Hey Folks! We’ve been busy playing outside. Here’s a recap of the last few weeks!
Paddling
We love exploring our extended backyard and our older students ventured off on a field trip to the Beaver River. We had some amazing weather systems – both warm and wet! – that challenged us along the way. We learned about water/river safety, paddling skills and most importantly had fun connecting with our classmates on the water. Our oldest students had the chance to do some kayaking as well!
Climbing
Speaking of our amazing “backyard”, we also headed out to Metcalfe Rock for our annual Rock Climbing trip with our older groups. Students pushed their limits and reached for the skies as they ascended this ancient rock!
Birds
Bygone days continues to be alive with Birds and we’ve been treated to watching many different species of birds build their nests, defend their territories and raise little babies. As we tune in more to Bird Language, our world is opening up!
Homemade Glue
It’s easier (and stickier) than you think! Some folks had the opportunity to make homemade pine pitch glue (pine resin, beeswax and ground up coals) over the fire. We used it to make some pretty rad arrows and spears!
“Spirit Bear” (aka Bear Bear, AKA Cuddles)
We’ve got a new addition to our crew that you may have heard of. Earlier this Spring we were given a special Bear to take on our journeys and to catch and listen to all our stories. This was passed on by a friend (thanks Lori!) after she received it from a Cree Elder for work she has done with Indigenous youth. Spirit Bear has had a huge impact for some of our students and has paddled the Beaver River, climbed at Metcalfe and followed us just about everywhere. Our students have even outfitted him in complete rain suits on the wetter days!
Reptiles, Amphibians and More!
There’s maybe nothing in the world that gets the kids more excited than heading out net in hand to capture some critters. We’ve seen it all this year, from damselfly nymphs and water scorpions, to frogs, toads and turtles. We’ve even observed/caught a few new-to-us species on our property – spring peepers, gray tree frogs and snapping turtles!
Wild Edibles
As the Spring rolls on, we encounter more and more delicious wonders of the Forest. Stay tuned parents – we’ve got a workshop coming up for you that will help you chow down alongside your nature kids!
And of course, there’s so much more, but too much to sum up in a simple little blog.
Our older groups this week geared up for their first field trip of the year – a paddle down the Beaver River. Collectively, the groups paddled anywhere from the Epping put in to the Slabtown Dam. The Fall colours were stunning and seemed to intensify as the week went on. All groups learned basic canoe skills, with our older students having the chance to learn to stern – and they nailed it!
Along the way, we took breaks for moments of silence in hopes of developing the Quiet Mind (one of our indicators of awareness) in our children. Of course we learned quickly that there is a lot of noise in silence. We were rewarded with the soft ripples of the current, wind blowing in the leaves, birds chirping, bugs singing and so much more. We were even visited by a Great Blue Heron, who seemed to travel with us every day – our guardian on the water.
Of course the highlight for many were the salmon running up river. If you have the chance, take your kids and go see them jump at the Slabtown Dam – it’s incredible right now.
Our Chickadee programs spent their days exploring Bygone days. Monday’s group dove into mapping as they created new homes and mapped bridges in hopes the Trolls will move in. Friday’s group was out paddling, building dams and got a sweet intro to fire making!
THanksgiving
It’s the perfect time of year to reflect on Thanksgiving as one of our core routines. At FNS we practice an attitude of gratitude and start everyday with what we are thankful for and we’ve found most students are eager to do so. It’s amazing what the kids come up with and share!
Throughout the day, we also find opportunities to give nods of thanks as we go about exploring. Each day ends with our airing of appreciations where students can thank one another, nature or anything else in our closing circle. It’s all about finding in ourselves a grateful heart.
And with that we’d like to extend a HUGE thanks to Jim, our Beaver River expert and friend for coming along with us this week to help out! And of course all the folks at Free Spirit in Heathcote for the help over the week.
We had an awesome last few weeks of Forest School full of excitement and adventure! Here are some the highlights below, and scroll all the way down to check out the pics. Thanks for the amazing year and see you in September!
Mountain Biking
We’ve got a ton of newly built trails at Forest School for Mountian Biking, so took advantage of this with a couple of our classes. Students wound their way through the meadows, hills and forest as they explored some of our favourite places (mysterious forest, maple forest) in a new way. We also left the property to try out some local trails together, while geocacheing along the way! Our kids were pretty tuckered out afterwards, but as we found out at our end of the year debrief, this was for some their favourite memory!
Ducks
Huey, Duey, Luey and Darkwing – 4 baby ducks that paid our Chickadees a visit a few weeks ago! Students eagerly fed and took care of these wonderful little creatures who have found a second home at Forest School. They built an elaborate play pen for them using all sorts of our “loose parts”. When it was time to go, it was hard to say goodbye!
Geocacheing
Did you know that the Collingwood Library lends on GPS units with dozens of geocache locations uploaded? It’s the ultimate scavenger hunt and our students rocked it uncovering 6 separate caches over the course of the days we did it. Ask your kid about it and plan your next adventure – there’s so much to discover!
Paddling
While the location and type of boats we were paddling varied, one thing for sure was the same across the board – beautiful paddling weather (with a narrow escape one day!). Our Friday group canoed along the Beaver River, for a peaceful quiet paddle with the river all to ourselves. We enjoyed a shore lunch (and a special homemade treat from one of students – thanks!) and some swimming in the rapids.
Our other groups set their sites on the Nottawasaga. Some groups took canoes, others took kayaks and some were even able to paddle all the way from the Sports Complex to Schooner Town. We saw deer, otters, beavers, countless birds and more. One thing we can guarantee is that a highlight for most was lunchtime – swimming and climbing at the sand dunes!
Our Chickadees braved the water, too, on the big pond at Bygone Days! They paddled all over and spotted lots of turtles out in the sun, and even caught some frogs!
Fishing
Our big pond is alive with creatures at this time of year and if you are familiar with our program, you know that we’ve caught quite a few! From nymphs to turtles and everything in between, our students love to hunt! We traded in our nets (or rather in addition to them) and grabbed our fishing poles and paddled our final week. Our students learned to tie knots, bait hooks and how to operate different styles of fishing reels, all while balancing in the water. The result was impressive – literally over 100 Rock Bass in a day. And to top of it multiple perch, a first for the big pond! A huge success for our students. Throw in some stand-up paddle boarding and swimming and call it a good day (week!).
Whirlpool and Pier Jump
To end of the entire season, our Friday visited the whirlpool (behind Matthew Way) for some swimming and exploring in the Pretty River. It’s a beautiful, naturally carved out hole in the river that you can “slide” down into on a natural rock slide. Afterwards we headed to the Collingwood harbour where brave students leapt into the frigid bay – a great kick-off to summer!
We want to thanks all the parents, students and our entire FNS community for the awesome year of adventure, play, learning and so much more this year. It was truly awesome!
See you in the Fall!
Matt, Krista and Kim (and the rest of the FNS team)
“It’s so… refreshing… just being in a canoe.” said one of our students while we were paddling on the Big Pond this week. And we couldn’t agree more! Our days were all about fish, fishing and paddling this week, but were very different from one another. So we’ll break it down by day. Scroll down to the bottom for more pics!
Tuesday
After our core routines, we started off the week by heading down to Sunset Point after hearing a rumour that a HUGE bass had been caught there. After arriving, our Chickadees explored the shoreline and were able to find fossils, crayfish and other creatures. The older students baited up and patiently waited, and while we didn’t catch the elusive beast, we did nab a lot of Gobis – which led to a good discussion about invasive species. We used our nets and were able to catch at least 40 minnows too!
We headed back to Bygone Days, had our lunch and some free time, then hit the water again. This time in canoes, we decided to try our luck on the Big Pond. We paddled out in our canoes and to our pleasant surprise we were inundated with fish. Schools and schools of Rock Bass came after our worms and we were rewarded with catching so many we lost track. And then, right before we reeled in the very last time, a Perch! Who knew our pond was so full of life!
Wednesday
We rushed out Wednesday morning to join our schoolmates in Heathcote and got a chance to slackline, climb on their awesome tree gym, eat some yummy food from the garden and pop jewelweed seeds to our hearts content. Then we hit the water and did a paddle down a portion of the Beaver River. Along the way we saw fish jumping and birds galore. What a beautiful sunny day we had!
After arriving back and a quick lunch, we cast our lines out in the river. And were we ever rewarded! We are proud to say our first Forest School Trout was ever caught!
We headed back to the School with time to spare and met up with our new Master’s Student, Aislinn. She joined us in the canoes again as some students still wanted to fish so we set out on the pond. We found the fish to be biting again! And not to mention the 4 painted turtles we saw sunning themselves on a log. While all this was going on other students, having had enough of the water for one day, stayed ashore and opened up the “clay factory” and made a bunch of natural art.
Thursday
On Thursday we chose to head out to Slab Town and try our luck fishing in the river once again. Upon arrival, we spent the first bit simply admiring the massive SALMON taking runs at the old dam. They were huge, powerful and mesmerizing. We eagerly got to fishing, and though we didn’t catch a big salmon, we did get a trout and chubs. After exploring we also caught some crayfish. Before leaving, we ate lunch as nature’s television unfolded in a spectacular display of salmon vs waterfall. We didn’t see one fish make it up, but boy did we cheer them on!
We got back to the school and jumped into the role of salmon ourselves in a macro model we like to call “Hooks and Ladders” (click here for an overview). After navigating the obstacle course and all it’s danger, we got to see just how arduous the journey can be as a lot of salmon didn’t make it.
Enough about being fish, and back to fishing. We jumped in our canoes and tried out luck on the pond. While some students chose to paddle around and enjoy the views (even seeing a record 11 painted turtles), others caught a bunch of rock bass as they were jigging from their canoes. Another hot day well spent!
Friday
After our core routines, and with all the Salmon action on the River, we had to return on Friday to see nature at work. Again, we weren’t disappointed! And we even cheered one on as it got all the way up and over the hurdle.
We got to fishing pretty fast and immediately got a chub, and then a lot more courtesy our Chickadees! And though we were close to getting a salmon, it wasn’t in our fate today. Students were able to net a whole bunch of minnows (which became know as “burpies”) and uncovered other critters that live under the rocks. It’s amazing what you can find when you look really closely. Mayfly larvae were abundant and our students were able to identify them. We spent some time playing in the river, had lunch and then headed back to the school.
At the school, the Snowy Owls (and our “Painted Owl”) headed straight out onto the pond and were eager to catch some fish. The pond, as it had all week, didn’t disappoint. We worked together in our boats – one person paddling, the other fishing – and we were all successful. The Chickadees and Painted Turtles joined everyone on the pond after some building time and spotted 7 real painted turtles.
Next Week:
It’s our FALL HARVEST! This will look different from day to day, but it’s all about food and wild edibles. Our hope is cook a “stone” soup over the fire, so if you’ve got an extra veggie from your garden or one lying around, please bring it in!
Overall we had a really exciting week and were reminded why our “Fishing” days are always so popular. Thanks to everyone who brought in some gear! A big thanks to Carly who stepped in for Tamara this week at Heathcote and in Collingwood, and a big thanks to Matt Code for bringing in the Canoes! Also a big welcome to our Master’s Student from Lakehead University, Aislinn!
This week we welcomed Collingwood’s Forest School students to join us on our adventure down one of our favourite rivers – the Beaver River. Sadly, no actual beavers were spotted today. However, we would like to send out a huge thank-you to Brian – our local plant ID expert, for showing the students some wild edibles this morning. Our students had the chance to eat black lochs flowers (full of flavour and a sweet “pop”), and grape tendrils (“grape arms” that are a bit sour) and mint (ahh, refreshing). We highly suggest trying these wild treats, OH – and our potato towers are are becoming taller than us, and will be ready to pick by the end of summer!
This afternoon during our group paddle down the Beaver River, our students came across frogs, lots of different birds, a cool water beetle, leeches, fish, crayfish, a garter snake, and even a painted turtle! We challenged and pushed ourselves out of our comfort zones, which earned some students very well deserved beads. Nearing the end of our day we said good-bye to our new friends, and focused on one of our favourite activities – frog hunting! We must say, our students are becoming experts at catching frogs, it’s a good thing we don’t eat them – or there would’t be any left to catch! Today there were 7 peer support beads, 1 bravery bead, 2 litter less lunches, 1 Al bead and 1 leadership bead.
Next week – Summer Celebration!!! Our last day of Forest School will consist of games, challenges and amazing memories! What a bittersweet day we have to look forward to!
This week Kim and I were away for the Wednesday group as we were on paddling trips with our other school (hence why this post is late), so this post will focus on what happened on Tuesday. Luckily, our Wednesday group was paired up with our Thornbury School and a blog post about their day can be found here. A big thanks to Jen and Neal for stepping in in our place! They are phenomenal outdoor educators and I know Wednesday’s group really enjoyed their experience.
Our day started off as usual (a smudge and morning circle) and then we were of to our Heathcote location for a day on the Beaver river. When we got there, we were able to explore the awesome gardens and new outdoor classroom. The students spent a good chunk of time exploring and challenging themselves on the rope swing, climbing wall (which is actually a tree) and tasting some of the veggies in the garden.
After a few team challenges, it was time to hit the river. Some of the Snowy Owls challenged themselves by opting to kayak, while the others eagerly jumped into canoes. In total, we paddled 3.5 km of the winding Beaver River. We spotted all sorts of wild creatures along the way; lots of birds and small mammals… and even a painted turtle!
After our return and quick lunch, we jumped into our pond study. Students grabbed their nets and buckets and dove right in. They found the usual – crayfish and minnows – but were also able to catch and identify different species of bugs and snails.
The day was incredibly fun and chock-full of learning. A picture is worth a thousand words, so be sure to scroll down and see for yourself. A big thanks to Jacob, our awesome Free Spirit guide who paddled along with us, and all the other guys at Heathcote that lent a hand (Joel our boat master; and Bryan, who gave an impromptu lesson on gardening and free pick at his ground cherries.) Overall, a very successful first outing!
Next Week: Time to uncover those creepy crawly bugs!
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 : )
We had the great opportunity to explore off property this week with a trip down the Beaver river. Though we had two drastically different weather days, the result was the same: lots of laughs and some new hard skills. We were treated to an abundance of wildlife – birds galore, fish, so many frogs we lost count, and of course bugs – as the students navigated their way down the river and even against strong winds.
On Wednesday, we joined up with the Red Tail Hawks from our sister Forest School group for our paddle and then we were off to their property to explore and get a sense of all the wonderful things they are up to – and what an incredible place they have. After our initial tour, Shannon led a lesson on survival debris shelters and the students jumped at the opportunity to set up ridge lines, frame the roof, and “shingle ” it with natural materials. Some turned into forts, while others were perfect for survival (complete with a NE facing door).
Thursday was similar, but we stayed in Heathcote and explored the Free Spirit gardens, accomplished some team building exercises, and then returned to Bygone Days to build shelters of our own. It’s always amazing to see what the kids can come up with when left to their own devices.
A great big thanks to all the adult volunteers who came out for the paddle with us – we couldn’t have done it without you. And special recognition to the students that sat stern of their very own boats!
We’ll see you next week! Enjoy the warm, sunny weather.