This week at Forest School we spent our last day of Winter semester building shelters for our community, student led games and reflecting on our time spent with each other. A little fun was also spent around the fire-creating banana boats. Another epic day!
Our morning was spent discovering animals and natural objects around our fishpond, which naturally led into building chipmunk’s and fairy shelters. We then shifted our focus onto shelters for our school. Teamwork, communication and imagination were a huge part of this project. With the use of natural and man made objects our students created the start of their ultimate tree fort!
We also spent some time playing games that our students created, our kids have some amazing imagination!
Ancient Egypt Mummy Attack
Which consisted of two mummy’s and 5 relics.
Sunflower (gave life)
Painted rock (super strength)
Medallion (unlocks secrets)
Bandana (power to see the unseen)
Block with numbers (code)
The goal of the game is to find all the relics and get them to the safe zone before getting caught by the mummy’s.
Dead ants – All ants have to run to different safe zones without getting caught by the anteater.
A few other games were obstacle course and pass the barrier game.
These are awesome games and definitely will be played again!
To finish off our day we took some time to relax and reflected on our time at Forest School. We shared our favourite memories, skills we have gained and beads we have accomplished. Finishing off with report cards and our Winter semester video, which you can watch below.
Thank-you to all the students and parents for being apart of our FIRST Winter semester. All out students came to school ready for an adventure with lots of layers, snacks and happy faces! We had so much fun this semester and looking forward to Spring. Thank-you for taking this adventure with us!
Next Week – Our first day of Spring! Outdoor Skills and Thrills.
In the spirit of March Break we decided to skip out on school this week and head off to Wasaga Beach to discover new parts of our community. We started our adventure at the Nordic Centre in hopes of exploring some new trail systems and after a quick tree ID tag game we were off!
While on the hike, Tuesday’s group made an unanticipated discovery – a HUGE amount of ice among the trees and under the snow from the previous melt. They spent a good chunk of time clearing it off (some students even became official “Zambonis”), creating their own bases and then connecting this intricate network of rooms together. During a debrief/apple cider break, we found out that teamwork and cooperation were the biggest factors in creating this enormous project. (Ahh, emergent learning :)!)
Our Zamboni!
Wednesday we had a chance to swing by the Library before heading to Wasaga to check out some of the cool activities they had going on during March Break and buy some books for our Little Free Library. After we arrived at the Nordic Centre though, imaginations took over and it seemed that as soon as we began our hike we had already stopped to investigate something further. This time instead of ice, it was a giant tree that had fallen over with an exposed root system over 6 ft high. The students quickly got to work on their “archaeological” dig with “hammers” in hand, and sorted out different roles for everyone as they uncovered what lay beneath. We as teachers sat back and watched this magic happen, and eventually this led to a discussion around soil types (with a first hand look at how sandy the soil is in Wasaga) and new life from old. (Again, a big shout out to emergent learning!).
Our “archeological” dig
After a picnic lunch, we played a quick game of Eagle’s Eye and then headed off to the Wasaga Beach Free Spirit site, aka the soon-to-be home of our Little Free Library! While there, we made a a fire together, told stories and ate marshmallows – or rather marsh-ball-ows on Tuesday as they had all melted together in the bag. We took a quick peak at the Nottawasaga river in anticipation of paddling it in the spring, and then had to head back to the school house. Time flies when you are having fun!
A big thanks to those who brought in some books for our Little Free Library project! It’s almost full now!
Next Week:
We have another field trip! We’ll be heading to Singhampton to check out the cave systems there.
Mother nature is playing games with us, she’s not sure if she want to leave like a lamb or go out like a lion, but that didn’t stop us from exploring the wonderful world of Maple syrup.
This morning was the start of whittling, and our students were super excited about the idea of using knives, and creating something from nothing. But with learning a potentially dangerous skill, we made sure to cover all of our 6 safety guidelines.
Do not share your knife
Safety bubble
Carve away from oneself
Carve for short periods of time
Wear a glove
Carve slowly
This allowed our students to practice their new skill in a safe, and supervised environment. Our contract has some pretty steep repercussions, so our kids made sure their listening ears were turned on, and everyone did an amazing job learning and memorizing all the rules! All of our students went home with all ten fingers and ten toes!
This afternoon we played a student created Macro Model game called Sappy Sappy, a spin off from the classic game Octopus, but with more role-play. The kids were acting as sap running from the crown of the tree to the roots, while the bucket in the middle could tag the sap and turn them into syrup. We also added another twist, the syrup got to move really s-l-o-w around the field to tag the running sap! Needless to say we held amazing games and a teacher even won a round!
After hands on activities about identifying Maple trees (winter and summer) and learning the fundamental steps of how Maple Syrup is made, we strapped on our winter hats and dove even further into learning by hiking out to our sugar bush. Did you know that within our sugar bush we host 83 tapped trees? With today’s unexpected weather, which was one of the coldest days this week, we naturally came across frozen sap within all the buckets, but that didn’t stop us from sneaking a taste.
We even had the chance to explore the sugar shack, and a huge thank you to Neal, one of our teachers who taught us all about the sticky goodness! Getting to look at the evaporator (papa pot, mama pot and baby pot), fire pits, filters, drills, spiles and buckets. Our students became more aware of all the work that goes into this Canadian trademark. Who knew it took 40 gallons of sap to make 1 liter of syrup!
We even had our first musical instrument show and tell today! Thank you Hazel for bringing in your recorder and playing “Mary has a little lamb” for all your fellow classmates. You wouldn’t believe she had been only playing for one week! We are looking forward to hearing more songs in the future!
By the afternoon the kids couldn’t wait any longer to try some syrup, and what better way to do so but with pancakes! Our students build an amazing fire, and with the help of our Chef and his assistant we ate fire-roasted pancakes covered in maple syrup. Our students also took time to practice their whittling, and explored the valley we set up camp in. Full bellies and happy faces at the end of our day – just the way we like it!
Huge congratulations to all the stickers and beads that went out today. 7 Winter Warrior Beads, 1 Cooking Bead, 1 Musical Bead and 2 Fire Beads. Our necklaces are become so colorful!
Next Week – We are going to be diving into Community Projects. We will be getting hands on, and helpful!
Friendly Reminder – With the warming weather we are going back to drop off and pick up at Bygone Days! So lots of extra layers, water and snacks just incase.
On our last day of Forest School this year, the students’ skills were put to the test with an Amazing Race. Just like in the show, the classes had to work their way through Team Challenges, Road Blocks (completed by one person) and Detours (choice between 2 activities) while earning materials (tinder, kindling, a pot, etc) along the way for their final challenge of the day.
The Amazing Race encompassed almost everything we’ve covered this semester. Various challenges, like the tarp flip, human knot and blindfolded hikes, showed us just how well these groups worked together as teams. The group dynamic here was quite powerful! Other activities challenged hard skills (knots, compass and GPS use, and fire building) while knowledge tests showed us just how much they’ve learned and retained this year. We even called on skills we haven’t learned here, like clues being translated from French!
No matter the challenge, they rose to it. Throw in some snowshoeing, tobogganing, “skating” on the pond, and cedar tea made over the fire (the Final Challenge) and we’ll call it a day well spent outside.
In the spirit of the day, we spent a good chunk of it debriefing the year and looking forward to the next aspects of Forest School. Students were reflective when filling out their report cards and gathered all their stuff (sticker boards, journals and medallions) to take home. As many of you know, we wrapped the day up with a gathering at the Earthship for some drinks and a movie (see above for the movie!)
A big, big thanks to you, the parents, for believing in what we are doing and trusting in us to accomplish this. We couldn’t do it without your constant support. It’s been a real pleasure teaching, learning and growing with your kids. We are loving the sense of community that is developing with this program and are eager to keep it going! See you in the New Year!
Next year:
-If your child or children are returning, please send them back with their journals and medallions so they can continue collecting new beads.
-While we will still be using the property at Bygone Days, we are excited to be calling the Earthship our home for the Winter Semester! (How incredible is it that our classroom is in an Earthship?!) Drop off and pick-up will be there (633 Sixth St) at the same times.
– Please note that we’ve put up a tentative schedule for the Winter Semester on our calendar.
Enjoy the Winter break! Have a happy and healthy holiday and Merry, Merry Christmas!
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.
Some wise words from Dr. Seuss which led to a lengthy discussion this week, after a reading and a dramatic interpretation of “The Lorax”. It was the perfect story to build our day around: Trees, trees and more trees. And what better way to start than a look how trees work, followed by our favourite game: Sappy, Sappy?
After our smudge and morning circle, each student adopted a tree in their sit spots by identifying it using a field guide, drawing and naming it, getting to know its leaves and bark and finding out an interesting fact about it. Did you know that Willows originated in China? That Ash is a preferred wood for bats and hockey sticks? That Sumac can be used to make a drink similar to lemonade? Neither did all of us! Afterwards, as a group we identified (and gave medallions to) a whole bunch of different tree species just outside our schoolhouse doors – Pines, Ashes, Aspens, Beeches, Cherries and much more.
The afternoon had us go on an epic exploratory hike to a new section of forest. The students were able to put their knowledge to the test and identify many species along the way (“Looks like elephant legs, that’s a beech!”; “Round needles and looks like a Christmas tree – white spruce!”). We ended near our sugar shack where we took a few minutes to do some yoga (Tues.), be tree “huggers” (blindfolded and using other senses to identify a tree) and create “murder mysteries” by uncovering (and imagining) what happened to some felled trees and how old they were at the time (Tues.).
At the end of the day, we had a fire and boiled some Cedar Tea (packed full of vitamin C – click here for recipe) with a little maple syrup from last year’s harvest of our Maple stand. The students enjoyed this simple treat while students told stories to earn their storytelling bead (3 in total!).
We also gave out 4 Nature Lover beads over the two days! Congrats!
Next Week:
The eagerly anticipated FIRE week!
Did you know that 3 beads can be prepared at home?
Storytelling – students prepare a legend/story/poem to be read at a fire Teaching – your child will teach the other students something they are passionate about – for example we’ve had students teach about origami, composting, and birds – this can be something simple and anything at all! Craft – anything creative and homemade that uses natural/recycled materials. Just have your child bring it in and present it to us!
As the days are getting colder please remember to layer up!
Cheers,
It seems that spring has finally arrived which meant a couple of welcomed sunny, warm days at Forest School. This week, we focused on trees – beginning with one of our favourite games, Sappy Sappy, to get the energy flowing.
After our initial check-ins, smudge ceremony and some yoga, the students paired up and took turns blindfolding and leading each other to a random tree in our area. It was up to the blindfolded student to collect as much information as possible with their other senses about the tree, give it a big hug, then try to find it after being returned to the starting point to remove the blindfold. For the most part, everyone was able to find their special tree – different barks, needles, sizes and smells were all good indicators.
Afterwards, we sat down and spent some time reading the “Lorax”. We are beginning to encourage a stewardship of the land for students and what story could be better? The students had a lot of great reflections about the story, and it even turned into a game of hide and seek, where the “Lorax” would hide behind a tree, and when found, would chase down all the “Oncelers” to stop them from cutting down trees (see Lorax Tag).
Also on Wednesday, the students eagerly jumped in to help our friend Al clean up all the down branches and twigs from the ice storm a few weeks ago. What a great, spontaneous opportunity for service-learning and taking responsibility of the land we use.
Before lunch we visited our sit spots with our journals in hand and a new task: Adopt-a-Tree. Students chose a tree nearby their spots and were asked to study it, name it and commit to taking care of their tree. With the help of ID books, students were able to figure out their type of tree and some facts about them. Some students on Thursday even created “adoption sheets” complete with all the useful information they could think of about their tree. When we got back to the school house, students presented their trees to the group enthusiastically, by sharing why their tree was so great and why they loved it. (The Snowy Owls have also been given “homework” to find out interesting facts about their tree to share with the group next week.)
The afternoon saw an opportunity for exploration and free-play. Free-play happens daily at the school, and it’s always intriguing to observe and see how the children interact, imagine and cooperate. It was fun to quietly watch on Thursday as games emerged with rules first created, then talked about, tried out and then sometimes changed. On Wednesday, students chose to take on a huge undertaking to make a snowman from the last remaining pile of snow (thanks to the shade from our trees)! An incredible amount of teamwork and communication was needed to lift the second ball on top of the first.
Later on, after a bit more talk about trees, we headed out to the fire pit. By popular demand, we furthered our learning on fire making and took the first steps towards earning fire beads. Student made “nests” from dry grass, sawdust, lint and birch bark. The students were able to make fire in their nest using only a coal and blowing slowly. The next step will be flint and steel (which some students are already mastering) and char cloth.
It seems we fit a lot into the days this week – the sun sure was a great motivator in that!
Congrats to our bead recipients this week as well: 2 storytelling beads were earned and our our very first journaling/reflection bead!
A heads up, too – your child may be snooping around your leftover veggies and fruits for seeds to plant in the upcoming weeks.
See you next week!
Matt and Kim
“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot. Nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” -The Lorax
