We have been discussing earth day and how we can celebrate. The children decided we could clean up the earth, decorate the playground with diamond shapes and feed the animals. On our hike we brought food for the deer, geese and birds. L and M collected pinecones for the squirrels. Maria saved the leftover vegetables from lunch yesterday for the geese and deer. We brought a garbage bag to collect the trash in the forest (mindful of what we touch). We found a snail on our travels. We moved it off the road and onto the grass to keep it safe. We left vegetables and bird seeds on the island for the geese. We left seeds in a birdfeeder and pinecones for the squirrels nearby. We left carrots for the deer in the grass beside a trail with hoof prints.
We also found a space that had been used for a fire. "I am angry, sad and frustrated!" said KO. " We need to tell the Police and Fire Department!" said JE. The children are worried that the forest could burn down and people and animals would be homeless (MS). We have decided to write a letter to the Police and Fire Department to let them know. There are hopes of jail time to the offenders. On our hike we also remembered the manhole and tried to peek inside. They said it was very deep. They said there was a ladder and water. They must have very good vision. Next week maybe we will beautify the playground with our diamonds. Written by Susanne Robitaille
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The children chose to visit the lake today. We haven't been in a while due to the impending construction. The route takes a little longer because of the safety fences. The lake has changed. Last time the island was the largest ever. It was covered with a dusting of snow. There were a few exposed puddles and lots of large rocks for sitting or standing on. The lake was half frozen. The birds were at a far distance because of the ice. Now the lake has melted. The water has risen and the island is smaller. It was still large enough to see the different levels and some exposed rocks. There are two parts of the island, the main and an extention. Often we cannot get to the extention because the water stops us from going. On this day the water was low enough to cross. It was like a bridge. There was an exposed rock just off the shore with a smaller one in front. The children wanted to stand on the large flat rock. The challenge was given, you can step onto the rock only if you can do it without stepping in the water. Roxane assessed the area and saw the water between the land and the rock was only an inch deep. The distance was a wide step for the smallest in the group. The children were up for the challenge. They used problem solving skills to decide how to get on and how many children could fit. The used social skills to form a line and encourage each other. the children also found out that pyramid shaped rocks are not made for standing. We had a slip or two. Written by Susanne Robitaille
We went exploring inside. First we looked for outside things inside. Then we found lots of art. We found the fire pit. We are looking forward to our first fire. Too bad the weather had us postpone it.
A little people watching is fun. Who left their lunch was a big mystery. Will they come back to eat it? Yes. Where were they? Washing her hand? You never know what you will find or what will interest us. Written by S Robitaille Since the weather in southern Ontario has been so unpredictable there has been some changes to the forest. Freezing rain and wind has caused some branches and trees to fall. We have been finding and exploring the fallen trees. We are trying to figure out how/why they fell, the age of the tree and if it effected anything else? We have found that some large trees have fallen on smaller trees and knocked them over. The Bruce Trail club have come by and tidied up the trails by cutting branches to clear the way. Thank you.
We have counted rings, made impressions and climbed on these wonderful trees. I wish we know someone with a chainsaw and time. Adding slices to camp to play with would be awesome. Written by S Robitaille What do you do when you see a raccoon in the morning? Why is there a raccoon walking in the woods? Hey, isn't he a night animal? If you are a member of forest school you know all these answers. If you see a wild animal or a loose dog you stand like a statue and wait. (The teachers will let us know if we need to move) We wait until the animal has left. Why is it awake? We guess. Did someone wake him? Did his home fall down? Did his home flood? Maybe he is late for bed/dinner/party? Yes a raccoon is a nocturnal animal. They are awake during the night and sleep all day. On this day we were doing a lot of problem solving. How to get were we need to be when we keep coming across obstacles. We came across giant puddle and large patches of ice. While we were trying to figure out how to cross a large patch of ice we noticed a stream of water flowing over the ice.
We were watching a leaf float down the stream when we noticed a raccoon on the other side watching us. The raccoon was walking through the trees watching us. We stood like statues together, quietly, carefully, watching the raccoon watching us. The raccoon came to the edge of the ice and tip toed across it keeping a safe distance away. The raccoon was scared of us and we were scared of it. Not a sound was made. The raccoon landed on some grass and ran. It made a giant circle around us. When the coast was clear the raccoon ran along the edge of the soccer field to find it's home. When the coast was clear we breathed. We found our voices again. Back to problem solving, how to cross the icy path. We learned from the raccoon how to cross safely. Little steps and slowly. Written by S Robitaille The inclement weather on Thursday was a perfect backdrop for inquiry about the storm. There were strong winds this morning and we decided to add in a few supplies to our wagon to make wind socks. The children discovered how strong the wind was: We sat at the bleachers and began to colour our windsocks, the children learned/discovered how strong the wind was as they held down their paper bags with one hand and coloured with the other. We tied the strings and the children had a go with the wind socks. Some of them blew away. The children observed how fast the bags blew away, they ran fast to catch them, only to have them blow away again! A few were forever lost, as the wind was faster than we could run. We put on our detective hats to find clues of the storm, we discovered a tree that was broken in half, we went in closer for an in depth investigation. What were the children noticing? -Changes in our environment, before and after the storm -cause and effect -The different states of water ( ice and liquid). -Ice is slippy and fun!- A great core workout trying to stay upright while walking along the ice. - The wind is fast, and we have to run faster to catch our wind socks. -The wind is strong, it broke a tree and we saw many branches broken off in our walk. - A LOT of deer poop- with much of the snow melted, the children observed lots of piles of deer poop. Is it from one deer? A family? How many deer live in our forest? -garbage has blown everywhere! Good stewards of the earth, we all pick up the garbage and recycle or dispose of it! Every year we count each day from September until we reach the 100th day. We celebrate with all things 100. We build 100 piece puzzles, 100 block structures, 100 hats, 100 paper chain loops, 100 physical activities (eg. 100sec jumping jacks) and the best part the 100 piece snack. We discussed what life was like in 1919 and guessed what it would be like in 2119. We made self-portraits of us at 100 years old. Paragraph. html.weebly.incl.utils_1. It's a busy time in the forest, we are having a lot of visitors. We now have a BECE student coming to the woods for the next six weeks. Maddie will be a nice addition. On the 31st we will be hosting a forest school experience/workshop for a BECE class. In a few weeks we will be inviting a few indigenous highschool students to have a campfire with us. They have come every year to share their culture,music and dance with us. It is a highlight. We have also been visitted by parents of future kinders. They are coming to see what we do both in the classroom and the forest. We love to welcome people to the philosophy of forest school. The children were using tools, balancing on rocks and logs. We saw a deer while we hiked to camp. Later we went to the lake. The water levels are low and there are lots of geese Written by S Robitaille We went to camp our first day to see our fort had been taken part way down. The adults checked for safety and removed any loose branches. The children and adults rebuilt the fort and made some changes. Now there are two doors. The children did a little tree climbing too. The wind was very cold after having many warm days. Our hands were cold. On Friday the wind chill kept the other classes inside, but not us. We decided to go on an adventure and see the lake and broken car.
When we arrived at the lake we noticed the island was Humongous. We found there is a pond on the island when the water levels are low. (We did discuss the safety items when on the island. No toes in the water & watch the level changes) There were many new large rocks exposed ready for the climbing. The edges of the lake were frozen. JW pretended a boulder was a rocket and we traveled to space looking for aliens. M,L & J were treasure hunting. Mr found a tire in mud where the water once flowed. How did it get there? Too bad we can't take it out. By S Robitaille Today we went for a walk to see something new. We have seen photos and signs showing the Brock firepit and today we saw it in person.
We used our pretend fire to practise and discuss what the rules would be at a campfire. The children explored the area and found a waterfall. They needed to move along the railing to see where the water was coming from. As the rain came down harder the waterfall flowed quicker. The children did some brainstorming and figured out the water was coming from a storm drain. The children could see first hand the connection from the rain fall to water flow. Next time we come it may be for an actual fire. By S Robitaille |
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What the children & educators are up toSo many things change daily in the forest & here we share a sneak peak at some of our interests & activities. Archives
April 2019
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