We are noticing many great aspects of the free age mixing; the Squirrels are learning more complex games and teamwork strategies, the Chickadees/Nuthatches are trying more challenging building projects, and the Rabbits are becoming mentors and 'older friends' to the younger children, teaching them skills they can share. Both classes today were exploring edibles, the plants we can eat in our forest. As more plants come, we will add to our list! We underscored that the plants we didn't know, we wouldn't eat until we knew what they were. It is Forest School practice to not tell the children anything until they ask, and then to help them find out for themselves. As of yet, no one has asked the names of these plants. When they do, we will have the field guides ready to look it up with them.
Activities for at home!
See if your children can recognize any of the plants from the bluff in your neighbourhood. For example, dandelion leaves and petals can be eaten; a discussion about which ones to choose (do they have chemicals on them? Is it an area cars or dogs go?) would be good too!
Yarn Wrapping:
For our debrief today, we used different colours of yarn to tell the story of our day. This could be tried at home with crayons, string or markers!
yellow: someone made them smile
green: they felt close to nature
purple: they achieved a goal
orange: they had something they would do differently
white: they had a great idea for next class
If they felt any of these things, they would wrap their stick with these colours.