Outside - In

Here we are, the second week of October and a third of the way through the month. While October has been slightly more wet than September, it has still been a wonderful month to be outside with children! On our walks to the outdoor classroom we’ve been paying close attention to the forest floor. When we first started making visits to the woods, the forest floor was mostly orange with pine needles with a few brown leaves. Last week we noticed many more yellow leaves beneath our feet, and this week red has made its arrival. The children were quick to notice the change in smell the other morning after the rain. That mix of decomposing leaves and pine needles!

Most weeks we take our inside learning outside, but this week the forecast called for a wet start, so we brought the outside in! The older children took part in a STEM raft making project, using natural items and the design process to build rafts, that will hopefully float! Most groups were able to complete the design and build of their raft this week, leaving next week for testing.

The younger children took the remnants of my flower garden and turned them into beautiful nature crowns. We used the design and redesign model with this project too, although much less intentionally. We tried to make our crowns with double sided tape, but it quickly became apparent that this method was not going to work. We modified the plan a bit, and decided to cover the entire crown with a strip or two of box tape. This method seemed to work much better. It was wonderful to watch the children’s thinking present itself through their art designs. Some children decided to only use one color flower or seed on their crown, while others kept to a very defined pattern, others made intricate layered art. Each crown was different, just like the little people who created them.

Mrs. Sedgley’s class gathered these acorns for me last Thursday. By Monday morning we had larvae wiggling around.

I think that acorns are the ultimate loose part for children. Children LOVE collecting acorns. Don’t be grossed out! If the acorns stay outside there really is no issue, it is when they come inside the nice warm house that the little larvae appear. You can remedy this by putting the acorns on a baking sheet and popping them in the oven. Bake at 175 for 1.5 to 2 hours. This will dry out the acorns and kill any insect eggs inside.

Join me at “Discover Your Joy: The Joy of Teaching from the Inside Out” on November 15th