Tap That Sap

It’s that sweet time of year again and maple magic is calling! Nature Preschool has been exploring the maple sugaring process. The children were introduced to all the tools needed to collect sap. They used buckets, spiles, and hand-crank drills to practice tapping trees! As we hiked through the winter forest the children tried to spot woodpeckers, who are especially active during the sugaring season. Inspired by the woodpecker, we sang songs and used sticks to tap rhythmic beats on the trees. We also kept our eyes out for maple trees! They were easy to spot since they had buckets hanging from them collecting sap, but we also noticed the texture of the bark, the branching patterns and the shape of the leaves on the ground underneath. Everyone was excited to hike to Irvine’s very own sugar shack to see the evaporator boiling sap into syrup!

This Sunday is our Maple Magic Brunch! Students, families and teachers come together for pancakes and a hike on the trail! This week was full of magical moments. Take a peek at our galleries for an inside look on all the fun!

♥ Nature Preschool

Outdoor Exploration

: Mr. Steve, a naturalist at Irvine, is going to show the children how maple syrup is made.

: How can you make maple syrup over a fire like the Native Americans once did?

: Mr. Steve demonstrates how to use the evaporator! Your pour the sap in and boil it! The steam is the water evaporating leaving the sticky sugar behind.

: Exploring the winter woods! We stopped to listen to the birds. They are especially active as the temperature starts to rise.

: Climbing on logs helps promote confidence, balance and muscle strength! Plus it is so much fun!

: The Coyote class crawls on our favorite balance log!

: Spotting familiar letters on the trail signs.

: The children are headed to sugar shack to check out evaporator! They were so excited they were chanting, “Sugar Shack! Sugar Shack!”

: Child led nature exploration. The children roam the winter forest.

: The fox class decides to make bridges with their bodies between these fallen logs.

: A class discovers a drop of blood in the meadow. They see bits of fur that reveal a story. The children use clues to make predictions as to what happened.

: Observing fallen trees off trail!

: The outdoor classroom has the perfect tree for climbing, and lounging too!

: The children explore ice in the bottom of the meadow.

: The children were curious about how the grass looked under the ice. They noticed tiny bubbles!

: Click Beetle Discovery

: The foxes learn about maple trees and the sap that runs through them!

Activities

: Cooking pancakes for snack topped with maple syrup!

: An art provocation involving a woodpecker taxidermy and crayons.

: A winter tree art provocation.

: Play-dough provocation with tools and various small world toys for open ended play.

: A sensory bin full of bird seed! Add some shovels and measuring cups for extra fun!

: Painting at the easel. This painting has a very “springy” feel!

: Winter Inspired Art Tray – Pipettes, paint filled cups, and glitter are wonderful materials for open ended artistic expression. The tray serves as a work space and helps with cleanup!