The last few days have thawed out our land, but today, Old Man Winter made a return. It didn't stop us from completing a diverse set of activities. When planning our session with the class I made mention of five words: mud, seeds, birds, search, and play. We did them all and had a great time doing so.
MUD - Kicking off our morning with Robert Munsch's silly story, Mud Puddle, we were ready to get muddy. While yesterday's sloppier conditions would have been ideal, we worked through the more tricky conditions and used water to warm up the ground and make some mud. Then, using sticks as paintbrushes, we created mud paintings. The results were awesome. This will definitely make another appearance come spring.
SEEDS - We then reconvened at our oak tree classroom and broke into trios to disperse previously collected seeds from our nature center partner. In no time, the kids were sending seeds throughout the land. From milkweed to bergamot, goldenrod to coneflower, seeds were everywhere.
BIRDS - With Spring on our minds, we read Amy Ludwig VanDerwater's Every Day Birds and chatted about how we would be learning about all the birds we hope come visit sooner than later. Though Groundhog Day was last week. I stated to the class how I believed the return of the robin is the real sign of spring. So, in an effort to find other avian friends and signs of their existence, we went off into the woods.
SEARCH - Besides anything bird-related, we also kept our eyes open for dropped antlers. While quite unlikely, it is the time of year when old antlers make way for new ones. No antlers were found, but we did see nests, tree cavities, possible woodpecker holes, fungi, and lots of new trees to explore.
PLAY - For natural play, the kids have free reign of the land. Today, they split into two groups. One group was working on breaking the ice. The others worked through their own stick championship games, normally played by the entire class as part of math time.
When it was time to head back in, we did our routine of lining up and getting a chance to use our outdoor voices to count up and make sure no one was left behind.
While our nature day is usually reserved for Wednesdays, daily interactions with nature are a staple of our classroom. We usually " end the day with natural play." Some of the pictures from earlier in the week were too good to not share. Enjoy!
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| Mud soup |
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| Vine Tug of war |
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| Learning outside is awesome (and exhausting)! |
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| Jumping in puddles. . . .yes! |
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| Anybody out there? |
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