Celebrating a smoke-free day and rejoicing in the beautiful weather, we ventured to Princes Island Park. The class was fascinated by the new plants, bugs and birds we discovered on the way, referencing our field guides often to try to name their plant. We tasted caragana flowers, sniffed lilacs, felt furry leaves, let ladybugs tickle our fingers, watched a robin build its nest and attempted branch repair... (see photo of the grass tie around a partially broken branch). We are so fortunate to have such an interested class, where every child is spellbound by nature and eager to share their discoveries.
At Princes Island park our group of imaginative players took advantage of the space to run and tumble in their creative games that involved all manner of creatures... this kind of creative cooperative play is invaluable for social skill development.
Ms Rikia's boomerang captivated many, Irvine, especially, devoted himself to honing his skill, impressing us all. Spencer and Emmy found a creative flow in their play and we watched the whole class weave their play in and amongst each other in the big open green.
We listened to a beautiful Indigenous story of dream-catchers and their significance, following from Maeve's request to make dream-catchers last week. To this end we discussed responsible harvesting and each found a silver willow branch or similar bendy stick to fashion into a circle.
Down by the river we came to a small beach, a small little slice of heaven for us to settle in and enjoy. Children marvelled at rocks they found, dangling their feet in the river. Dell became something of a geologist for the class avidly comparing rocks he and others found to our pebble laminated guide.
To take us back our class told one long rhyming stories (a fantastic literacy exercise) all the way. It evolved into children finding an item up ahead, be it a landmark, a flower or a rock and folding it into our stories, running and moving as the animals in our story. This form of collaborative oral storytelling with movement and environment integrated is fun and captivating and shows children new ways to engage with their surroundings when hiking.
A beautiful day... we look forward to many more!
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