Southeastern NC

Today we learned an amazingly powerful and important skill: How to safely wildcraft plants and make herbal extracts from them. Actually, we started with one safe and easy to identify plant. Each plant is unique and so the only generalization to working with wild plants is that there are no generalizations. Working with plants can be an incredibly rewarding experience. It can also be potentially hazardous. Safety is our primary concern. We want children to enjoy working with

As we entered the park today, we spent some time by the pond talking to the birds. We practiced our bird calls, and even saw a duck with her ducklings. Once we entered the sandy area, we played some of our favorite games including "Fire in the Forest," and a new one called "Bear, Salmon, Mosquito" a group-play on the traditional "Rock, Paper, Scissors." We also investigated the nearby pond and found remnants of the turtle shell we saw a hawk eat from last week! Jack took note

Brrr! It does not feel like Spring! On the bright side, we had so much fun making a fire and shelters in wet conditions, the weather just makes things interesting! It was just cold and wet enough to really appreciate having a tarp shelter and fire, and warm enough that we (Ms. Devin and Ms. Kathryn) let the Gray Squirrels work with making fire in wet conditions and explore setting up camp when conditions are a little more challenging. We got a fire going that kept us warm and

What an amazing day! It started out like any other, with gratitudes and a hike. But while we were sitting along the edge of a pond making fairy stick boats, Sadie noticed a bird sitting in a tree on the other side of the pond. While we were watching it, discussing colors, size, shape and what bird it might be, it swooped down, casually plucked something from the water and then settled in a tree right by us to eat! We waited until the hawk was finished then crept over to see w

What a beautiful, life-filled day! We spent the day at the swamp and saw so MUCH life! There are beautiful spring medicinal plants growing up intermixed with one of best teachers - Poison Ivy, so we had to be very mindful of where we put our bodies and our items down. We started the day at Opening Circle sharing gratitudes and reading a passage from What the Robin Knows by Jon Young. The passage talks about the companion calls you can here rather easily between a pair of mate

There was so much to explore in the swamp on this warm, overcast day! We made boats, saw baby snapping turtles, explored the swamp and went "fishing". It was a great day! Its good to have help when exploring what you are capable of! Meet "Inchy"! She was joined by her friend "Tiny" a short time later. The Boat floats! Returning Inchy and Tiny to their home. Ashlyn made a leash for her boat so it wouldn't get swept away. Inchy and Tiny together. #Bobcats #Tadpoles

Our backpacks felt so light without all of our cold weather gear in them! The overcast day turned sunny and almost downright hot! It was good that we spent the day exploring by the Frog Pond. On our walk into opening circle, Ava and Maebel noticed a strange kind of web or cocoon. When we got closer it looked almost like the caterpillars we could see inside were dancing! We noticed when we got to Opening Circle that a falling-down tree in the woods outside our circle, that we