Its May Day! An old European tradition to celebrate the coming of Spring, done Audubon Preschool style! It is the first day of our new session, which Fisher Cat and I keep referring to as "The real spring session". Winter finally  broke its hold and the trend of frigid Fridays gave way to a warm spring day. It was so warm, that as our friends started arriving, they looked different somehow... ...they aren't wearing their winter coats! It was a glorious feeling. We played in the field as everyone arrived. Some friends had gone on exciting trips over the spring break and it was nice to catch up and see everyone as they arrived. And then, some new friends arrived! We all played together until it was time to head to forest camp. The way to camp would have been hard to find with no easy to follow trail through the snow, but there was something else marking our way. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"13041","attributes":{"class":"media-image size-medium wp-image-34 aligncenter","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"225","height":"300","alt":"IMG_0417"}}]] And then, we made it! We hung up our backpacks on backpack tree (we are very thankful for our backpack trees), grabbed our snacks, and talked about good rules to have at FPK (Forest Preschool).  Here is what we decided: 1. Stay together. 2. Be kind to everyone and everything. 3. Be safe. 4. Help each other and ask for help if you need it. Then we took time to get to know each other by playing a game of Wiggle Worm! (Its Chickadee's favorite welcome, although as White-tailed Deer put it by the end of the game "I hope that Wiggle Worm doesn't come around again.") [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"13046","attributes":{"class":"media-image size-medium wp-image-35 aligncenter","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"225","height":"300","alt":"IMG_0416"}}]] We take turns pulling a paper out of the can. If it has a worm on it, "EVERYBODY WIGGLE WORM!" and we wiggle from side to side like worms. If your paper has a heart on it you greet the circle with a "Good Morning" (silly voices are encouraged.) After snack, we took some time to explore camp, it looks very different than it did this winter. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"13026","attributes":{"class":"media-image size-medium wp-image-31 aligncenter","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"300","height":"225","alt":"IMG_0386"}}]] Something that Fisher and Chickadee think is very important is for kids to have the opportunity to take healthy risks. When done in a way that is safe, it gives them the chance to learn what they are capable of and how to judge risk for themselves in the future. Even if it doesn't seem like that big of a deal to adults, perceived risk is just as important. Look what we can do!: After doing a bit of exploration, we noticed some signs of spring. The trillium was poking its head up from the leaf litter and fiddle heads were everywhere. But we noticed one GIANT sign of spring. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"13051","attributes":{"class":"media-image size-medium wp-image-36 aligncenter","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"225","height":"300","alt":"IMG_0419"}}]] A Maple pole May Pole. This is what it looked like after we walked around it with ribbon. While we were wrapping, the pole looked more like this: After our May Day fun, we untied Fisher and packed-up our things to head back to meet our parents. It was a great start to the REAL Spring Session. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"13056","attributes":{"class":"media-image size-medium wp-image-37 aligncenter","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"225","height":"300","alt":"IMG_0420"}}]] Happy Trails!