It turns out that kids of all ages listen more closely and follow directions better when the directives are delivered by Mr. Porcupine. Mr. Porcupine is not living in a tree in the woods; he lives only on my hand, and until today, I didn’t realize he carries more authority and fascination than I ever could! Puppets are always a hit with younger kiddos, so I wasn’t sure that this slightly older group would go for them, but WOW, did they EVER! Initially I intended that my Michigan wildlife puppets would be used only for our Morning Meeting greeting for a fun way to learn about some Michigan wildlife, but a few of the kids were eager to bring them down to our exploration space as well. After extracting a promise that the puppets wouldn’t leave our main area, I let them play as they chose. They loved creating silly voices for the different animals. Toward the end of our morning two of the girls asked if Mr. Porcupine could wake up and come out for a play date. From that moment on, all of the kids were engaged with Mr. Porcupine, asking him questions, tickling his belly, trying to find food he liked, and laughing at his responses.
Puppets in the fort. 
Before we left Morning Meeting I assigned the kids a new “noticing” task for our last day: noticing with our first 5 senses. We were lucky to begin with the sense of taste! I have no pictures to show, but between Morning Meeting and going to the Meeting Log, some of the kids and I discovered a tasty batch of ripe, wild, red raspberries! We spent quite a bit of time carefully picking and eating, with one boy checking with me every single time he picked a berry, to make certain it was safe to eat. He couldn’t get enough! There is something about foraging for wild food that just feels right!
The Rescue Squad from Tuesday and Wednesday continued and evolved today with some of the boys getting in on the rescues. There is one fairly deep spot under the log-jam in the creek where I have asked the kids to avoid playing. At some point one of the Rescue Squad girls informed me that they didn’t need me to be there anymore because they had everything under control and could rescue each other as needed. (It just occurred to me that the rescues started after we read the book, An Extraordinary Egg, in which a frog needed rescuing!) I smiled at that but told them that seriously, they cannot play pretend near that deep spot. They informed me, just as seriously, that they weren’t “playing pretend,” that they were truly able to rescue each other. At that point I made sure they understood that if someone, even a small child, fell in that spot and the current pulled them toward the logs, it is NOT an easy thing to lift another human whose clothes and boots are filled with water, and that they absolutely were NOT to practice rescues there at all. Though I never leave the kids alone in or near the creek, I stayed put right next to that particular place after that, just in case.
Toward the end of our morning some of the kids took on a new project; they decided to speed up the decomposition of our Meeting Log! Meanwhile, others engaged with Mr. Porcupine who had decided to wake up and participate. Then we all lay down in the soft grass and leaves and looked up into the tree canopy while Mrs. Webb guided our attention to the patterns of light and dark where the sun shone through the leaves or where the leaves were in shadow. Some of the puppets joined us.
In the last 5-10 minutes, I asked everyone to try to create one, final, journal entry for the session. Write or draw something you noticed with your 5 senses today. Some of the results were: the sound of water flowing over rocks, birds singing, kids splashing, taste of wild raspberries, scents of water and logs, the feel of mud and bark, and the sight of mushrooms with pores and gills.
Camouflaged bug! 
Sniffing the water 
Heart shaped leaf 
The pores turned blue-black after being touched by our fingers. 
pores vs gills 
Not everyone loves journaling. 
Sniffing a log
Children learn best through doing, through playing, and by following their own interests with guidance and enhancement from adults. During Woods and Wetlands children learn and grow in so many ways. They notice not just the natural world around them, but how they fit into that world and how they feel when engaged with it.
Woods and Wetlands programs are available all year long! Contact me for more information!
T.
Woods & Wetlands 