Woohoo! We're back in action. Our time together in Forest Classroom was cut short in November and we're just so glad to be back in-person with students. We had some new faces in the group, so we decided to make the day all about team-building and play in order to jumpstart friendships and the group dynamic. 

Upon arrival, students found their cubbies and then joined the group to build a snow fort. We were making a special kind of snow fort called a 'quinzhee.' A 'quinzhee' is a Canadian snow shelter that are built by making a pile of snow, packing it down, letting it rest for a couple of hours and then digging an entrance or tunnels in. 

After piling the snow, we took a break to warm up and eat snack in the Clubhouse. It was chilly, but we had a fire going the whole program. During snack, I asked the students what activites and places they want to get to during our time together so we can tailor the experience to our group. We also went over group rules/agreements to make sure that we have an awesome time while staying safe and respecting one another. When lunch was over we all headed back out into the snow. There was a request for a snowball fight and soon all of the students were building forts to hide behind and creating 'ammo.' 

Some students opted to spend their free play a different way and decided to create snow art or just be silly! 

After playing, we took another break inside the Clubhouse for lunch and enjoyed some hot drinks to warm our bodies. Today we had hot apple cider or decaf tea with honey as our options. Once we refueled our bodies, we went back to our snow pile from the beginning of the day and dug it out so that we could crawl into it. Then we crawled ontop of the woodpile for a group phot op! 

Can't wait for next week!