MUD!!!

With temperatures rising and piles of snow and ice melting, the park turned into a magically muddy, puddle filled playground! The kids slid and squished their feet deep into thick mud, then laughed as they tried to pull each other out. Puddles became meeting places for splashing, running, and observation - "When our bodies jump in, the water jumps out!" noted one child. Upon discovering a huge pond sized puddle, the kids began a game of 'sink or float,' throwing in ice, snow, leaves, rocks and sticks to see if they disappeared to the bottom or floated on top! With big shovels and buckets,  the kids dug deep in the mud, filling buckets to carry with 'strong muscles' and flip over to make mud castles!

SNOW!!!!

We were blessed with a beautiful blanket of heavy snow for exploring and playing in! We waded though knee deep piles, did "snow yoga" poses, built a massive pyramid with snow shapes, dug with big shovels, and finally used the snow as a canvas for our  watercolor paints!

Compelling reasons for kids to spend time in nature!

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-20310/5-really-good-reasons-why-kids-need-time-in-nature.html

Rosy cheeks, muddy shoes, and tigers!

All bundled up, we have been adventuring outside in the sunny, crisp air!

We have spotted squirrels scurrying into trees, geese in formation, and chickadees chirping in the bushes. On a hike through the forest, we discovered and collected a wagon full of huge pine cones that fell from the trees above. Then we stomped and crunched ice covered puddles to find the mud below!

Given shiny mesh ribbon,  the kids created costumes - princesses, tigers, and superheroes - and used them to inspire their dramatic play. As the tigers roared and crawled in the grass and  the superheroes flew off of fallen logs, the kids stretched more ribbon across the field to make snakes and and tied it to fallen sticks!