Sometimes, it rains. Even on Forest Preschool days, when we try to stay outside for the whole 3 hours, the weather just doesn't cooperate. Today was one of those days. But guess what? We are not your average preschoolers! We are tough cookies who are learning to assess and self-regulate. So today we went for a hike in the rain. Although, we should start at the beginning. We started inside the barn on this chilly morning. We started with books and coloring and puppets. Puppets are very popular around these parts. Then, once everyone arrived, we all  gathered on the green blanket, where we noticed that there were some new people there. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"8516","attributes":{"class":"media-image size-medium wp-image-148 aligncenter","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"300","height":"169","alt":"20151009_094517"}}]][[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"8526","attributes":{"class":"media-image size-medium wp-image-152 aligncenter","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"300","height":"169","alt":"20151009_094523"}}]][[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"8531","attributes":{"class":"media-image size-medium wp-image-153 aligncenter","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"300","height":"169","alt":"20151009_100931"}}]] Red Fox joined us for the day with her brother! There is also a new person working at Audubon Vermont. Jamie Montague (aka Black Bear) will soon be succeeding Sophie (aka Fisher) as the Education Manager. She spent the whole day with us to see how we do things on preschool Fridays. After a bathroom break we had snack. Fisher told us a story about acorns and trying to figure out who had been nibbling on all the acorns she found. Then we got dressed to head outside, making sure to dress in a way to keep us warm and dry-- it was pretty easy since everyone came with boots and rain jackets. After that we hit the trail. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"8536","attributes":{"class":"media-image size-medium wp-image-154 aligncenter","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"169","height":"300","alt":"20151009_105122"}}]]There were so many freshly fallen leaves, but we were determined to find acorns, and we did! We also learned how to make a whistle by blowing in their caps. It takes some practice. We also found lots and lots of mushrooms. And a Red Eft. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"8541","attributes":{"class":"media-image size-medium wp-image-155 aligncenter","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"300","height":"169","alt":"20151009_105228"}}]]                       [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"8546","attributes":{"class":"media-image alignnone size-medium wp-image-156","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"169","height":"300","alt":"20151009_105658"}}]][[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"8551","attributes":{"class":"media-image alignnone size-medium wp-image-157","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"169","height":"300","alt":"20151009_105738"}}]][[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"8556","attributes":{"class":"media-image alignnone size-medium wp-image-158","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"169","height":"300","alt":"20151009_110120"}}]] Finally, we made it to Lookout Rock! It had recently been cleared so we could see across to the big hill on the other side of the river, but it was too foggy to see Camel's Hump or Mount Mansfield today. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"8566","attributes":{"class":"media-image alignnone size-medium wp-image-160","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"300","height":"169","alt":"20151009_114259"}}]] [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"8571","attributes":{"class":"media-image alignnone size-medium wp-image-161","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"300","height":"169","alt":"20151009_114600"}}]] We hiked down the hill and someone pointed out that we had been there before. "Hey I see that Rocket Ship over there!" We had ended up at Mossy Rocks! We knew that all we needed to do to get back to the barn was walk down the hill past Forest Camp. Jamie said she was impressed at how far we made it! We got back to the barn and met our parents for pick-up to go home and get warm and cozy.

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