They say, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” So what do you do when life gives you snow - LOTS of snow?! Well, if you are at nature school, you grab a crazy carpet and head for the nearest hill! First we tested out the small hill at the side of the hall, then we headed for Sunrise Hill. Which one was your favourite and why? We even set a few Harrington records for the longest runs by learning how to lessen the amount of friction we created. Water Bear perfected the art of aerodynamics by sliding down like a seal on its belly and Pin Cherry achieved the record for most ‘donuts’ done in one run!
What was different today about where we began and ended our day? A group of hard-working girls used their knowledge from last week about different ways to lay a fire in order to set up the most spectacular log cabin “lantern fire’ the hall has ever seen! We loved it so much, we ate both our snack and lunch around it. Do you think this should become part of what we do on Fridays? If you do, then let’s take turns being the fire-layers.
Gratitude was on our minds as we started to work on a special project to thank the many volunteers who give their time and talents to help in all Coyote Nature school programs.We love knowing that Tamarack is always there to help us when we need it and we look forward to seeing the amazing pictures Raccoon takes each week. Ladybug does an amazing job when she reads stories to us or teaches us something new in art. We made Christmas cards for them to show how much we care!
One of our very special people, Kathy Eastman the Harrington librarian, can always be counted on to make our time with her awesome. Today, Grey Squirrel read us a lovely winter story about a boy who was looking for a wish tree. See if you can retell the story to someone at home and then try to find your own winter wish tree this week. . I wonder what you’ll wish for?
We all loved the special activity she had planned for us next using rings cut from paper towel rolls and pieces of yarn. Everybody was able to craft their own mini yarn toque. Rose and Wolf are going to use their toques as a Christmas tree ornament; others areRose and Wolf are going to use it as a Christmas tree ornament; others are going to use it as a hat for one of our stuffies. If you want to make more, what are the 2 items you need?
We loved our last visit with Bluebird who had been volunteering her time over the last 7 weeks to teach us how to knit with spools. Every Heron was successful thanks to Bluebird’s patience and support. For those of us who weren’t quite finished, we were able to take them home and work on them there. Remember to take good care of her materials and bring them back when you’re done. We can’t wait to hear what you ended up making!
Our trek to the winter shelter site wasn’t quite as snowy as we expected. We were surprised to see the ‘home improvements’ Mammoth had made. What changes did you notice? We spent some time gathering more long poles and added them to the one end that was still too open. We also discovered that now that the shelter is higher, we can all fit inside at the same time! Our construction plans for next week include gathering more poles, filling in the gaps with leaves, bark, and dried grasses as well as working on insulating the floor. After the holidays, we are hoping to get lots of Christmas tree boughs donated so that we can begin to work on the outside of the walls.
Today, Beaver was in the middle of reading the book, “Stranger in the Woods”, when Tamarack and Racoon both said, “It’s 3:00! Parents are waiting outside.” We all looked at each other in disbelief! Could it really be time to go home already? We al agreed. It made us realize how lucky we are to be able to step into the wonder-filled world of nature!
See you on our final day of 2024 Forest Friends:)
.
Comments