Hi Everyone,

“I can see the river flowing, I can smell the sap boiling, I can feel the sun shining…drip, drip, drip”. What a fitting line in one of our new favourite songs shared among our students. We all came to find our river flowing this morning, welcoming ducks, seagulls and Canadian Geese to find food. We participated with boiling Maple Sap this afternoon, and smelled and tasted this sweet treat, and we all felt the sun shine on our face, even taking time the soak up all that Vitamin C!

We could feel the change in the air, Spring is making its way into our backyards and we love discovering new birds, finding sleepy wooly bears/caterpillars, uncovering all the treasures that were hidden underneath the snow (Owl pellets), and we are able to run even faster without our winter jackets on.

Today was a very special day for us – Field Trip to Collingwood Forest School to experience Maple Season (one of our favourites).  We started our trek into “The Fort” where we built new dens, opened up a mud kitchen stocked with cherry pizzas, meatballs and pineapple ice cream.  Yummy!

Continuing our journey we hiked up Fossil Mountain, where we could see for miles and miles, also where we rolled down and got dizzy and mountain climbed back up to do it all over again. It’s always wonderful to wonder, this is where we find all of our discoveries and build relationships.

When we saw the Maple trees getting closer and closer our excitement was increasing and needless to say, it was super infectious! Just as we came over the hill we found a sea of blue buckets, which was being used to hold onto some delicious liquid – Maple Sap!

Our students were lucky enough to pair up and tap their own trees today. We were given specific requirements for the perfect tree (size, roots, previous holes, direction, distance). Everyone was up for the challenge and found some amazing trees that met all requirements. We learned all about the process of maple syrup (which isn’t easy) and what goes into collecting this sweet treat.

What an amazing way to end our winter semester with a beautiful sunny day surrounded by birds, friends, nature and some maple tapping. Thank you for hosting us today Collingwood friends and welcoming us with open arms. Thank you to all our students for enjoying winter with us and we are excited to see what Spring brings. So many more exciting things to look forward to! Happy March break friends.

Krista and Travis