Warm & Cozy, Snug & Toasty

The Nature Preschool had an exciting week! We all enjoyed getting warm and cozy after reading the story The Mitten by Jan Brett. The children enjoyed using small puppets, magnet or felt boards, and their imaginations  to act out the story. We used mittens for so many fun activities! We painted with them, hid them in the woods to search them out, and used them to practice lacing. Some of the classes had a pajama day and brought in a special stuffed animal from home! The children used recycled fabric, needles and thread to sew blankets or sleeping bags to wrap their animals up in. We wanted our friends from home to get snug and toasty too! To help keep ourselves cozy, Mrs. Monica W. came into several of the classes with a sewing machine and helped the children make a quilt!

Out on the trails we had so much fun! We love snowy days! We saw lots of tongues out and mittens open trying to catch snowflakes as they softly fell.  The squirrel club made some super fun spray bottles filled with colored water. They shared them with all of us and the children absolutely loved creating rainbow snow! Outside we made crunchy footprints, while observing how snow makes a layer on benches, logs and on the ground. We kept our eyes peeled for animal tracks, but the children became very interested in human tracks as well. The children asked questions like, “Who left those BIG footprints?”, “Where do you think they were walking to?” We decided to hike to the meadow where we enjoyed, as quoted by one of our students, “The best sledding day ever!” Some children noticed “tipi” like structures in the woods and wanted to make one of their own. In groups of two and three they worked together to haul giant branches and  balanced them just the right way! The children’s  imaginations ran wild as they pretended their structure was a den or cave! They were all different animals protecting the home they had built. Deep in the meadow we found a GIANT frozen puddle, and the children had a blast skating, sliding and painting on the ice!   Another one of our favorite  discoveries outside was an owl pellet. Upon dissecting it, the curious children found bones and fur! It was a fabulous impromptu lesson about how owls eat and process their food. What a phenomenal example of the child led learning that takes place here at the Nature Preschool at Irvine!

We can’t wait for more! Until then, stay warm and cozy, snug and toasty!