~ Come forth into the light of things. Let nature be your teacher. ~
William Wordsworth
It all began with an idea...as so many of our best adventures do in the wonderful world of kindergarten. Maia was talking to us about camping in the back yard with her dad. Keira joined right in. The conversation was exciting and rich! We talked about making a camping list. Keira and Maia worked together.
This was not the end of the talk of camping and camping stories. The children were wondering, sharing ideas, making lists and excited about camping all day long! The teachers shared stories with each other at the end of the day. They all had stories to share of how fantastic the talk and activities had been about camping.
Leave it to Mrs. St. Onge to come up with another of her fabulous ideas.
She was going to take all the children camping!
The children began to gather sticks, twigs and wood for a campfire.
Logs were placed under a tree in a perfect spot to sit round a campfire.
Up went the tent and away they went!
The boys and girls worked together to erect the tent.
Explaining, problem-solving, learning, discovering.
Teamwork!
No camping experience would be complete without the most essential thing....SMORES!
As Mrs. St. Onge gathered the groups of children, Smores were made...but so much more happened.
Love of nature and the feeling that being in nature brings.
Gooey, ooey, delicious fun, story-telling, friendship making, relaxing.
Learning about each other, each other's families, each others' experiences. "Me too!"
Hearing about camping adventures. Connecting with the natural world.
All you need is a good book, a deck of Crazy 8's and a best friend!
Solitude.
Time for a nature walk.
A tree with a missing limb can heal. Trees can heal because they are living things. 
~A weed is a plant that has mastered every survival skill,
except for learning how to grown in rows.~
Doug Larson
The dandelions have turned to seed. The stems of these dandelions are so long! Twist them and twist them and they will curl just like when they were put in water.
The end of the pine trees are bright green. They are bright green because this is the new growth. Imagine if our body's new growth was bright green!
Do all things that are living grow only at the tips or edges?
Bringing back many nature walk findings gives the boys and girls a chance to talk about their discoveries. Some plants have leaves and some have needles. Some plants have leaves that get enormous and some have new growth at the tips. They all have roots. They all need water. They all need the sun. They need nutrients from the soil.
How does the water get carried through the different plants?
~When you look at a field of dandelions, you can either see a field of weeds
or a field of a hundred wishes. ~
Mrs. St. Onge sees a hundred times a hundred...
...wishes
...opportunities
...ways
...things to know
...wonders to discover
...chances to connect children with nature
each and every time she is outside with them!
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