Water happens when the weather changes? What happens to our favorite puddles? What happens to the lake?
We went on a hike and found some of our favorite places had changed. we can see through the trees and see the lake from places we could not see it before. What has changed? "I can see the lake!" "The leafs are gone!" We could hear the chickadee's calling. chick-a-dee-dee-dee. The lake look out, the water is deeper than usual and FROZEN! "Can we go on it?" What do you think? "No. You will die" "No you will crash and get hurt" Can you tell me if the ice is thick? "There is a hole in it." That tells me it is thin. What else do we know about the lake? "The geese live there." "Ducks too." What about the water? Does it change? "It goes up and down." That's right. The ice is never safe to walk on. "Can we go skating?" Not on the lake. I know a pond that is safe. "Can we find it?" Sure, let's go. As we followed the trail we found a frozen puddle. It was a safe place to practise moving on ice. We talked about what happens if you hear a crack. We practised laying flat and wiggling to safety. We practised this several times because it is fun of course. J tried and tried to crack the ice with a stick. The stick broke instead. The next puddle had some air bubbles in it. It was easier to break. We discussed the thickness of the ice and the safety. All things to watch for. We went to the lake and found it frozen along the shore. We found holes in the ice where the rocks had been poking through. We could see the ice was thin. J tried to crack it and was successful. NO TOES IN THE WATER! We followed the trail a new way looking for a pond to skate on. We found a broken car. Abandoned many years ago. We also found last years camp. We climbed a tree and explored the area. It was time to go. We will be back searching tomorrow. The next day we began our hike the same way visiting the lake and walking the new trail. This time we took the left side of the fork in the trail. We came to a different part of the lake. The water was moving quickly and not frozen. There are these big yellow things floating on the water and possibly a river. Where does it go? Why are those things in the water? We continued down the trail along a fence where we could see the river. There were deer footprints on both sides of the fence. "How did the deer get there?" "I hope the deer didn't fall in the river?" At the end of the trail is a hydro building. We could see where the water goes in the building. It looks like the drain in a tub going around and around. We discussed the danger signs and why it is dangerous to go in there. Now we know where the lake water goes. This is why the water rises and falls. This is why we can never skate on the lake, it is always moving.
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For Halloween we carved a pumpkin like every classroom in Canada did. Our pumpkin was not your usual Jack-o-lantern with a face. The children had lots of ideas about how it should look. The girls used words like crown, bow, dress, and bracelet. Then names like Cinderella and Elsa. The boys used words like eyes, mouth and scary. Then names like Maleficent and dragon. We had a few votes and decided to have a two sided pumpkin. One side a princess and the other a dragon. Next we measured the pumpkin and tested our theories if it could float. We opened up the top and scooped out the seeds. Susanne carved out the shapes and we displayed it in our class. Now that Halloween is over what do you do with a pumpkin? You take it to the forest of course. What will happen to it? Will it go rotten? Will it disappear? So many questions and guess'. We found a safe place, not too close that we would scare away the possible creatures visiting and not too far that we cannot see it. We found the perfect spot just outside of our flagged area in a small clearing. Now we wait. Six days later. "The pumpkin is gone!" "No Pumpkin!" Where did it go? "They ate it!" Who? "I don't know?" "The deers!" "The squirrels!" " Maybe a snail?" "Maybe a skunk?" "Maybe a crocodile?" Look around for any leftover parts. All we found is the top of the pumpkin. There was no other parts. No footprints. No clues. Though we did find this... "It's a mushroom!" "It looks like a potato!" "It literally looks like a potato."
And the research continues. By S Robitaille To we had some fun discovery in the forest. We set up a tarp for some shelter. We are waiting for some visitors. Today our friend Dr.Debra Harwood is coming and bringing a friend from far away. Claire Warden from Scotland is in town to offer a workshop about nature pedagogy and she is stopping by to visit.
While we wait for our visitors we climbed trees and measured them to find their age. We played with fairy dolls and horses. We huddled under our tarp for songs and stories. We found a special spot for our pumpkin where we can monitor and give space incase animals come to eat it. Debra arrived first, the children gave her the grand tour of camp. They saw her fancy camera and asked her to take a tonne of pictures. We got the call Claire was on her way with Helene. We decided to meet them halfway. We were surprised to see Kelly had come too. Claire had brought her daughter Emily. We went on a discovery mission. We found an abandoned car. This was our first time seeing the car. "It's broken!" "How did it break?" "How did it get here?" "Where is the engine?" "Look at the part I found. It is shaped like my letter." "It's like a balance beam." They shared their stories and theories with our new friends. On our way back we shared our favorite puddle. On the walk there were lots of questions about the visitors from far away. "Where is your airplane?" "What were you for halloween?" "Where is your school?" I think Emily was more popular then her mother. It was a great visit and they are more than welcome to come again. |
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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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