By Rae Bronenkant

Today we had a lot of snow to work with, which made the day glorious! As everyone was getting dropped off we explored the front yard. There was sledding, professional shoveling, and cats in the ‘cat den’. Before going inside we took time to investigate the Audubon map, that way we know all of the places around Audubon we could go during the day. Next we went inside for snack and Morning Meeting.

We had our first child planned and lead day! Every Forest Preschooler will have the chance to decide what they want to do that day, and lead that whole day. Our plan for the day was to hike over to Forest Camp and play there, then come back in and do some coloring. Heading to Forest Camp took us a while, trudging through the deep snow. Everyone, including the adults, were bundled up and ready to go!

At Forest Camp we played also immediately. Near the firepit, Emily and I took a step back at the beginning to let everyone enjoy each other and learn to connect on their level. After a while as a group we uncovered the hidden frozen mud/snow kitchen. Most of the utensils were stuck in one large frozen slab of ice, I think everyone tried to break tools free, and some had success. Later we hiked up to where playgroup had hidden a game camera, at a suspected deer bedding site. We took some time to find the camouflaged camera, but someone found it and showed the rest of the group! We took a group photo and then we slid on our bellies like otters down the hill.

Back at the barn we took off our layers and settled in for lunch and coloring. I showed everyone what we found on the game camera, and sure enough there were deer! Our day ended in a Bear Hunt dance party!

This group is tough and LOVES being outdoors, we are really starting to form a pack and are learning a lot along the way.