Fall at Irvine is absolutely beautiful! The leaves are finally starting to turn colors, especially along the stream beds. Today was a great day to go check out the ponds and take in the changing leaves. We set off down the meadow trail searching for interesting leaves along the way. When we reached the first set of ponds, we were soothed by the still morning and the smooth water. While we ate our snacks, we read Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert using our imaginations to find the leaf man’s discoveries in the story. We were feeling inspired by the story and decided to take advantage of the colorful leaves to create our own artwork!
This particular pond is where we typically stop to enjoy a quick game of Pooh Stick! We had some exciting races as we tried several different lengths and types (mulch, dried grass, stick) of sticks. There were several obstacles in the stream so we had to remove some rocks and leaves to ensure a smooth path! One of my favorite things about Forest Dreamers is that we are improving our balance and coordination as well as developing our senses and cognitive skills during free play in nature! What a great chance for kids to discover and imagine without expectations and schedules.
This group of Forest Dreamers is always asking about art…leaf art, nature art, any type of art!! Today we collected acorns left behind from the squirrels and chipmunks and decided to create some fall pictures. We started by making some acorn art and then changed over to finger painting. Our friends quickly had pumpkin patches painted!
We asked the class if they were ready to scout out a some new ponds at Irvine and set off for the back corner of Irvine. One of the first things we noticed were the birds fluttering about…they were definitely taking advantage of the warm fall day. We found cattails and pulled the fluff off watching it drift into the air. Soon, the kids were in the stream opening up the “Spongy Kitchen”. We had leaf/algae sandwiches, adding some cattail for sushi rolls, topped with a dessert “stick”. I am constantly amazed by this group’s imagination.
