Winter is here. Which means FOZEN PUDDLES!! So many things to learn when a puddle is frozen. The thickness and strength can be a safety lesson. The more slippery (less friction) the more fun and danger. Then there are surprises like bubbles. They can make mazes to follow with a stick or mitt. They can look like islands. They can inspire printing in the snow. Or try to crack the floating ice in the swamp. So much learning and fun with ice. By S Robitaille
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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. 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. Today we were so excited to see something had eaten breakfast on our geo-board. When we turned it over it was even more exciting. There were four salamanders hiding under there. At first they looked like worms until they walked on little legs. They scurried and paused. One hid and did not come back. The others wondered around and let us watch for a while. We were very careful to give them a big space bubble for safety. At the daycare we googled and found out they are called Red-backed Salamander. (Plethodon cinereus) Recently we found a manhole cover that sparked many questions. First question was "I think the Ninja Turtles live in there?" Then "how do we get in?" Quickly we began to discuss things like what is in there? Do you think it is safe? Are Ninja Turtles real? This inquiry inspired lots of discussion, questions and theories about where it goes and is it safe. We always came back to the safety question. We used the cover as an art project. We made crayon rubbings and paint prints both large and small. As we went on adventures in the area we found a bridge crossing a watery swam. Could there be water in the manhole? The children noticed a storm drain in front of the daycare. "Look Susanne there is water in there! Is it from the Ninja Turtles house?" I found two videos to show the children. First the inside of a sewer. We discussed where does the toilet water go when you flush? Then we watched the video and saw a dark wet (poopy-pee water) tunnel with rats and bugs. Eww! Yuck! The second video was about storm drains and how to keep them clean and why. Our next visit to the forest we searched for the storm drains and followed them to the lake. We saw where the water comes out and where the grass cuttings, sticks and garbage end up. Yuck! I took a photo of the opening of the drain pipe so we could see what we were standing on. We found it is gated and locked. "What if we were in there? How would Mommy get me out?" Maybe this is telling us to stay out. Do you think it would be a good choice to go in there? "No, it's a bad choice." We looked at the lake and saw the rotting plants and floating garbage. The children were quiet. Pondering what they saw. "Can we go to the lake?" We took a vote and headed for the lake. Where we come out of the forest onto the bank of the lake is an inlet we like to call "The Island". The lake is damned at one end and has a power station at the other. The water levels can change every time we visit so, the island can grow or shrink depending. We have many discussions about the water levels and track where the water is when we visit. We use a large rock as a guide to monitor the levels. The children enjoy tossing stones into the water. The try to make the biggest splashes or throw the farthest. Sometimes we are lucky and see birds close to shore or find their feathers. Sometimes we find snakes or 'seaweed'. It's never dull at the lake. We have explored the forest and found many types of water pipes and storm drains. Who knew? There is water all around us and we have to be mindful of our surroundings. We are learning how we can keep the earth clean and our waterways is where we will start. I am sure we will continue to explore the water on campus. I wonder what we will see next?
Thursday September the 13th was our first official day in the forest. And oh what a day.
We began our week talking about the things we will be doing in the forest. We problem solved some scenarios so we will be prepared. Things like how do we address strangers on the trail, what if there is a dog off leash, and the number one rule STICK TOGETHER! The children wanted to know what kinds of animals live in the forest? The usual guesses are lions, tigers and bears, oh my! Oh and crocodiles too. We looked through a Canadian animal tracks book. Next came the worry of dangerous animals. I explained that children are noisy and they scare the animals into hiding. We are safe. Besides Susanne and Roxane are strong and will keep everyone safe. Before we begin our journey we take a moment to acknowledge the people who were here before us, the Anishinaabe and the Haudenosaunee tribes. Off we go into the woods. We didn't get far before we found some amazing puddles for jumping. Some children love to get wet and don't mind the mud. Other's want to join in but are uncomfortable with getting wet. They stand at the side to watch and even put their toes in at the edge. Risk assessing is a personal thing even something simple like puddle jumping can be a big deal for some, and that's ok. We will be encouraging the children to take safe risks and prepared to step in when needed. This will be a year of challenges. We are very excited. “Take chances, make mistakes and get messy!” -Miss Frizzle Every year during homecoming week Brock University celebrates Grape and Wine with a grape stomp. The University invites the children of Rosalind Blauer Child Care Center to be special guests. The children are requested to begin the festivities by stomping the first baskets of grapes.
It's a messy job but we love to do it. The children spot a turtle in the grass on their way to their forest school site. The turtle generates a lot of excitement-'is it a snapping turtle'? 'what is she doing'? 'where are her eggs'? as well as some concern. The turtle is nesting in a busy traffic area with construction workers and lawn mowers that pass through. The children are worried about the turtle & take action! First they form a human chain around the turtle and discuss who can help? With some quick thinking the children and their educators make a visit to the Brock Environmental Sustainability Research Centre (ESRC). Thanks to the ESRC and Brock's maintenance department a barrier is placed around the turtle to protect her. It takes a community to protect the turtle and the children are happy to have some help! |
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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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