'm excited for my first adventure into expanding my blogging world!