Category: The Great Outdoors (Page 1 of 2)

Today a three year-old showed me around Byrne Creek.  I was curious!  Where would he take me?  What would he show me that I had never seen before?  Will we be here for the hour we planned in this rainy, windy weather?   He has been spending every morning in these woods.  What has changed for him?  What has stayed the same?  I like to call this forest “The Whiling Woods”.  It’s a good place to take a “while” and explore.

The mud and the puddles were our first stop. (They aren’t there every day!)

We checked in with the fairies to see if anyone was home.

Next, we found ourselves in the clearing where the space opens up and invites us to run!

Here the old walnut trees offer their roots for us to practice balancing and hopping.

We spent a while fishing in a  favourite spot.

It takes a while to appreciate things large…

..and small.

There is always something new to discover and more to learn about.

We will always find mountains to climb, but we will get there…

…it just takes a while.

Hych’ka, Whiling Woods!  Hych’ka, Whiling Child!

Ms. Jenny

The rain and winds have brought most of the leaves off the trees around us.  It’s been exciting to see our play spaces change as nature continues its seasonal rounds.

As educators, the Kindergarten teachers and I can see how liberating being outside with children has been.  The fresh air and ability to move through spaces has been welcome and good for us all.  With so many changes happening all around us, watching the seasons change has been something to celebrate together.

As we learn and play outside with the flowers, bugs, and trees, we wondered how we could thank them.  How can we give back?  We remembered one child’s  comment about how the leaves on the ground “are making a home for the plants.”  Let’s help with that!

We went back to the where we knew there were leaves to collect.

Next we brought them back and made a mulch to spread around the garden beds.  “This is how we turn dirt into soil, making it good food for plants,” Ms. Orologio said.

We also had some fun making faces for the trees! We used play dough and gifts from the trees to make biodegradable decorations for everyone to enjoy!

Here is a play dough recipe if you would like to try this on your adventures one day! Clay and mud also work really well 😉

Playdough

2 cups flour

1 cup salt

2 tablespoons cream of tartar

4 tablespoons oil

food colouring (optional)

2 cups boiling water

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

Add food colouring and oil to boiled water.

Add water mixture to dry ingredients and mix with a spoon until all combined.  Knead the dough until everything is incorporated.

Play!

Hych’ka,

Ms. Jenny

The trees across the parking lot from the Kindergarten playground continue to change their colours.  They’re beautiful and often our attention is drawn to them.  Their leaves change colour, the wind and the rain help them fall to the ground and from there they turn to dirt.  “The leaves are making a home for the plants,” said a child.  Another gift from the tree!

Leaves can be dipped in wax to preserve their shapes and colours.  Luckily, I know a few bees who had some honeycomb to share.  (Beeswax can also be bought at your local craft supply store.)

We took a looked at the wax before and after a few hours in the crockpot and then it was time for dipping!

Now the leaves are soft and their colours are brighter still.  And they’ll be like that for as long as we are gentle with them.

Some leaves for us to play with and enjoy, some for the dirt to help more trees and plants grow.  How do you enjoy theses gifts from the trees?

Hycha’ka bees and trees!

Ms. Jenny

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