Category Archives: Food

From little seeds grow mighty trees

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Hello again!

This week our focus was on trees. Some of the different types that we discovered were Red Oak, Paper Birch, Sugar Maple and White Ash. This naturally led to a discussion as to what trees offer us and to our environment. The kids discovered that providing oxygen, syrup, paper, firewood and helping wildlife were just some of the amazing things they do.

We then used the buddy system and took turns blindfolding each other while leading one another to a special tree. The blindfolded kids had to learn all they could about the tree by hugging, smelling, and feeling it. After the investigation they were led back to the starting point and given the chance to hunt down that tree! All of our trees were found with a little help from the “Hot and Cold” game.

Then, with the help of our tree ID books the kids worked towards their teaching beads. Lots of fun facts were learned and everyone got to share information about their favorite trees. They even attempted to say the tree names in Latin.

The kids spent the afternoon creating their own personal totem poles.   The meaning behind the Totem Pole varies but can be anything from celebrating cultural beliefs, or well-known legends and even artistic designs and notable events. Totems can include plants, animals, humans and even supernatural beings. We chose animals that represent our core values and put some paintings together to create our own story to share. Make sure you ask what animal your child picked!

We also gave out some important stickers today such as Love, Honesty, Humility and Bravery.

Did we mention we had time to make homemade applesauce?   Well, we did! Students showed leadership and peer support throughout the process while reaping the tasty rewards after their hard work.

If you would like to make your own applesauce all you need is:

  • 1 cup of water
  • 4-8 apples (we used Macintosh)
  • ¼ cup of Sugar
  • 1 tsp of lemon juice
  • ½ tsp of cinnamon

NEXT WEEK: We are going to work towards our Fire bead!

Thanks for stopping by; we will see you next week.

Krista

 

Having a Blast on the Beaver River!

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Hello again!

Today was a day was full of discovery, learning new skills, team building exercises and an abundance of wildlife to see.  This included; birds, turtles, fish, crayfish, beavers, frogs, cows and Canadian Geese.

We were pleased to welcome our Collingwood Forest School for the paddling day as they were going to join us. Our adventure started just outside Epping where we headed out to a location called Flower Bridge.  This is where we launched 4 canoes with an exciting 3.5km (or 1 hour paddle) that winded around a beautiful part of the Beaver River.

Before we got our “canoe on” the students took time to learn paddling strokes and river safety. It is great to see the ambition of one of our students Aaron who took the role of teacher, and showed their fellow students how to paddle while demonstrating how to hold their paddle. We know it is going to be a great day when a conversation like this happens:

Student #1 – “I can’t do this, it’s too hard!” (Frustrated about how to paddle)

Student #2 – “ Yes you can! All you have to do it believe you can and you can do it. Believe in yourself!”

Our Heathcote location is home to hundreds of Frogs and Toads, so it was fitting that our students took time to learn about their Number 1 resident. Our first activity was to discuss the life cycle of our favorite little guys! Our students were great at becoming frogs and some even became “super frogs” – You should ask your child what a super frog is! We even had a debate about Frogs verses Toads; the main question was could toads really give you warts? Answer is No, but they do give off a poison residue within their glands located right behind their eyes. Afterwards the students could not resist a good old frog catch and release.

Before our guests left to go back to Collingwood, we ventured back into the vegetable gardens to harvest; Celery, Lettuce and Zucchini. Did you know that they are 95% water? We also had a discussion about what other foods is 93% water; some examples are Eggplants, Cabbage, and Peppers. We let these vegetables sit in the color dyed water for a period of time and discuss their finding. The students came to the conclusion that the Zucchini soaked up the water the fastest, while the lettuce came in a close second. If you would like to do this at home all you need is:

  • 1 clear cup
  • Food colouring
  • Any vegetable that requires mostly water

Today was an awesome day for beads! We gave away some very deserving NEW beads 1-Leadership bead, 1-Peer support bead, and 1-Teaching bead! Along with some well-deserved stickers to add to our students collection – Love, and Respect.

Next Week: We are going to be looking at Bugs! Some might say EW, but I think our students are going to love getting their hands dirty again!

We will see you next week, thank-you for stopping by : )

Krista

 

Our Fall Harvest!

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Hey Folks,

With the autumn looming this week we celebrated our “Fall Harvest” at Forest School.  The whole day revolved around harvesting food, working as a community and sharing a meal together.

We searched the property and to our pleasant surprise were able to not only uncover a few awesome pear trees, but also some apple trees scattered throughout the forest.  Preserving was the word of the day so we set to dehydrating the pears we picked from the tree to make ourselves some chewy fruit snacks.  This was a big hit among students!

During an exploratory hike around the property, the Snowy Owls (with the help of some keen Painted Turtles), were able to fill a bag of apples – and discover sour wild grapes, red clover, Queen Anne’s Lace [wild carrot], and a patch of strawberries for the spring too!   Even through hardship (a journey through the newly named “prickly” mountain – full of thistles!) we trekked on and were later rewarded with 100% pure, local apple sauce prepared with love over the fire.  All the students were able to bring a jar home, so be sure to try it!

Our final project today was to create “Stone Soup” over the fire.  We would like to send out a big thanks to all students who brought in some home grown (or neighbour/grandparent grown!) veggies.  Our veggies included kale, cucumber, tomatoes (from our School Garden from last year!), garlic, potatoes, onions and much more.  The soup was a HUGE success and one of the tastier ones we’ve ever had.  All students had a hand in the prep work and the cooking and therefore all earned their Cooking Beads! Congratulations.

In addition to the food, our day focused on the 7 Grandfather Teachings.  Using legends and discussions, students learned about Love, Truth, Honesty, Humility, Respect, Wisdom and Bravery.  They made connections in their own lives and at Forest School (in fact our whole sticker system is based on these Teachings).  Furthermore, students spent a good amount of time in their sit spots, balancing on our slackline, and working together to build a brand new fire pit area (as our old one was invaded by poison ivy)!  We even had time to set up our own seed library for use next year.  What a busy and productive day!

Congrats to our first ever “Teaching Bead” recipient for an awesome lesson in making origami. And a big welcome to our two new (but returning) students!

Next Week:

FIELD TRIP!  We are going to be paddling next week and have a water focused theme.  Please send along a bathing suit for your children so they can enjoy the water.  Boats, paddles,  and life jackets will be provided but if you have your own PFD feel free to bring it.  Drop -off and pick-up will be as usual at Bygone Days!

Have a great week!

Kim and Matt