The last day is always hard. None of us want to say goodbye! I am hoping that I can continue bringing Woods and Wetlands to local schools this fall, so I plan to reach out to as many educators as possible to get these programs scheduled. One of my dreams would be to offer repeat programs for the same classes in the same, wild, space throughout a school year, whether once a month or even 4 times a (school) year. Imagine the kids getting to bond with a natural area that they can access whenever their adults can get them there, where they would benefit from seeing nature change throughout the seasons! School curriculum would be supported as we learn naturally about local plants, animals, fungi, geology, history, and geography. Woods and Wetlands programs support physical education related to strength, balance, coordination, teamwork, spatial awareness, and self-confidence. The arts can be woven into repeat programs as well. Nature-play and play-based learning offers health and wellness to all of us, even those who don’t enjoy the outdoors. We become more resilient to the stresses of life and better able to heal and grow our spirits when the world gets to be too much.
On the last day I give everyone 3 little nature treasures along with getting to keep their journals and colored pencils. This year the 3 treasures are types of beautiful tree seeds: sweet gum tree, hemlock tree, horse chestnut tree. The seeds from the sweet gum and the hemlock not only connect with our ongoing tree-lessons, but also with the nature patterns we learned about and drew in our journals. The horse chestnut seed feels smooth and pleasant in our hands. We talked about some of the many ways trees spread their seeds around. Learning how to use dip nets to scoop up muck from under the water, dump it on the edge of the water, look for moving life, and pop those little creatures into a jar or bucket of water for observation.Little crayfishI never knew they were kind of pretty!FAIRY SHRIMPDRAGONFLY NYMPH & CRAYFISHNo one has to make them “do science.” It comes naturally!Big dreams of tiny creatures.Found a feather!A new island.We went down to the main river channel and discovered a multitude of living things in the water under the “muck,” (a.k.a. decomposing organic matter that is packed with nutrients!) We found: crayfish big and small, fairy shrimp, dragonfly nymphs, and fish.
Imagine you have spent your childhood living down deep in the warm mud of a wetland, swimming around and breathing with gills. One day when you are anywhere from 3 months to 5 years old, you crawl out of the muck, up onto a cattail or blade of grass, your back splits open, and you crawl right out of your “skin” (exoskeleton), but you are no longer a creepy crawler; you are an iridescent, shimmery, winged creature who can now FLY! You have lovely fairy-like wings and amazing eyesight. No more dark, muddy days. You are a DRAGONFLY!
Happy explorer.Always more to discover.The river’s edge is nice and shallow.A slew of snails were creeping around in the grass and logs.It’s so interesting to see which kids had a hard time with Brain Gym at first but have no problem now!Last day of Brain Gym. I wonder if anyone will remember to do it on their own?A dragon head shaped piece of bark.Root wrapped around a trunk.Photo taken of a pine tree catkin on bark through a pocket microscope with phone camera attachment!Noticing bark differences between trees.Observing ants and their busy highway.Since we were the ones to go to the ants’ home, we respected them by simply observing and keeping our feet and hands out of their space. No need to hurt or kill them when they were minding their own business!
Woods & Wetlands 