Forest Friday, December 1st

"I hope to play target." - Strong Snowshoe Hare

"I hope to find a rainbow." - Noble North American River Otter

We are working so hard in our journals!  We are still working with an adult to stretch our words out and hear individual sounds.  We say the word very slowly and use a chart with all of our lowercase letters in case we need a reminder of how to write it.  It has also been our goal to continue carefully drawing pictures with details and realistic colors.

We had our best circle share yet after sit spots.  Everyone thought hard about what they noticed with their five senses and they listened well to their peers while they shared.  Some of us noticed changes in the forest, the feel of the temperature, as well as natural objects that were found.  One student noticed many branches and even trees had fallen down since the last time we had been out.  Our theory is that since the weather was pretty severe the night before with rain and wind, many trees and branches may have fallen.  We thought it would be a good idea to clean up!

Our play time was very productive.  We had a lot of projects going on.  One project was rebuilding the bathroom.  Many pieces of wood had fallen down.  To make sure our outdoor bathroom is private we added more large branches. 

We also worked to untangle a chain that was wrapped around sticks which hung over the fire.  It was a structure that allowed us to hang pots to cook with.  It had fallen down as well!

Some of us were cleaning up other play areas, like around "Split Rock".  Others went on a hiking expedition through the woods. 

We are getting more and more adventurous with our snack!  Since it is chillier we decided it would be a good idea to have some hot chocolate.  We also tried schnitzel!  Mr. Sadowski prepared it for us the night before and then we cooked it more over the fire.  We almost ate all of it!

"I played family." - Brave Barred Owl

We wrote entries in our journals about our day when we were back inside.  Then we were able to read for a while with our book buddies.

We are looking forward to our snowy days in the forest.  Our hope is to continue learning and exploring in our beautiful forest that we are lucky enough to be in each week!