*Title credit to D.M., one of the creative young minds who attended Woods and Wetlands last week! He quietly studied some of his dripping wet cohorts and commented, “This class should be called, ‘Woods and WetKIDS instead of ‘Woods and Wetlands!'”
There was quite a bit of, “falling in,” on this day despite the new chill in the air. I thought there might be complaints of being cold (because wet doesn’t mix well with cold!) but not one of our explorers complained! They are hardier than I am!
The Tilted Tree continues to hang on to life despite half of its roots out of the ground.Headed for the Enchanted Forest. The wonderful scents of fall can now be enjoyed, free of the clouds of mosquito repellent we had in weeks past!My mushroom obsession is kept alive by all the crazy fungi out there! I think this one could be a type of amanita, which is extremely toxic! But it also looks like an Inky Cap, which is edible. Either way, we just enjoy taking a close look and that is all!Some kind of puff-ball? It looks like a brain!These photos are deceiving. Now that the leaves are falling, it looks like there is a lot of land with only small puddles, but it is really a lot of water with a layer of leaves floating on top!
Forgetting her boots never stops L. from her daring explorations!How deep can E. make the stick go into the water?I played with D. and H. for a while, pretending to find ways to invade and take back my throne from last week!
This fallen tree is still pretty sturdy so we climbed up into it. There are cool little areas where it is like a canoe and we can sit cradled in it and look out over the rest of the wetland.I missed the eyes-open moment of this happy smile.I. experiments with damming up this overflow area and then releasing the water but creating a filter for it.
E. practices stick-vaulting across the water over and over!
Some of the kids joined me in wondering why we were able to see water moving in some areas but not others. What was causing the flow of water? Where was it originating? We searched and theorized.We were fascinated by these mushrooms that the kids said reminded them of pumpkin pie.Thinking…We determined that the water was flowing under the little path and the places we could see water movement were where the water’s path narrowed to contain it more.A mushroom selfie from beneath.Trying to figure out what made the water flow through this pipe from the other side and where it came from before that. The kids began “feeding” the Hairy Dinosaur. Translation: stuffing leaves into the various holes in this bundle of mossy, old, tree roots.
I am an and outdoor educator with a master's in early childhood development. I taught elementary school for 20 years and now own Woods and Wetlands LLC, offering programs for local children to engage in nature study through play and exploration-based learning. My programs are all outdoors in whatever "wild" spaces are available. I live in Rockford, Michigan with my husband, dog, and three cats. My unique, therapeutic, one and a half hour programs help children to connect with the natural world and with themselves.
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