Week of 10/7

Good evening Wonderforest families! We enjoyed a beautiful stretch of Fall weather this week. Our mornings were cool enough for jackets, scarves, hats, and mittens. By midday the sun joined us, warming us up and allowing some layers to be shed. In just a few weeks, our jackets and warm weather gear will be staples for the next few months as we shift firmly into fall. Please refer to our Family Guide for gear recommendations and feel free to reach out if you have any questions about dressing your kiddos for outdoor adventures in cooler weather. 

The Laughing Ladybugs (our 2s crew) enjoyed their first week of having two park trips, and we are pleased to say that the Ladybugs love the outdoors! On Tuesday, we enjoyed some play under a large beech tree, strengthening our muscles and gross motor skills by climbing up and jumping off a low stump, turning stumps into trains and buses, and carefully circumnavigating the tree on its bumpy root system. On their second trip, the Ladybugs enjoyed some time at the “House tree,” playing lots of chasing games and working on their play communication, asking friends “Do you want to play?” to initiate shared time. Some friends were experimenting with using paintbrushes in the dirt and noticed the bristles were good at moving/sweeping the dirt around and the handle was a good tool for digging and getting under the dirt. A new fashion trend is sweeping the Ladybugs, thanks to their outdoor play - the joy of the bucket hat! 

Special attention to the plants of Prospect Park was paid by the Jumping Spiders (3s), who are exploring the concept of “invasive species.” After studying spotted lantern flies, the Spiders are investigating plants that can be considered “invasive” and what that means. A few plants that we could observe included English Ivy and Mugwort. The Mugwort had a very strong smell, that some Spiders liked and others did not, but all agreed it was a powerful scent! On a hike, we noticed some signs around the park including a  “restoration in progress” sign, which led to conversations about caring for nature. While the Spiders' curiosity led them in many purposeful investigations, their play was just as important, with discoveries of huge tulip poplar leaves, “bigger than their heads” and the construction of a large train that required co-working to move the huge logs together as a team. 

Our 4s crew, the Squeaky Mice, enjoyed their time at Quiet Hill where they set up base camp for both trips at Quiet Hill under the vast boughs of the London Plane tree. The understory below was littered with their crunch brown leaves, making perfect material for leaf piles. The Mice all worked together to gather armfuls and bucket loads of leaves to create the biggest pile to jump and “swim in.” As the Mice played in the leaves, they became interested in identifying the trees around them based on their leaves. Jules shared his tree knowledge with the curious arborists and together they identified Basswood, Beech, Oak, and Red Maple leaves. By their second park trip, the Squeaky Mice had made plans to collect specific leaves and shared their knowledge with Sara about different leaves they could identify. Oak leaves were some of their favorites and we noticed a patterning caused by fungi on the leaves that some Mice remarked resembled galaxies. 

The Marigolds (3s) were also all about working together, using teamwork to carry some long sticks/logs into the clearing of Tupelo Nook. We then mashed up some chalk and added water to make paint, and we used the paint on the logs. The group is quite musical, with much singing on the way to the park and some investigations of sounds this week. One Marigold started hitting buckets with sticks to make “drums” and it started a trend! Friends tapped their sticks on different surfaces to see what it sounded like and sang their favorite songs to the percussive sounds. To remember our special moments from the day, kiddos used large “picture frames” to “take pictures” of the natural landscape and focus on the different elements of their environment. The Marigolds ended their week by enjoying some time under the Beech tree, jumping off logs, creating fishing poles, and even transforming the stump into a “stage” where kiddos took turns striking a pose. One friend stood up on the stump, held up their paintbrush, and exclaimed, “I’m the Statue of Liberty!” 

Last, but not least, the Flying Squirrels, as their name might suggest, were quite adept at scouring the forest for special treasures during their time in Prospect Park. On Tuesday, a hike through the woods yielded an exciting find - a puffball mushroom! This harmless fungus is a striking white color, and typically round, sometimes resembling a volleyball and occasionally growing as large as one! The one we found was more like the size of a tennis ball and we took turns holding it and observing it. We wondered about the holes in it and which animals may be eating it. Some guesses included “chipmunks,” “squirrels” and “snails.” We were also excited to find some Turkeytail mushrooms and some HUUUGE Dryad’s Saddles mushrooms. If you like hunting for mushrooms, take a Flying Squirrel into the forest with you! Thursday, the Squirrels went wild over an abundance of black walnuts, collecting them in buckets and bringing them back to show our friends. Some played catch with the walnuts while others tried to crack them open with sticks.