Week of 9/23
Happy Friday Wonderforest families! Fall is officially here and right on cue, the weather has shifted to be more autumnal with cloudier days and some much-needed rain after a long dry spell. Already the landscape is changing, with hints of fall color popping up here and there, with signs of the changing of the seasons present in animal life as well. Fall bird migration is in full swing, and hungry migrating birds are filling up on food for their long flights to cooler southern climes. One creature that refuses to be ignored is the yellow jacket wasp, which becomes more active in the Fall as it looks for more abundant and diverse food sources like rotting fruit and more exotic fare like garbage and other human foods. If you have a yellow jacket inspect your lunch or drink while eating outdoors just know they are only looking for food to make it through the lean months of fall.
This week celebrated the first park trips of the year for the Marigolds, The Flying Squirrels, and Squeaky Mice crews. With many students joining Wonderforest in the Marigold crew, we practiced our foundations of outdoor play, such as stick safety, staying inside the boundaries, and telling a teacher if we see trash. The Marigolds learned about taking care of plants and trees are alive and which parts of nature we can deconstruct and use chalk on like fallen logs, leaves, or sticks. . While hammering on a log when suddenly it cracked open, friends were amazed to see grubs, a spider and even a grasshopper all living inside. they scattered out once the stoke broke and we spoke about how we should stop hammering to make sure we don’t hurt their bodies. Then, we observed them moving around/outside the log. This inspired thoughtful conversations on what is “alive” and “not alive.”
The Flying Squirrels were also interested in exploring this topic after spending some time at the Quiet Hill stump, a very large stump that has been changing over the past year as it decomposes. We talked about how trees can get sick which is why the big stump was cut down and this conversation inspired a “tree doctor” dramatic play, where our little arborist worked to “cut” sick branches off nearby trees. On a hike, some Flying Squirrels rode a big log, pretending it was a pirate ship. One friend noticed you can see through the log from one end to the other and friends heard their voices echo in it, just like when we pass through the Endale Arch tunnel or pass by parking garages.
As the seasons change, our play outdoors begins to transform with the weather as leaves, seeds, and other tree treasures begin to make their way down from the canopy. The Jumping Spiders enjoyed a Fall hike where they noticed all the colors we saw the leaves turning into (orange, yellow, pink, red, brown). Fall is a great time for mushroom hunting and in addition to the colorful leaves, the Jumping Spiders found a stick covered in crowded parchment mushroom and noticed that it was pretty crowded with all the mushroom friends growing along it. The falling leaves inspired dramatic play as well, with sticks turning into “leaf blowers” to move the piles of leaves around while making engine sounds.
The Squeaky Mice, our seasoned pros of open-ended play outdoors, embraced the natural materials they found to come up with complex projects during their trip to Prospect Park. Using sticks and barks, a trio of Mice worked together to build a “dam,” complete with a stick bridge for small creatures to cross over the dam safely. Other mice were deep in dramatic play, imagining themselves as birds that had mothers and babysitters who needed to help get the baby birds back home safely. Using leaves and sticks, the Mice constructed wings for their birds, as well as cozy nests for their homes. Time in nature can yield such unique and original themes in children's play.
When we were not visiting Prospect Park, classes continued to explore our neighborhood green spaces like Pacific Park and Dean Street Field. Our 2s class continued exploring the neighborhood on their daily walks and tried out a new mode of transportation this week, the riding wagons! We typically use our riding wagons for our trips to Prospect Park, but as part of the preparation for getting our 2s ready for their first park trip, we loaded up our wagons to explore the neighborhood. Along the way, we practiced wagon safety and routines for leaving the school and remembering that after our wagon journeys, we come back to school! The 2s had a blast riding around the neighborhood and exploring Pacific Park on foot. Next stop, Prospect Park!
Enjoy this gorgeous fall weekend everyone! We look forward to hearing about your fall adventures and seeing you all on Monday. As a reminder, next week is a short week, with no class being held on Thursday, October 3rd or Friday, October 4th in observance of Rosh Hashanah.
With Gratitude,
Sara & Jules