Week of 10/28
The last week of October was unseasonally warm, continuing the month-long dry spell our region has been experiencing. Lots of leaves have been tumbling down, adding a dramatic flair to our journeys as we watched them fall around us like colorful rain or snow. The fallen leaves have accumulated in mass, allowing for huge leaf pile projects. We ended the week on a sunny warm note, ideal for those celebrating Halloween. Read on to hear more about each class’s adventures.
Tupelo Nook was a shining star of the week with tons of colorful yellow maple leaves and red tupelo leaves amassing on the hillside, perfect for piling and rolling. The Laughing Ladybugs set camp at the bottom of the hill and enjoyed running up and down the hill. At the top of the hill, the ladybugs took some turns rolling down, laughing at all the leaves they had collected in their hair. After so much rolling, one Ladybug noticed a squirrel frolicking in the treetops above. The group observed in quiet wonder, fascinated by the squirrel’s acrobatic movements.
The Jumping Spiders enjoyed a brisk, autumnal park trip on Tuesday and an unseasonably warm trip on Thursday. On our first outing, we landed at the house tree and hiked to nearby hotspots for fallen leaves. Once we were surrounded by the splendor of fall, friends worked together to make giant leaf piles for jumping while others tried to catch still-falling leaves before they reached the ground. We noticed the absence of bees and other bugs in the colder weather, and this led to a riveting conversation about different animals’ seasonal habits. The Spiders listened and shared about how bears hibernate, birds migrate, and squirrels guard their stockpiles of food. On Thursday, we paired our sunny day with plenty of water play. We made mulch soup in our buckets and stopped by the climbing rocks to have some high-flying fun. The Jumping Spiders truly earned their name as they initially jumped from the shortest rocks all the way to the tallest. Also, we counted how many park-goers wished us a Happy Halloween: a grand total of 21 throughout the day!
Although the weather has been dry, leaving some of our spots dusty and hard, the Squeaky Mice set out to terraform a new favorite spot, lovingly dubbed “The Moon Log Pond.” The strong builders set out on a few “water hikes,” with Harry to collect bucketfuls of water to transform the dusty landscape into a muddy paradise. With the mud at their feet, our players delved into a few different worlds: setting up a “salon” where you could get your boots painted and the concentrated excavation of a river. Wednesday, for a change of scenery, the Mice crew settled into Quiet Hill for some serious, yet simple leaf play, making big leaf piles, jumping in them, and burying their buddies. Life’s simple pleasures.
Usually around this time of the year, leaves can be wet and soggy, breaking down to feed the earth with their leafy nutrients. This year we are having a large accumulation of dry, crispy leaves, perfect for collecting, crunching, and crafting with. The Marigolds made the most of their park trip this short week, by going on a “leaf hunt,” led by Joy, using a graphic chart to find leaves that matched the chart. Along the way, Marigolds found maple leaves, ginkgo leaves, red and white oak leaves, and beech leaves, among many others. We even found some huge tulip poplar leaves that we measured to be “bigger than our heads.” While seeking out the best leaves, we couldn’t help but notice the crunch under our feet as we stepped through big masses of dry leaves. So satisfying! Of course, we couldn’t help but enjoy some leaf pile jumping and the Marigolds banded together to construct a huge maple leaf pile to jump and “swim in.”
The “fire engine tree” hosted the Flying Squirrels two times this week, and within this short period, the observant squirrels noticed how different the tree looked on Thursday compared to Tuesday. By the end of the week, the bright red leaves were nearly gone from the tree and the squirrels worked to collect leaves, sorting by color: red tupelo, yellow sweet gum, and brown London plane. Other squirrels were interested in shape and type and sought out the rounded white oak leaves for their buckets. For Thursday's Halloween trip, we of course couldn’t help but get into the spirit and we used our buckets and leaves to “practice” for the big day, taking turns as the candy givers and trick-or-treaters and then acting out what could happen if you ate too much candy! The squirrels decided that a trip to the doctor would be best, and some squirrels volunteered to drive the ambulance and be the doctor for our post-Halloween care.
Enjoy the long weekend and we look forward to being back together on Monday.
With gratitude,
Sara & Jules