Early spring sunshine, worms, sticks and mud!

WIth the magnolia trees blossoming and the days being warmed by the sun, we have been full of energy and on the move - digging deep for wriggling, mud covered worms,  climbing trees, and collecting all different kinds of sticks throughout the park. Using the sticks,  the kids worked together to build a train track, helped each other lift and move heavy logs, and used sticks two or three times their height to to reach up and touch tall tree branches!

The Magic of Sticks!

The brilliance of learning and playing outside is the unending supply of sticks at the kids' fingertips! All different shapes and sizes, the kids create imaginary worlds, games, art, and designs with this open-ended natural material. Building their strength, they lift big sticks - sometimes alone and sometimes working together. They excavate dinosaur bones, build camp fires and bird nests, and pull train whistles. They identify sticks shaped like letters, and use them as building blocks for structures. They color and paint them and make all different sorts of creations. Such a simple, yet amazing and magical thing! 

Worms!

It is "worm weather!" as the kids have been saying. The ample spring rain has created the perfect conditions for muddy fields and tons of worms to discover. Digging in the dirt, the kids observed worm tunnels, the different sizes and shapes of worms, and the slippery, slimy feeling of worms in their hands. Practicing gentleness, as worms are living creatures, the kids observed the worms' segmented, strong bodies, looking at the veins and different colors of the skin. We also talked about how worm eggs hatch from a cocoon underground, where worms enjoy the dark, cool, and damp dirt. We also discovered acorn weevil larvae in our search!

Puddles and winter birds!

The quiet stillness and magic of a park that we seem to have all to ourselves in the winter allows us the chance to discover birds that may otherwise be hidden or missed in the bustling warmer months. In the past few weeks we have spotted blue jays, male and female cardinals, swans, a heron, and a hawk (that we watched for over 1/2 hour eating it's prey on a tree branch!) To take care of the birds, we created various bird feeders with recycled materials, art supplies and natural materials we found in the park. The kids carefully placed them in the low hanging branches in the park, inviting the birds to eat. The group did guess that the squirrels may sneak over to eat as well!

Winter play!

Our winter explorations the over the past couple weeks have brought more mud (which became construction sites, hot chocolate, and gardens  - growing 'mangoes, tomatoes, lettuce, and frozen peas!') After a big windy storm,  we discovered a fallen bee hive, examining and identifying the layers and shapes the bees worked together to create.  We also found massive puddles for playing 'sink or float' and saw blue jays and male and female cardinals on our hikes. Running up and down hills in the crisp air, the kids used rolls of metallic colored mesh to make red carpets, garden paths, sidewalks, and puppy dog tails!