Woods Alphabet Chart & Tree Math

What a wonderfully warm and sunny Forest Monday! We decided not to have a fire because it was a bit windy and with no snow on the ground, sparks are a risk. But we stayed warm by playing hard and eating all of our lunches.

This was our second time at our Sit Spots. We used a string (which you can see in the picture) to measure a tree near or at our Sit Spot. We then used these in math to compare with a ruler and a yardstick. We discovered that we have a lot of large trees in our woods and fewer small trees.

At our Phonics station, we started working on an alphabet chart for the woods. Part of our work right now as Word Scientists is to study not just one alphabet chart, but lots of different ones. Ms. Atkins & Mrs. Johnson did some further research to come up with objects for a few more letters, but we were still stuck on “z” and “u.” If anyone has an idea, pass it along!

 

Sit Spots, Snow, and a Fire

30 degrees was our low this week in the woods and with no sun, it certainly felt cold! We cozied up in our new Sit Spots though. Each child chose a spot that they will return to each week to sit and observe the woods around them.

Hunter’s Sit Spot

Vincent and Mrs. Gray lying in his Sit Spot.

Amelie and Gemma using a “drill” that they’d made out of a stump!

But all the Forest Kids agreed that the highlight of our day was having our first fire. Miss Karen, our volunteer, was the official fire tender. The kids helped gather wood and break it up into small pieces. There was a lot of smoke (as you can see from the picture)! The rope around the rocks is the boundary that kids stay behind. Our fire helped us stay happy and warm in the woods on a chilly and drizzly day.

 

November

A great time had by all as we roll into November. It was hot in the sun when we first arrived, but by the end of our time when the sun had moved beyond the trees, the shady 49 degrees felt very chilly.

Leon found a new way to climb little trees with tiny branches poking out.

And then Noel climbed a HUGE oak. He found a hole where squirrels or maybe chipmunks might live. When he thought he couldn’t get down, Braxton brought him a “ladder” (really a big stick!) to try and help.

We discovered a new big log to climb on today. Beyond it was a tiny stream (mostly mud, but it was still exciting!). We didn’t play near the mud because we didn’t have Grundens on today.

The log in real life color.

“Think of one thing you played and one thing you noticed in nature today. Hand on your head when you are ready to tell your partner.”