Tadpoles 2017-18: Week 1 - Fairy Houses & Climbing Trees
Opening Circle
We started our morning with some songs, and each friend shared something that they were grateful for. We had a snack and listened to one of our friends teach us her favorite new song.
Secret Trail to pond
We decided to be bold on our first wander and took the less traveled path up a steep hill where we discovered a beautiful spot along the Mill Pond. We had fun tossing rocks, leaves, and other found objects into the pond, and explored which objects sink, which ones float, and which makes the biggest splash!
Nature Names, Fairy Houses, and Fire in the Forest
Ms.Britt told a story about Nature Names and how they really pick us, instead of us picking them. Each Nature Name has something to teach us. After picking our own Nature Names, we got to select from different animal pictures which one belonged to each of us. It was so cool to have a picture of our animal! We even thought we heard one of them during our wander...
Before having lunch at the picnic table by the pond, we spent some time building Fairy Houses and creating a leaf collage using all of the yellow leaves we could find in the area. We also played a few rounds of Fire in the Forest, a game that gets us thinking about the characteristics of different types of animals, and involves lots of running around!
Wander to Cedar Forest & Climbing Trees
The Tadpoles started getting a little tired towards the end of the day, but as soon as Ms. Kathryn asked "Who wants to find a climbing tree?" Everyone perked right up! We wandered to the Cedar Forest, finding lots of worms on the path along the way. We practiced getting our hands dirty before holding them to create a protective layer between the worm's skin and ours. Worms breathe through their skin, so it's important to keep it protected. Once we arrived at the Cedar Forest, it didn't take us long to find a good climbing tree, and we practiced checking branches for sturdiness and making sure we could get down as well as up in a tree!
Sit Spot & Closing Circle
The Tadpoles were so impressive with their first sit spots! We did a short sense meditation and then we all spread out so that we could still see each other, but had our own personal nature space. We sat quietly taking in the beauty of the cedar/pine thicket. We then gathered back together to share what we saw and heard - birds, wind, insects and more! After sharing a moment of gratitude for our time spent together, we wandered back out of the forest to meet our families for pick up. Some of us weren't quite ready to leave, and we're so glad we have many more weeks of fun in the forest to come!
