The weather was beautiful this week as we saw 70-degree days with lots of sunshine. The students of Forest Playschool were not the only ones to enjoy the heat as we also saw several types of birds, bullfrogs, green frogs, newts and more. This was a great opportunity for the kids to learn the names of the animals they see in Vermont and how they behave.
With the birds being so present as of late, we decided to search for two species as our animals of the week: the American robin and the Red-winged blackbird. Both species are “songbirds”, using their calls to attract mates, establish territories, and communicate with one another.
On Wednesday, Forest Playschool began the day by playing in the front yard after morning meeting and snack. Soon after, we ventured down to Peeper Pond (once again) where the kids played a number of games from imaginary fishing to hide and go seek. We also saw and heard a number of bullfrogs and green frogs basking in the sunlight by the edge of the water. On top of that, there were a few real-life Red-winged blackbirds and tree swallows flying around the field and marsh.
We then returned to the visitor’s center to enjoy our lunch outside and ended the day by playing in the backyard.
Friday’s group started their day searching for animal cutouts in the woods due to the planting of grass seeds in the front yard. Afterwards, we decided to go past Peeper Pond to Beaver Pond, where we hadn’t been in a while. We began our time there by catching critters, but we only caught one Eastern newt before moving on to building mud sculptures. A couple of the kids were trying to catch a swallowtail butterfly while a couple of others were learning how to skip stones across the pond.
We returned to the front yard of the visitor’s center to eat our lunches and refill our waters. We ended the day by playing in the backyard where almost all of the kids chose to hangout on the remnants of the stone fountain that they call the “pirate ship”.
It's nice for us educators to relive our childhood memories through the experiences of our Forest Playschool students. And we’re sure the students will remember these memories of exploring nature with their friends as vividly as we do.
