Every day when we play in the Kindergarten playground, we find a bug or two.  Sometimes, we find worms digging in the dirt, or a spider on the fence, or a wasp on the tree.  A big part of the playground is covered in asphalt.  Although there are some ants who use it as a highway (a much faster way to get around than grassy ground cover), most of the time bugs on the paved ground are not in a safe place.  We talked about this as we gathered one day.

Some bugs like to be in trees. Here, we can see where one has eaten a leaf and another has laid some eggs.  Sometimes, bugs like to rest in trees.

Some bugs live under rocks. Roly poly bugs eat rocks!

We had a structure to move bugs to when they were in danger.  It had been a fence before and a cedar tree growing in a forest before that.

”Where should we put it?” asked Ms. Jenny.

“On the grass,” responded one child.
“Behind the climber,” said another.

“Under the tree,” said another child.
“So it’s protected,” said a teacher.

With all of that in mind, the bug house came to be on the grass, behind the climber, under the tree.
The next step was about making it comfy for bugs.

”Blankets!”
“A living room!”

“And, to bed!”

“You okay, buddy?”
“Don’t forget a TV!”

“We need a blanket for the couch.”

“We need the worm to be straight so he can be on the couch.”

“Don’t worry, I can get a leaf.”

“And a mom!  You can be the mom.”

And the tree became a home for bugs and worms and children’s imaginations.

To be continued…

Once again,

Hych’ka, Tree!

Ms. Jenny

I went for a walk in the neighbour hood surrounding Stride School looking for a particular plant.  This plant has been growing around me my whole life, but I never knew much about it until I went for a walk with Lori Snyder.  Lori is Métis and a herbalist.  She is teaching me about the plants that grow on Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh territories and can help take care of us.

Pineapple Weed is edible (they’re in the same family as chamomile!)  The little flowers smell like pineapples!  (Hint: Rub one between your finger tips and smell your fingers 🙂   The little flower buds can be harvested and put in a sachet to help us fall asleep at night.  There are lots of plants that can help us in our day to day lives, if we know how to invite them.

On my walk I found only one pineapple weed growing in Poplar Park, but I knew where to find more.   There are some growing in the Kindergarten Playground at Stride, but they are in the middle of the space where we run and play.  I decided I would ask the children to help me move them where they will be safe and hopefully bloom and grow even more.

They obliged and we got to work!

These little plants grow in sidewalk cracks in urban areas and like dry soil.  So, we’ll water them a little, make sure they get lots of sunshine and wait until spring for them to grow some more.  The plants will wither into the soil for the winter, and with them, their seeds.  The seeds will sleep until it warms up again and they start to grow into new plants.  In June, we’ll harvest some of the flowers and make sweet smelling sachets that will help us get a good night’s sleep.  Taking care of each other, people and plants alike!

Hych’ka, Pineapple Weeds!

Ms. Jenny

P.S. I left the little one I found just inside the gate of Poplar Park if you want to go on Pineapple Weed hunt?!  Poplar Park is  on 18th Ave. and Leeside St., about a 10 minute walk from Stride (with current construction detours).