Sunny, warm March days brought joy and birdsong to Woodside National Historic Site. We marvelled at the melodies of Chickadees, Cardinals, Blue Jays and at the acrobatic flight of Red-tailed Hawks circling above us.
The group embarked on a walk around the park using maps to guide their journey. The children carried footprint and bird guides to help them identify the different animal species who call Woodside National Historic Site home.
Perhaps the brightness and warmth of the sunshine encouraged a group of children to take flight from our snow hill. Cheerful counting and brainstorming discussions filled the air as the children took turns jumping off “the highest peak”. After ten jumps each, the group decided to expand the game and “achieve levels”.
“After ten I will do the second level, after twenty I will do the third level, after thirty, I will do the fourth level, after level four…” – the group chanted.
The sunshine melted the snow around the Museum and around the roots of the towering trees, the children noticed small plants and mosses emerging bright and green from the moist ground. The children engaged in conversations and dreams with Ranger Dan about gardening.
The group experimented with a small hand saw and compared the new tool to the bowsaw they used when sawing fire wood, as an extension to our tool exploration project.
Our fire was exceptional, due to the hard work of the children who cut the branches, dried the wood, peeled the bark for kindling, made “fire bonbons” (bark pieces wrapped in paper and twisted at each end to look like candy) and built the fire. We caramelized brown sugar and glazed apple slices over the fire for a scrumptious snack.
This memorable warm day gifted us with conversations, birdsongs, multiple opportunities for learning about the forest and ourselves. The children explored new vocabulary identifying bird species and footprints in the snow using the nature guide maps. We talked about ways to identify raptors flying in the air; for example, the Red-tailed Hawks have a fan like broad tail, while Falcon species have narrower tails. We explored soft (cork) and hard wood (ash) loose materials, and created two and three dimensional art. Art explorations continued on melting snowy surfaces. The children experimented with the many learning opportunities the melting snow provided. We wonder where learning with the Forest will take us next time? If you are exploring interests with your child or children at home, please share your projects with us via Sandbox, we would love to learn with you as a community.
Love, Eva
