I was so happy to have a mix of both girls and boys again on Monday! K. managed to get all the way to me in the hallway before-hand and threw her arms around me, telling me she missed me. She made me smile. We also had a new explorer who fearlessly joined us in the swamp. K. and K. leaped easily from moss island to fern island, looking back at M. and instructing her in the finer points of avoiding the black, muck pools! We showed her the Fairy Tree and we all walked to the old boardwalk.
She said, “My mom told me to come home dirty!”
Ferns and kids both unfurling in the spring sun!K says she actually likes the smell of the skunk cabbage! The other kids were impressed!Real conversation: Me: “and this is why we tuck our pants INto our boots!” H: “I forgot… and now I have mud on my favorite shirt.” Me: “Why on earth would you wear your favorite shirt to Woods and Wetlands?” H: “My mom made me. For Western Day.” Me: “There is NO WAY your mom, ‘made,” you wear that! Could you have brought another shirt for later?” H: “Yeah. I did but I didn’t feel like putting it on.” Me: “Okay then. Good thing you can wash it!”
K. in pink is one with the swamp! She enjoyed poking her mucky, drippy, green stick in our direction.
We finally made it to the boardwalk!Violets are edible flowers. Myrtle are not. Kids tried the violets and I made sure to emphasize they are not to eat anything out of nature without adult permission! K. and I studied the differences between these 2 flowers so she could recognize them.Love these cousins!The, “Hairy Dinosaur,” is actually the nurse log of an old tree. This was the root ball.
This is Jack-in-the-Pulpit. K. remembered it from last year! I love this wildflower!
I. on the throne.It wouldn’t be Woods and Wetlands without swampy boots!!!
I guess she decided she was so wet already she might as well enjoy it!
I notice that kids tend to get along better when they’re outdoors and free to move as they please.
Could she be any cuter?This is a perfect reason to have a walking stick!
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.
View all posts by woodsandwetlands
Woods & Wetlands 