Forest Kindergarten began this week. Last Friday we visited our forest classroom and checked out our morning drop off area for Forest Kindergarten in preparation for our first day in the forest--Monday. We found lots of interesting sticks and vines, two soccer-ball sized puff ball mushrooms, a deer skeleton, and an area for our fire pit with a natural bench (a fallen tree). The children also discovered that our little "Hundred Acre Wood" is the perfect size for us. Our boundaries are the edges of the wood. In addition to the fire pit area, the children have found and named a "swamp".
Monday morning was cool, but sunny. I was not sure how the children would pass the time, while waiting for everyone to arrive, but they were eager to head back into our forest classroom for a bit more exploration. Once everyone had joined us, we stowed our lunches in a box and headed for the Glen. We hiked to the area we call "The Rocks" for some climbing. Along the way, we found a couple of springs and "The Fox's Swamp".
After some exploration time at "The Rocks", the children decided they wanted to hike to a nearby cave, before returning to our forest classroom for a snack. Despite the fact that I had not packed a flashlight, (I hadn't realized that we would hike quite so far the first time.), the children went into the cave for a look around. They even asked me to take a picture in the cave, so they could see inside it better with the help of the camera flash! Next time, we decided, we would bring a light.
The children were strong hikers on the way out and the way back and stayed together quite well. When we arrived back at our forest classroom, we had a snack of string cheese and granola bars. I had not thought to bring a books for stories, so I told a story. A couple of Kindergartners also told a story or two, while the others finished their snacks. The children spent the rest of the morning playing in the wood, gathering good building sticks for future building work, searching for stones for the fire pit, and relocating our bone display and adding a feather to it.
We returned to school in time for lunch. The children seemed to have worked up a good appetite. The very next afternoon the children began expressing interest in returning to our forest classroom and the Glen before Monday. We have plans to hike down to the creek on a return trip to the Glen and hope to do some sketching and mapping of our forest adventures. Stay tuned!
