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A MOMENT

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I am grateful for every moment I spend with these kids.  They are excited by a fallen tree, collected branches from a broken down lean-to, the adventure of being high up above the ground.  It is as magical  as this photograph, this image that was a single moment, a collective group of breaths and laughs.  Gone forever but always here.  

You can have this feeling as a child or as an adult.  Just stand back or participate.  Leave the worries at the beginning of the path… for those moments you will feel joy, fear, excitement, curiosity.  “What was it like when that tree fell?” the kids wondered. That tree which has given us a place to live for the moment.

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And the moment when Lola sees this thing up in the tree?  That moment when we can explore and wonder.  

When we can touch and feel life crawling upon our hands.  

Thank you dear children for making moments so important.  Our bills, our headaches, our worries can be left as we enter the woods to experience these moments.  

Take the time to make a moment or allow a child to show you how to live a moment. 

Lovingly,

Sue 

 

  

 

 

THE GATHERERS

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I find it amusing to watch these children collect things.  At times it’s been acorns but today it was stalks from the spent wildflowers.  Celeste, Kathryn and Samantha were straggling behind collecting the stalks.  When I asked them why they said, “because we want to build a fort.”  Of course… how silly I am!  I don’t know what exactly they had in mind but when we arrived at our destination they were ready to build. 

Interestingly, when they arrived they seemed unsure about what to do.  But this was a great opportunity for them to work together and figure it out.  And they did.   Time passed so quickly and we had to leave to go back to the waiting parents.  They were just beginning to get into full building mode and I had to be the party pooper telling them we had to go. ” Nooooooooo, we’re not done”  I actually felt bad and the playfulness in me wanted to stay til the sun went down, but I’m an adult and I had to deliver these kids back to their parents….  Sometimes I have to be the enforcer.   

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We finally got on the road back to the barn …. 10 minutes late (oops)  And I consoled them by saying we can return next time to see what has happened to their creation.  I wish they were coming back next week… I love the adventure, the spirit and the willingness to create with nothing but nature.  Fun stuff!!!!!

Until next time…. get outside!

Sue 

 

 

COMING SOON.. BUGS and WILDFLOWERS

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ImageSummer 2013

WELL MAYBE NOT SOON ENOUGH!

Yes, those beautiful flowers and helpful bugs are still in a state of stillness, but in preparation of things to come I thought it would be fun to utilize the skeletons of summer and spring past.

 

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So our troops of Kindergartners and 1st through 3rd graders bundled up and went hunting for the remnants of milkweed, evening primrose, bee balm, goldenrod, purple cone flowers.  It was a great opportunity to take a look at the idea of how strong mother nature made these plants so that they can flick about in the wind and disperse their seeds.

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It was awesome to see the kids sharing what they picked.  Our goal was not only to find our own but make a wildflower sculpture to take home.

The older kids and I went deep into the jungle of the field.  Letting them lead the way they hunted and found many interesting things.

I couldn’t help myself and let out a lot of wooops while we were walking.  It was very cold and windy but it just felt so good to let out the screams of joy….. although at one point one of the boys told me I ” didn’t need to do that anymore!”  Haha… what can I say I was just so excited….

Both Jack and Rylie found praying mantis egg cases!!!  We added them to the 200 cases that the teenagers from S.T.A.T.E. found over the weekend  Pretty cool treasure to find.

More than anything these kids are developing a confidence to lead and also to work together as a group. Something I believe is a result of playing outside.  They have to take chances  in an environment which they might not be used to. In the end  they realize  can do it!

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After we hunted for a while we returned to the barn to make these!!!

Ta da!!!

They all left with pictures of what these flowers will look like when they bloom this year and a magnificent sculpture created by them!

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Love the rosy cheeks and also how one of the sculptures has a milkweed with seeds still intact. (like a cradle)  Another lucky find.

Until next week…… GET OUTSIDE!!!  Seriously

Peace and warmth, Sue

 

 

HIKING, DRUMMING AND ART…. A FULL LIFE!

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 Today’s classes = A full heart.  

3, 4 and 5 year olds are so amazing and sharing my time with them and their parents makes my sun shine. 

We began our day with an “Eye Spy” book where the kids helped to identify animals by seeing their eyes and color.  It was great to see all of them so engaged and full of answers.  Each time they met with success they wanted more and more.  Most of the time I become so rapt with them that nothing else going on in my life matters.  A breath of fresh air!!

DRUMMING:

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Drumming was something I decided to introduce to the kids this season.  I’ve always felt drumming is such a great outlet for kids and adults alike.  When I introduced the drum to them a few weeks ago you could see the kids were dying to get their hands on it!  I’ve also incorporated these homemade bamboo rhythm sticks,  so the kids can play along when they are not having their turn up at the drum.  This week we worked on slow and fast drumming.  I think almost every kid came up to drum and when it was time for the moms to do it we had three brave moms volunteer . Best part of that was seeing how proud the kids were of their moms.  Lots of loving hugs for them.  Ahhhh so wonderful!  My hope is to get all the kids drumming by the end of our eight classes together!

 It’s all part of my philosophy of, “its’ okay to be loud, get dirty and be less fearful.”  (that goes for parents too!!)

ART:

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Their seasonal trees were completed today.  The first week they printed their trees with styrofoam and paint. This week they finished with cotton for the snow and oil pastels for leaves and blossoms.  Just lovely!!  Every piece is unique…. just like these kids 🙂

HIKING:

A yes we finally got outside!  Still a bit chilly but the air was so fresh.  We began by bird watching all the Robin Red Breasts eating the Staghorn Sumac.   Don’t worry moms, it is not poison sumac …. they have white berries.  We were able to to see the birds up close and also examine what it was they were eating.  Yum yum…

Eye spy the Robins…..

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Onward  we hiked with the kids making sure we waited up for everyone!  So funny.  Always a blast on the trails.  

Great to see them climb and explore.ImageImageImageImageImage

Oh so many images to share but I’ll stop now…

Great kids, great parents and a fantastic day at Avalon!!

Get those kids outside

peace,   Miss Aunt Sue (as Lola calls me!)  

 

 

 

THE WILD ONES

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Well here we are again with some new faces; we’ve added Kathryn and Celeste to our group.  Welcome girls!

When released into the outdoors these kids go crazy!!!  With a capital Z!   It’s been a long winter and being cooped up in the house with little exposure to the sun, they managed to store up lots of  energy.

We began class by talking about Wilson Bentley, a gentleman known as Mr. Snowflake.  He was one of the first people to photograph snowflakes.     Mr. Bentley was repeatedly told he was crazy to do what he was doing, but he did not give up. He was passionate about his snowflakes.  In the end all of his hard work was acknowledged and  published in a book entitled  “Snowflakes in Photographs.”  It shows page after page of the snowflakes he photographed.  Pretty impressive, especially for the early 1900’s!

Here is a page from his book.images

When I asked who inspires them Shannon talked about her Uncle who is an artist.  She said it made her want to do art.  Kathryn said she was inspired by Lindsay Von, a famous skier.  She said she skis all the time.  I was so proud to these girls that they were able to identify what an inspiration is and even more impressed that they had people they looked up to!  Way to go!

The outdoor session of our class was a great opportunity to look for animal tracks and make some tracks of our own.  We were able to find deer, squirrel and bunny tracks.  They spotted field mice and a rabbit.   Image

Just being silly on the trail!

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It looks like a marshmallow but it is actually a praying mantis egg case

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Chris looking for animal tracks.

It’s wonderful to see these kids so full of life and energy (sometimes too much … hahaha) going thru the fields finding their way.  I believe each of them take home their own person memory of the time we spent out in the fields.  Looking forward to making more memories!

Get outside!

Sue

A Place in the Leaves

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IMG_1445This beautiful photo was taken by Amelie, one of the hikers in the group!

On our hike to today we had a contest to see who could collect the most nuts.  I called them my nutty bunch!  They have a great deal of energy and it is always a challenge to get them to notice the things around them.  I love that they get to run, but exploring can be part of the adventure too!   After our hike the kids returned to the barn with their stash of nuts to see who was the winner.  Of course we all knew that Matt would be the winner because his pockets were practically hanging down to his knees.  But then something happened…. some of the kids decided to add to Matt’s pile….  so I think then they all decided they were  winners!!  Matt was okay with that and which made me sigh with relief!

Wiggly worm find!

Wiggly worm find!

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Love my nutty bunch…. it was a fun day!!!  xoxox

A Flurry of Color

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Perfect Fall day!

We wandered around the trail on a color hunt!  Looking for reds, yellows, oranges, greens, browns and blues.  It was a fun way to get the kids and moms and grand moms to work together.  Along the way we stopped and talked and I punch their color cards with my “smelly feet” hole punch.  They were all working towards getting all the colors identified and  receiving an acorn necklace and beads for their hard work!

Here are some fun pics.  Love to see the moms smiling along with the kids!

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OH NUTS!!!! (and seeds)

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Today was a glorious day for taking a look at some of our trees at Avalon.  Most notably the Black Walnut and the Hickory Tree!

Both produce these interesting multilayered nuts. But most of all they are exciting to SMASH open.  That’s exactly what we did.  Each of my enthusiatic outdoor-kids were ready to take a turn breaking open these nuts.  How do those squirrels do it????

We tasted the black walnut which Shannon said had a strawberry flavor in it!!  They were yummy.   These odd looking nuts are hidden undercover on the trees inside these lime colored looking fruits.  When they are ready, they drop to the ground and proceed to rot and turn black.  Before you can get to the nutty insides you have to peel away a messy dirty layer…..  yuck…  then there is the treasure!

But first how do we get to the inside.  Well luckily Miss Sue did some research beforehand and she brought the wrench for holding the nut (also to protect her hands from getting smashed) and a hammer.   Before long they were cracked open!   Everyone was eager to try it.

We were less successful with the hickory nuts, of which are all over the place but dried out inside… what a disappointment. But lot’s of fun to collect!

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We continued our walk along the wildflower fields which are slowly turning brown… with seeds all ready to fall to the ground for next year’s blooms.  The milkweed plants are in their glory with all of their pods popping open to reveal the amazing layers of seeds attached to little “wish” machines which will help the seeds float away to their new homes!

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Amazing milkweed, amazing smile!

Happy Trails

Sue

 

 

 

FREE!

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How many of us adults have memories of the way we used to play for hours upon hours outside until it was time to come home for dinner?  It really is a loss for our children, most of whom will never know that freedom we had.  BUT…. we can help our children to feel free from the stresses of video games, tv and technology in general.   Simply go outside…. no batteries or cords needed.  They will figure it out how to play in time but we have to give them the opportunity so they can learn.

The 4th and 5th graders in my Inspirations class were all psyched to take our “long” hike yesterday.  We got out our map and discussed our plan.  In 50 minutes we were going to go to new places we had not been.  Which means mystery and adventure.  What kid doesn’t enjoy that???

I never grow tired of watching children discover things on their own.   Like the hiker pictured below,  who was so amazed by all the ferns in one part of the woods that she, “had to become one with nature,” by placing a fern in her hair.

I know she felt so proud to wear that fern.  You go girl!!ImageOnward we walked/ran/flew like butterflies through the woods.  Howling while someone else howled back.  Laughter….all their worries forgotten.

Back in the Fall when we first began hiking we met a man in the woods who had made a miniature swing set.  It was made completely out of branches and twine. It fit in his hand.  Amazing!  Well today we found out what he did with it.He placed it along with a home that others had built in the woods.

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Onward we went for about a mile.  Sweaty? … Yes, Hot? ….. Yes, Thirsty?….. Yes,  Complaining? …… not one…. except that we had to head back to the barn.  🙂

ImageImageImageAnd so with only one more class left ….. I can’t help but feel these kids have all enjoyed their time in the woods and will carry some of their memories in their hearts the way I carry the memories of my endless days of playing outside when I was a kid.

Peace

Sue

“THIS IS THE LIFE!”

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“This is the life!” Max yelled as he ran down the trail with the other kids….   I can only smile and feel my heart warm to hear a child experience the joy of being in the great

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outdoors.   It was a simply beautiful day for our first class of Natural Patterns.  An opportunity for K-3rd graders to discover patterns that are always around us.  On this day we talked about trees and the patterns they make against the sky.  There is a wonderful book Sky Tree by Thomas Locker, which shows the same tree throughout the year and the surrounding sky.  The illustrations are so peaceful and done with such loving care.

 Our hike was full of laughter and running and stopping to spin below the trees, which frankly made me dizzy as ever!!!  The kids seemed to have no problem .

It is always so thrilling to see how excited the kids get before our hike.  You would think I was offering them candy!  Nope, no candy just time to be free and learn about respecting our time with Mother Nature.  Yes it is  “the life”.Image

One final word… Juliana said to me, “sometimes when I get up in the morning and I look out the window I see the sky looks pink and purple.”  Way to go Juliana!!!  Keep those eyes open.

When was the last time you saw a beautiful purple morning sky?  I saw one today and thought of Juliana.

Here are some pictures of their inspired tree art!  Until next week…… happy trails!

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