What a joy it was to start the day by visiting the other side of the pond! We raced up Sunrise Hill to check out the dam and were surprised to see two people from the Upper Thames Conservation Authority working in the stream. Can you tell your family what they were doing and how they were doing it?
Some children were also excited to connect with their tree friends from last year. Who do you think changed the most over the summer - you or your tree friend? Everyone was successful in choosing a new tree friend and made a beautiful stone marker with their nature name on one side and the tree’s name on the other. One of our jobs next week will be to learn more about our woodland companions.
Our last destination on the west side was Cedar Haven. What was the cost of admission? We were most surprised by the missing log circle! What happened? Regardless, a ‘burrito’ restaurant was soon established and long sticks were quickly turned into fishing poles with leaf ‘worms’. We loved every minute there but the dozen Canada Geese seemed to be quite puzzled. What do you think they were thinking?
Who remembers these close encounters with nature today?
During library, Grey Squirrel treated us to two First Nations legends: ‘How the Beaver Got its Tail’ and “How Bear Got its Tail’ which fit right in with our theme of connections. Both Beaver and Bear made the same mistake. Do you recall what it was? Do you think their consequences were fair?
In the afternoon, Beaver retold the Cherokee creation legend about how Grandmother Spider brought all of the different groups of living things together to form the world by weaving them into a web. We loved the part about each time a new baby is born is welcomed into their Earthwalk in Grandmother Spider’s web of life. Each life adds their special gifts or talents to live a good life.
We created our own web of life by taking turns wrapping a ball of yarn around our waist as we each shared one of our special gifts, then passing it along to the next person. We discovered that we have an incredible group of singers, craftspeople, athletes, gardeners, and explorers. This meaningful sharing helps us understand how we connect as a small community of nature school learners and mentors here in Harrington.
Wander time in Mystery Forest always brings surprises and creativity. Tell some of your fun moments with friends in the shadow of Grandmother Maple.
When we pulled on one strand of our web, we witnessed how it affected another part of the web. We talked about how one action like clear cutting can affect many strands of the web of life. Actions and consequences. This reminded us of the Beaver and Bear stories. What are some things you can do to help keep the web balanced in a good way?
One last thing about connections… we were so happy to have Tamarack return and make our Heron web complete again! Keep walking the good walk until next time Forest Friends:)
OH YES.....Who won the sweater toss?
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