Wild & Wonderful Update

January & February

These past couple of months have challenged us as we have experienced frigid cold temperatures, pouring rain, and more. These kids are amazing, adaptable, and resilient. I cannot say enough about their character and how much they have grown when challenged with a difficult task. Please read on to learn what we did in these cold, winter months.

All about Moss!

Our emergent curriculum had us learning about moss these past couple of months. We have a little guy in our Littles class that collects moss by the handful every single hike. This had us taking a closer look at moss.

We learned some pretty interesting facts about moss and how absorbent it is. It is so absorbent that it prevents erosion. We conducted a science experiment to see how it can prevent erosion. We covered two trays with dirt. We then covered one of those layers of dirt with a layer of moss.

We then had it “rain” and poured water on both trays. We watched as the dirt without soil was washed away. The other tray where the moss was located did not have any dirt removed due to the layer of moss and how much water it absorbed.

We learned about the anatomy of moss and how it actually does not have roots, rather it has rhizoids. When rhizoids absorb a mixture of water and vegetable glycerin, the glycerin replaces the water in the plant and helps preserve the moss so it stays soft and green-looking. We also learned that moss is so absorbent that in World War I nurses used it on the wounds of soldiers because there was a shortage of bandages.

Does winter get quieter or louder? To explore this question, we built a sound box and created a wall of different natural materials inside it. On one side of the box we placed a bird call, and on the other side we placed a decibel reader. Each time, we built the wall with a different material to see how well it blocked or absorbed the sound. We measured the sound levels in decibels and used the results to create a bar graph comparing how each material affected the sound.

Without any wall in the sound box, the decibel reading was very high. We discovered that snow and moss absorbed the most sound, while leaves and sticks blocked less sound.

All Natural Playground

These past couple of months we started making an all natural playground! The Littles class made a ladder, the Middles class made a swing, and the Trailblazers class made a swing boat.

Water Felting Alpaca Mittens

An ongoing project we will be working on through out this semester is water felting alpaca mittens. Each student will go home with their own pair. We first made one together to teach students the process. Now they are individually starting to work on their own mittens.

Trailblazers Class

Our Trailblazers class was able to build a da Vinci bridge these past couple of weeks! A Da Vinci bridge is a self-supporting wooden bridge design attributed to Leonardo da Vinci that uses interlocking beams—no nails or rope—to hold itself together. The angled beams wedge against each other, and the weight of the structure tightens the joints, making it stronger as load is added.

They first started on a small scale, making one out of small stakes.

Then they moved to a larger scale! They did an amazing job working as a team to complete this challenging task.

Making Maple Syrup

In the month of February we went on a hunt for maple trees. Since there were no leaves on the trees we took a look at the bark to see if we could identify them.

Once we learned about the bark we started tapping them. We drilled a hole at an angle and hammered in the tap.

We tasted the sap. Sap is about 98% water, and 2% sugar. We learned that it takes about 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of actual syrup. We collected about a gallon and a half of sap.

After tapping and tasting we boiled down the sap to get syrup. We learned that it has to hit a degree of 219 degrees Fahrenheit in order for the water to burn off and leave syrup. We enjoyed a small amount with pancakes we made over the fire.

Backyard Basecamp

Over the past few months, heavy snowfall has made travel difficult and roads unsafe. As a result, we decided to move to a virtual format and call our experience Backyard Basecamp for our Littles class one week. We began with a Zoom morning meeting where everyone had the chance to greet one another and stay connected. Students then participated in a virtual lesson on standard units of measurement, learning how sound is measured in decibels. To extend their learning, students were challenged to build snow caves and observe how sound changes inside them. They also hid a speaker playing music in the snow to investigate how snow affects sound. Through these experiments, students explored the science of sound in winter. Below are a couple of pictures of snow caves that were made.

More Wild & Wonderful Moments

Enjoying nature journaling with charcoal from the fire.

Students created their own chic scratch art for nature journaling time.

A discovery we found on our hike…scarlet cup mushrooms.

Students started making a Woodland Weave in the month of February.

Trailblazers working together on their celebri “trees” poster. These posters will be on display at our art show in May. You will be able to learn about famous trees all over the world. Here, two are working on the Post Office tree.

This student is working on the Chapel Oak Tree.

Each class was able to do a small valentine exchange for their friends in the month of February

A fun game of Tic-Tac-Toe on the Go with our Trailblazers class.

Students estimating the thickness of ice while on our hike.

Can you guess what animal this eye came from? The Trailblazers were given clues while dissecting the eye to see if they could figure it out. In this picture, you can see the tapetum lucidum, a reflective layer behind the retina that helps animals see better at night. This eye is designed for survival.
If you guessed sheep—you’re right!

Echoes from the Forest

In this section, “Echoes from the Forest,” you’ll hear directly from parents & students as they share about forest school.

“My favorite part is the games we play and getting to help people. It’s fun being around my friends! My favorite memory is climbing the snowy hill with the rope, ice skating on the ice over at the creek, and seeing coyote foot prints in the snow.”

~ Axton, Middles class

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“I like how at forest school, my friends and I can explore together and how Rebekah lets us make decisions too.”

~ Gracyn, Trailblazers Class

Coming Up!

In the months of March and April we have so much to look forward to! We will welcome in the spring by getting bees and planting a garden! We will also be getting chickens in the next couple of months. We will enjoy a visit from friend and meteorologist, Brandon Stover, as he teaches the students about weather. We will continue to work on our all natural playground, making honeysuckle jam, and so much more!

Bringing Childhood Back to Nature