After School: Week Eight - Blindfold Caterpillar & Nutty Squirrels
Today we explored what it's like to use our senses other than sight by playing "Blindfold Caterpillar" and "Nutty Squirrels"! Most humans rely heavily on sight to move through the world, so taking it away when you aren't used to it can be fun, but also very challenging. We had lots of fun learning how differently we perceive the world without our eyes. #Fireflies
Tadpoles: Week Five - Nature Crafts & Forest Castles
We had a fun filled day with our preschoolers today, collecting leaves and pine cones for nature crafts, playing games on the dirt mound, playing "Cougar Stalks Deer", and building "forest castles" in the cedar thicket. #Tadpoles
Herons: Week 5 - Fire Challenge and Holiday Crafts
Opening Circle At Opening Circle we shared a gratitude about someone in our lives for whom we are thankful. One of the ways we discussed about showing appreciation for someone is by creating something for that person. Ms. Britt introduced a few wood crafts that we were going to make, using items found in the woods. Since we were going to go on a wander to collect items, we also introduced our other structured activity for the day- Fire Challenges! Fire Challenge For the Fire
Gray Squirrels: Week Five - Mapping, Nature Crafts, and Fire Challenges
Opening Circle At today's opening circle we shared about a person in our lives that we are thankful for. Some shared about friends, some about family members, and it was very sweet to hear about who is important to everyone, and the reasons why. Sound Map After snack we worked as a group to create a sound map. First, we all closed our eyes and listened for every sound that we could hear, remembering which direction each sound came from. Next we drew our circle in the middle o
Herons: Week 4 - Rain and Fire!
Tarp Shelters We had our first rainy day at Nature Connect! It wasn't too cold, but having a fire felt nice! Our first priorities were getting the tarps set up and collecting wood for fire. It wasn't raining too hard when we first arrived, so we wanted to get camp set up before it started raining too hard. We also noticed that the shelters that were still set up from previous weeks were (a little) drier than the surround area. Could we make a shelter that could keep out the
After School: Week Seven - Nature Crafts & Teepees
We had so much fun during our after school program this week collecting leaves and pine cones for nature crafts, and constructing teepee shelters in the forest! #Fireflies
Preschool: Fall 2017
We had such a fun adventure this week! Lucas brought his microscope, so this morning began with gathering items to observe with it. We looked at leaves, seeds, and what might have been a little egg sac. It was really fun to see things magnified! At the creek, Luiza found a great climbing tree. We played on the creek bank and found some animal tracks. Raccoon and a small canine. We practiced climbing on the creek banks and learned about testing the strength of roots before you
Tadpoles: Week 4- Natural Pigments!
We had a small class today, but that didn't dampen our fun! Keeping with the theme for this week, we explored Natural Pigments. Using the items that the Gray Squirrels collected the day before, we decorated our journal covers. We had so much fun crushing chalk as part of the recipe! After we used up the remaining natural pigment items, we began to explore combining different colors of chalk. We used those different color combinations to decorate the inside of our journal. Wha
After School: Week Six - Head Honcho & Fort Building
One of the great things about Nature Connect is that we learn to love the outdoors, no matter the weather. Despite the cold and rainy conditions we experienced today, we had one participant exclaim at the end of program that this was their favorite day yet! The forest is like an entirely different world in the rain, and we have so much fun exploring it. On the way to opening circle, we stopped off to play in a HUGE puddle that had collected in the pathway. We noticed how some
Gray Squirrels: Week 4 - Foraging and Natural Pigments!
Natural Pigment Introduction Today at opening circle, after sharing gratitudes, we talked about how the art of painting first came around, and what materials were first used in its inception. Ancient cave paintings can still be found today, and the native people who created them are thought to have used natural pigments from the land in order to create them. We talked about what types of things could make good paints where we live - berries, flowers, mud - and then set off in
