Tyke Hike #20 - Lapham Peak

Mother Nature would have been an amazing pitcher because she threw us all another curveball today. With temperatures in the 50's, our winter walk was anything but. 40 hikers joined in on the first official Tyke Hike of 2016.

As usual, my daughter co-led the hike, though she meandered throughout the crowd as she used her walking stick as a telescope at the beginning of the hike and a microphone at the end of the 1.3 mile trek.

In this year's Tyke Hikes, I am aiming to vary up the experiences. While literacy, physical, and art connections are sure to be a part of every hike, I am focusing on more hands on experiences with a special emphasis in natural play. In my forest kindergarten program,seeing how such  simple interactions with nature can create lasting memories, learning opportunities, and pure and simple fun, I can't help but include a natural play opportunity with each hike.

On this first time incorporating it into the hikes, the children were excited to test out their natural play skills balancing on fallen trees, navigating the icy incline, and befriending some burdock plants.

Add two more school hikes and today involved over 130 hikers out and about on the trail. Not a bad little Saturday at all.