Forest Playschool returned to warmer weather that we haven’t felt in months. The mounds of what was once snow had melted into icy hills, perfect for belly sliding down. Despite the change in temperature, we still had plenty of snow to play with. 

This week’s animal-to-find was the barred owl. Many of the students recognized the owl as the same kind as the taxidermied one sitting in the education barn. These owls live in the eastern US but have begun to appear in the Pacific Northwest. Their main predators are surprisingly other owls; specifically great horned owls that are bigger than them.

After finding our barred owl cut-outs, the students got to color other species of birds including the oven bird and the black-throated blue warbler. 

On Wednesday, Forest Playschool decided to venture to Forest Camp to play in the snow kitchen and mold figures from the wetter snow. We later returned to the front yard to slide down the icy slopes. During snack and lunch, we read a book about making maple syrup since we are in peak sap collection weather. Some of the kids shared that they have family members that do sugaring. 

Friday’s group also read about sugaring during snack and lunch. But instead of going to Forest Camp, the class hiked up to Mossy Rock. There, the kids enjoyed climbing up the boulder and sliding off another side. Others played variations of tag in the more open area below. Lots of energy was used up, and the group was relieved to be returning for lunch after play time was over. We wrapped up the day by taking advantage of the natural slides the sun and the snow had created for us. 

With spring approaching, it is nice to see Forest classroom taking full advantage of the snow before it disappears for another year.