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WHERE ARE YOU GOING AND WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR????

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Two fun-filled classes this week!

The preschool group  hunted for the mystery plant of the day…..  the fern.  The fiddleheads have pretty much all unfolded into  beautiful fans of leaves.  I had this urge to make crowns of fern for all of the kids,  as I had done in the past for my daughter when she was small, but  we were hunting!!  Success!!  After a hike up and down the hills of Avalon and through the gate we found our mystery plant.  Along the way we ran, and smelled sassafras leaves, avoided poison ivy and ran!!  So free, so fun!

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Our older class of energetic Kindergarten through 3rd graders were ready to take on the “long” hike to the upper pond at Avalon.  Who knows what we will find?  Adventure awaits.  But I can tell you this that none of these kids came tired but I know they left full of fresh air, tired legs and things to dream about!

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Now we know there are two snapping turtles that like to hide under the rock bridge and also lots of green frogs which are hard to catch,hiding in the iris!   More to discover …. but it will have to wait!!!

Have a wonderful holiday weekend and do some exploring!!!  Even if it is turning over a rock somewhere!  Peace

Also, Welcome to  Emily, a summer intern working at Avalon.  The kids love her and she welcomes the outdoors just as I do!!  Yipeeeeee!

 

SNAPPY HIKE!

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Spring is teaming with life and we were lucky enough to be out in the woods of Avalon yesterday!  So many things to explore, admire and look at closely.  Fascinating teeny tiny inch worms, onion grass, mushrooms  and of course the pond.  Nestled among the trees there is this special pond which is home to all sorts of unfurling ferns, Jack in the Pulpit flowers, grasses, trickling water, frogs and ……  da da daaaaaa  a large snapping turtle.

Lovely pictures taken by Winnie!!!

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The kids knew there was a snapping turtle in the pond and I did not.  But as an educator I’ve learned that sometimes kids can teach me something.  On their own they set out to catch this mysterious turtle.  Their method.  Tying onion grass to a long stick.  They were having a blast.  I however, as an adult had my doubts.  Ha ha …. I thought it’s harmless fun.

Well little did I know there WAS a big snapping turtle hiding under a rock.  All of a sudden Winnie  shouts out there’s a turtle!  We all try to fit on this rock bridge to catch a look and sure enough there was the wise old turtle hanging out.  It was substantial.

 Shame on me for being a non believer.  They removed their bait ridden sticks and we waited for the water to still itself.  There it was.  How joyful!!

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It’s a great thing to appreciate children’s ingenuity.  Sometimes I think we overlook it because as adults we are so busy.  (doing what I sometimes wonder)  So the next time your kid tells you something that sound a little out there take the extra time to listen. They may teach you something.

Change happens by listening and then starting a dialogue with the people who are doing something you don’t believe is right.

Jane Goodall

Peace

LOOK!!!

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ImageNature hungry, is what comes to mind when I step back and watch these children explore. The earth is slowly waking up and warming.  The bugs are on the move and how thrilling and refreshing it is to see these children get so excited at the site of something moving around in the wildflower fields of Avalon.  The ground was alive with milkweed bugs with their brilliant orange stripes and worms coming up to peek at the world.  One step after another something to be discovered.  

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 Baby worms wiggling, everyone crowding to see it squirming.  How cool to hold this wet, cold slimy creature.  Think of how many worms we walk past as adults.  We are so far above the ground and the kids are grounded noticing the tiniest movement.  

Richare Louv writes, “In nature, a child finds freedom, fantasy and privacy; a place distant from the adult world, a separate place.”  He reminds us again and again in his book, “Last Child in the Woods, Saving our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder”,  of the importance of children’s need to connect with nature and how it helps them to make sense of the world around them.  

Today is a great day to take your child outside.  Shut off the TV, video games, and spend 20 minutes outside whether you are in your backyard, a park, a rooftop garden it will feed your child’s mind.  They will thank you for it one day!

Tired Hikers…. delighted!

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