Spring has officially taken over as the flowers are blooming and more and more animals are out and about. There are noticeably more sounds of birds and frogs, and more colors from the buds and new plant growth that are around us everywhere in the woods. 

This week’s animal-to-find was the American toad. Common to wetlands across the eastern United States, the American toad can be heard making a long “trilling” sound from spring to summer. Toads can be differentiated from frogs by their drier and bumpier skin as well as their shorter legs. 

On Wednesday the morning was cold, so we began by doing some coloring inside before heading out to play in their favorite area, Peeper Pond. Many of the kids played tag-like games that involved running across the paths. Others were busy collecting natural materials from clumps of grass to small pebbles to build shapes and structures. We finished the day with some playing in the front yard. 

Friday’s class was joined by Emily Calder as Truman and the other Emily were gone that day. The weather was nice, so we decided to hike all the way down to Beaver Pond where the animals were beginning to reemerge in the water. We brought shovels with us and did a lot of digging in the mud in search of clay and colorful stones. A few of the students found long sticks to use as “fishing poles” in the water. We ended our day by playing in the backyard.