What an AWESOME year as Forest Dreamers! We were able to experience every season on the trails and witness the changes at Irvine over the past year! WOW!! We had a fantastic group of children that have a love and curiosity about nature that I hope they carry into their adult lives!
Tuesday/Thursday Forest Dreamer Recap!
This last week was the HOTTEST week at Irvine yet. So naturally, we sought out shade and water. The streams are always a favorite of the class and they didn’t disappoint. We found worms, green frogs, and crawfish! As well as playing in the water, we also practiced our jumping skills by leaping from bank to bank over the stream!
Since we hadn’t been to the Native American site in a while, everyone quickly voted for one last visit! The children engaged in charcoal play, painting rocks, stumps, and even themselves with charcoal. They were amazed when we told them that some animals EAT charcoal. The kids used materials from around the site to make a smorgasbord of food for us to try! Tacos are a class favorite!
Monday/Wednesday Forest Dreamer Recap!
Weed Warriors, mud and water play, and turtle rescues are what this Forest Dreamer class engaged in their last few classes! When the sun it hot, streams are our favorite place! We set off for some water and quickly discovered the perfect mud source for “friend painting”! The girls in this group made handprints on each other, on their faces, on the bridge…anywhere they could. The boys, however, were VERY interested in rock throwing at the “mud wall”. We stayed here for the entire class since the children were so interested in the water. At one point, they became interested in pulling off invasive bittersweet and honeysuckle from the surrounding spicebushes. This endeavor produced A LOT of giggles as the children swung around on the vines!
The last day of Forest Dreamers was especially wonderful because the children were able to participate in a turtle relocation project! A local high schooler brought a baby eastern painted turtle to be relocated from an unhealthy pond environment. The children were able to learn about this species of turtle and WHY its home was unhealthy. We talked about how WE can help protect our watershed and be good carers of the land! All the children LOVED holding the baby and then gently releasing it into the pond! What an amazing last day!
If you are interested in our Forest Dreamer experience and helping your child gain confidence in themselves and nature, please check out our program! We strive to make each class child-led encouraging the children to work together to make the day’s plans! This fully outdoor experience allows children the opportunity to become lovers of nature! They are excited to try new things as they truly explore every corner of Irvine’s property! Check out https://www.explorenature.org/school-programs/homeschool-programs/ for more information about this program!
