Owls, Sept 8

The Owls spent their first day of forest school revisiting old traditions and activities, inventing new ones, and considering new possibilities for what they could do as a class.

Our initial name game was a hoot with names and actions that ran the gamut from thoughtfully researched in advanced to hilariously improvised on the spot. It was fun to see everyone's personalities begin to shine. Ask your owl what name they chose to represent themselves and if anyone else's names stand out from the name game.

We took time to draw some memories and highlights from previous years on birch bark (specially imported from Ontario!) that we then burned to symbolize letting go of the past.

Next we formed groups and acted out or created dioramas to represent ideas and hopes for this year. Ask your owl what ideas their group or others had for activities or field trips for the class this year. How are they feeling in general about the group dynamics and their place in the class this year?

Of course many more things happened throughout the day: fort building, football, 10 pass, hammock hangs, card tag with roving captains, and a peaceful carving sit spot.

One thing we noticed that will play a role in future classes is the question of how we make decisons as a group. Whether it's where we set up camp for the day or how we negotiate creating new rules for a game, there were moments where we had to decide as group. While we didn't disagree strongly, we didn't agree strongly either. We needed ways to come together and make a shared choice. That's something we'll explore more in the coming weeks. Ask your owl what they think about where the class chooses to play on the bluff, and stay tuned for what we learn together!