A Wild Discovery

On Monday, the kids started the day with some leaf rubbings. We used clipboards, crayons, and leaves. This simple activity is always fun, and it’s amazing how many extra veins you can see on the paper that you don’t always observe on the actual leaf. We decided to do some gross motor whole group movement at Welcome Circle. First we ran, jogged, or walked two laps around the Garden and Play Yard. When we got back to our circle, we did some simple yoga moves tied to our breath. Next, J led us all in a Mindfulness Activity. She described how our emotions and thoughts can be like glitter in a jar. When we are all “shaken up”, there are strategies to bring our glitter back to stillness. First we focused on 5 things we could see, followed by 4 things we could hear, 3 things we could touch, 2 things we could smell, and 1 thing we could taste. It was very calming and peaceful, and we all enjoyed sharing some of the things we experienced with our senses afterward.

After Welcome Circle, we headed down to the Animal Area to do some basic animal care. My oldest Blackberry is so helpful and loves jumping in quickly to check the tasks of water, food, and egg collection off our list. While some of us were doing those chores, others were observing the pumpkin patch. There is much to see in a garden, when you stop and look closely - new growth, decay, produce ready for pickin’, shapes, colors, smells, and of course bugs, to name a few. All of our gardens are rife with bees, and it is certainly interesting to watch them fly in and pollinate the flowers. They move so slowly and gracefully, really giving you the time to observe their hairy bodies.

While we were washing our hands inside, we checked on and held our new chicks and misted our Madagascar hissing cockroach tank. We have four adult Madagascar hissing cockroaches. One of the children noticed a small bug inside the tank. We were questioning whether it was a roly-poly, which we immediately decided it most definitely was not. Well, that’s when my heart dropped. Yep, it was a baby Madagascar hissing cockroach. Well, not one baby, MANY babies. Dozens of babies, probably at least fifty. It was certainly a wild discovery, at once amazing and interesting, and simultaneously, terrifying. What are we going to do with 50 plus Madagascar hissing cockroaches? It had me really contemplating how some animal mothers must feel when they find out they are pregnant. Congratulations, Mrs. European Rabbit, you are having 15 babies, multiple times this year! Way to go Mrs. Puff Adder, on your 1500 snakelets! Well done, Mrs. Ocean Sunfish, on your brood of 300 million eggs! But I digress and anthropomorphize.

We had quite a lively discussion about possible solutions including selling them, donating them to Wonderlab, or using them as feeder insects for the bearded dragon and curly haired tarantula my older boys have at home. My youngest is not keen on the last idea, but I think with time and meaningful conversations, he will come to see that it could be a great idea. We could still keep some to observe, and it supports the practice of self-sufficiency.

All that excitement found us ready for a snack. We had a family-style snack this time on our new full-sized picnic table! I cut up a couple of pears from our tree, and one of the Blackberries harvested a cucumber and mad hatter peppers for us to share as well. The sky, falling leaves, and surrounding friends made the moment so delicious that it basically turned into a long leisurely lunch. We definitely had a plan, but nature said, “Nah, just hang out with me and enjoy the moment” and so we did.

On Tuesday, I did have some leaf rubbings set out as a morning provocation, but the little guys ran straight for the play yard, just like they usually do. They are so active! My son and I added some old metal Tonka trucks this weekend, and those were a big hit. They love to stand behind them and run them around the yard, as well as fill them up with toys or natural objects just to dump them out.

With this younger group we have a lot of skills we are working on such as communicating feelings with one another, asking others to play, holding a boundary peacefully, waiting a turn, expressing frustration in appropriate and safe ways, explaining something to someone, and being flexible. I really love our small student-teacher ratio here, because it gives us the opportunity to stand back and let them work things out themselves, or conversely, step in and model communication skills when that is needed. I also love teaching preschool, because I remind and reteach myself the same skills every day when I model it for them!

All the kids impressed me with their concentration and fine motor skills when we hammered golf tees into pumpkins later that day. They really NAILED it! It was quite challenging to push the tee in first, then give it a few light taps while it was still between our fingers, and then finally, hammer it all the way in. They even used the lever side and their fingers to remove them. I can’t wait to incorporate more tool use with this group; I know they will love it.

Later, we split into two groups. One rode bikes and the rest of us headed down for bunnies and books. The kids loved being able to pet the rabbits while we enjoyed a story.

Finally, we ended the day with some physics art. We dipped wiffle balls into paint and rolled them down a giant banner that was covering our slide. The effect was beautiful, but like last week, the action was the most meaningful part for these kiddos. I plan on using the same banner for another action art piece next week. Hmmmm, should we paint with car wheels or paint on it while swinging . . . ?

Wednesday found us hammering more pumpkins. This group really found a flow state with these gourds, and I think the entire experience lasted about an hour from start to finish. Some of the kids kept hammering tees, while others began carving jack-o-lantern faces. One Blackberry did some real demolition on his pumpkin using a mini hammer in the yard. There was so much positive energy, concentration, collaboration, and chill vibes. The kids helped one another with aspects they were unable to do themselves, and there was just great conversations happening organically. We cleaned up the table together and the kids even “power washed” the guts off the table with the hose. Our tiniest Blackberry was the one who pulled it all the way to the table herself!

We checked the chicks and then everyone worked as a team to stack firewood on the rack since rain was coming. This was helpful to our preschool and that kind of work is helpful to the child on so many levels as well. They feel strong, helpful, and proud when they do real work.

This group has a real knack for lingering on projects and we soon found ourselves close to the end of the day. The rain was beginning to fall. We put on some gear and gathered a RAINBOW! What a joy to walk in the rain among friends, and what a beautiful way to remember the colors of summer. Have a wonderful Fall Break with your families, Blackberries!