Week of 9/30 🪱
Greetings Wonderforest families. We had a short week filled with adventures inside and out. Leaves have begun to accumulate on the ground adding new sensations and sounds to our hikes and explorations in nature. As the seasons change, our play adapts to incorporate the materials that children find outdoors.
Last weekend's rains were perfect conditions for mushrooms to grow and The Flying Squirrels were lucky enough to spot some on their hikes this week. Shelf fungus like turkey tails and other polypores can be abundant in the fall. Other materials that have been popping up are magnolia seed pods, tulip tree samaras, red maple leaves, and lots and lots of acorns. If you have a Flying Squirrel at home, you may be lucky enough to find forest treasures stashed away in their park day attire.
While out searching for acorns, the Marigolds observed lots of squirrels working hard to collect acorns for their winter caches. We searched far and wide for a chipmunk to no avail, but the search allowed us to reflect on whether we should use loud voices to call for animals. One Marigold friend suggested we use quiet voices to not scare away any creatures and we did our best to be quiet little mice as sought out forest friends to observe.
Our 2s class, newly dubbed “The Laughing Ladybugs” were thrilled to take their first outing to Prospect Park. After setting up at Quiet Hill, we played in huge piles of London Plane leaves and did our best to call for chipmunks and squirrels, letting them know we had tasty acorns for them.
While squirrels and chipmunks were the celebrities of the park this week, we can’t forget about our underground friends, the earthworms, who delighted many friends during their excavations into the earth. The Jumping Spiders found two worms, one alive and one not, allowing an opportunity to continue their conversation on live and not-live creatures. They practiced holding the live worm safely, observed its wiggly movements, and returned both to the ground. Similarly, a worm discovery inspired the Squeaky Mice to do construction work together, collaborating on building and digging a foundation for a home.
We wish you all some exciting fall adventures over the long weekend and look forward to getting back outdoors together again next week.
With Gratitude,
Sara & Jules