The children in School-age 2 continue to enjoy the nice weather. They have been observed spotting robins, squirrels, and other animals on the back field. With the ground dry and greenery coming to life, they asked if they could go into the forest. “I see some purple flowers!” Charlie stated. “Here are some white ones, they are rare.” Forrest stated. The children entered the first 10-20 feet into the forest floor to investigate further.
Forrest and Elora crouched down and took their time looking for different species of plants and insects. They brought some magnified bug catcher containers and tiny tweezers to assist in picking up small insects or pieces of nature. Forrest used the tweezers to thoroughly investigate the petals and stem of the plants. Both Elora and Forrest caught some insects, placing them carefully in the catcher. They kindly let them go back into nature once we headed back indoors.
The children found wooden vines to try and balance on with their feet, a “coyote den” (large shelter built by humans), and a fallen giant tree to walk up on. Many of the children ran over and lined up at the bottom of the tree. “I need to figure out where to put my hands” Spencer stated as he started to ascend. He maneuvered his way up quite far up, and then was able to jump off and land on the ground. Ethan also took on the challenge of making his way along the tree. He needed little assistance from the educator. When he got far enough up for his liking, he asked an educator to help him down.
According to the RisingOaks Playbook this activity included Locomotor Play (gross motor play that may involve tag, hide and seek, chase, and tree climbing) as well as Deep Play (risky play that may include gross motor and conquering fears or taking safe chances). It also fostered the children’s well-being, the opportunity for engagement with each other and the educators, as well as a sense of belonging.
As the weather continues to get warmer, we will continue to provide the School Age children the opportunity to explore in nature areas around us.
