Just hours before spring break came, it started to snow. Figures. Either way, though a bit disappointed that old Man Winter had returned after some pretty warm days, my forest friends enjoyed one last morning outside before spring break.
With this being the last time out before break, I planned a Trivia Trek to wrap up some of the numerous things we have been learning together inside the classroom walls. At stops throughout the trail, we worked through various questions to review some core curricular areas. Whether spelling out sight words, adding and subtracting, counting out syllables, rhyming word families, or discussing the amazing (and somewhat gross) process of digestion, the students were raring to move from question to question to keep out of the wind gusts.
After finishing up the questions, I posed an extra credit opportunity. Begrudgingly at first, the students obliged. Once they found out it involved singing and dancing to one of our favorite class poems, they warmed to the idea, both literally and figuratively. After doing the actions of Gingerbread is Fun to Make, we sang and danced to a forest favorite, Leaves, Branches, Trunks, and Roots, speeding up each time through the chorus.
Because of the wind, we postponed our forest floor art project and decided on reading our story inside. We did however still get in some quality natural play time.
After lining up and taking count of bodies, our weekly rendition of using our outdoor voices to count backwards to zero, the class enjoyed a more recent tradition, running from the outdoor learning area closest to the trailhead and racing down the hill towards the school. Once inside, we read It's Spring, co-authored by Samantha Berger and Pamela Chanko and illustrated by Melissa Sweet before getting a closer at a donated avian skull generously donated by a former student.
Maybe just maybe the next time we hit the trail, spring will be here to stay. We'll find out in a few weeks. Happy spring break!
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