Hey Everyone,
We celebrated the end of our Winter session this week in many different ways! Most days it was more of a Spring Celebration – until Friday when Winter returned!
Chickadees dove into some imaginative play around the pond upon arrival. Finding huge ice crystals, gnomes homes and good ol’ rock throwing (nothing beats rock throwing!) was the name of the game. Like Charlie and Chocolate Factory, early in the morning one of our students also found the “Golden Ticket” for later in the day.
After some stories, we checked in on (and created new) sit spots by our big lake and took some quiet time time in the woods. Students got creative and made nature plates for the teachers to “eat”, with a balanced meal including potatoes (rocks), spaghetti (birch bark) and cranberries (snail shells)… yum yum!
Alas it was time to cash in the golden ticket. We hiked our way through the woods, past our campsite and along the lake, until we finally reached the “portal of discovery” to arrive at the Amusement Park! Our natural playground that the older students built last week. Our Chickadees swung, climbed, balanced, jumped and slid their way through the afternoon. Another fun day!
After an amazing Music/Dance/Singing full-on jam session around the fire with guitars, ukuleles, maracas and student handmade drums, our Wednesday group opted for big group games to round out our Winter Session. We played some of our classic favourites: Survival and Ultimate Capture the flag. We also set up the slack line to practice our balance and have battle royals, played with walkie talkies and tried out an old boomerang, that didn’t quite boomerang. We were even able to have a legitimate baseball game. These students know how to celebrate!
Immediately our students were drawn to the slack line on Thursday. They navigated their way across and worked hard to be the last person standing. After snack we ventured on a camp out to Mysterious Forest. With backpacks in tow, students had the chance to explore this often overlooked area and create their own fun. With a fire roaring, we ate our lunches together and even grilled our sandwiches, pizzas and other delicious snacks. We ended our time out there by playing Fox vs Mice (a mix of freeze tag and capture the flag) which led to some epic action and teamwork. After roasting a marshmallow and debriefing our Winter Session by sharing our favourite memories, it was time to hike back – with a quick break in our sit spots along the way.
And all of sudden, Winter returned! And in the best way, with lots of snow and relatively warm temperatures. Students started the day off with a massive game of SPUD that took us almost all the way to snack. After snack, we tried a new game for our Friday group – Ultimate Capture the Flag. It’s a game of strategy, invasion, cooperation and teamwork. In the end, the last team standing fought hard but just couldn’t hold off the relentless attack.
After lunch we played on our all-time favourite structure – the tires. We then headed out to Mysterious Forest where some students practiced making fires with Flint and Steel, while others explored this little known area. After a few games of Fox vs Mice, it was time to check in on our sit spots and head home!
Just a reminder that we have no school next week.
Have a great March Break everyone and see you soon!
Cheers,
The Forest School Team
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