Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday
Our week thus far is sunny and dry, for which we are grateful after last week’s sodden conclusion! Mosquitoes continue to plague us but we keep spraying each other and continue moving around which helps some. My intention this week was to introduce a variety of tree-related facts and inquiries, but the kids had other ideas. We discovered a section of the creek that is much shallower and easier to get into than our usual spot. The kids dug in the mud and found worms which were then tied onto the fishing poles some of our explorers were making with sticks and some cotton string I had in my backpack. The mud was also useful for painting on trees and a few girls made what they called a “mosquito trap,” packing mud and moss onto a knot of a tree on the banks of the creek. On Wednesday the mud-packing on the tree turned into patching bark back onto the tree. The kids involved called themselves, “Tree Doctors.”
With actual goals in mind, the kids were motived to problem-solve in order to meet these goals. How to find more worms? How to attach a worm to a string without a hook? How to tie knots? Where might we find fish? The fishing activities continued on today at our usual spot in the creek.
Before leaving our Morning Meeting circle today I had kids pair up with a Michigan field guide in order to just page through looking at different plants and animals that could be out there in that woods at that moment. Looking at some familiar photos prompted a few memories about having seen or encountered the featured plant or animal in the past. One explorer told me a story about how his mom “freaked out” when a bat was in their house.
This morning the ticket to go explore and play was just one page of their nature journal showing with picture or words what they hoped to do or see today. At the end of our morning I asked anyone who wanted to share about what they did and whether it was what they had hoped to do in their journals. Yesterday we journaled about what we already did or saw that morning.
On Wednesday some of the girls created a “Rescue Squad.” They assigned themselves and each other to various positions on the squad. Playing at being rescuers, they had the opportunity to safely try out what it might feel like to be someone who helps and saves others. I asked them to consider who, in real adult life, are these people? They promptly rattled off: firefighters, medics, ambulance, police, doctors, nurses, and lifeguards. Pretend play is incredibly valuable, even for older children such as those going into 3rd grade this fall. The more practice children get at trying out different roles, the better they can make connections to the world around them and to themselves.
Below: While waiting for everyone to arrive, some of the kids love to make up games and routines on the benches before we begin Morning Meeting. Though they couldn’t tell you this, they are testing their own balance, speed, flexibility, coordination, and spatial awareness.
I brought a section of an old paper-wasp nest so that the kids could touch it and see it up close. They noticed right away that the pattern of the cells matches one of the nature patterns we learned about last week. It’s hard to believe that bugs can make such a beautiful home out of wood and saliva! We learned that the wasps only use the nest for one season and then build a new one the following spring. If you leave up the old one, it deters them from building there again because they are territorial and don’t want to build near another nest, even if it is not in use!
We used the leaf-matching greeting again, but this time did 3-4 rotations so they greeted more people. The next day, I asked them to try to find the tree the leaves came from.
Woods & Wetlands 