First we played Fire Protector (one kid is blindfolded and listens for anyone trying to sneak up and take their sticks). Then we hiked to the schoolhouse and did gratitude circle. We observed and recorded our particulate matter air pollution experiment. Most kids hypothesized that the parking lot would have the most particulate matter which it did. We drew our observations and recorded the results on a bar graph. Then we learned about our last 3 local birds (Field Sparrow, House Finch and Rufous-sided Towhee) and played Bird Bingo with pictures of all the birds we learned about this week. Next we played some of the kids' favorite games (Old Winter and Hitchhiker). Then some kids chose to ma

After our last morning of archery practice, we played Old Winter and hiked to the schoolhouse. Once there, we did gratitude circle and talked about why the sky is blue (because molecules in the air scatter blue light from the sun more than they scatter red light which makes it to our eye). Then I did the Blue sky- Red sky demonstration to show how when we look towards the sun at sunset, we see red and orange colors because the blue light has been scattered out and away from the line of sight. Then we talked about natural and man-made air pollution and some solutions/ways to prevent it. We also played a capture the flag style Air Pollution Game. There were 2 teams. Each team had their own b

We started with more archery practice and played Predator vs. Prey. Then we went to the field next to the greenhouse to play Life Cycle of a Star. Afterwards, we hiked to the schoolhouse and did our gratitude circle. Many were thankful for their family, friends and homes. Next we learned the prefixes and suffixes for describing clouds (Cirro, Cumulus, Nimbus, Alto, Stratus, etc) and played Cloud Pictionary in teams. We voted on which play to perform and majority ruled "How the Hare Saved the Sun". Then during snack time, we learned about a few more local birds such as the Northern Cardinal, Eastern Bluebird, Downy woodpecker, Blue Jay and Red-winged Blackbird . We decorated our bird feede

After starting with some archery practice, we played Sneaky Animals and some more "laser maze". Then we hiked to the schoolhouse and started our Bird Study. We learned about the American Goldfinch and Brown Thrasher. Then we designed and created bird feeders from recycled materials. We painted them white and will decorate them tomorrow. Afterwards, we talked about how the earth rotates on its axis and travels around the sun. And did some shadow drawing to document the Earth's rotation. Then we talked about different ways to use the sun for power like solar cookers and solar panels. I set out a simple DIY solar cooker with an egg to cook. The kids liked checking on it every so often to see wh

We started the week off with a game of Flower and the Bees, Oh Deer! and a silly name game to learn each other's names. Then we hiked to the schoolhouse. We talked about how clouds form and made our own cloud in a jar to demonstrate their formation. Then we hiked to the creek. We usually go to the creek after lunch but several weather forecasts were predicting afternoon rain so we went early in the morning. Then we had snack and played Leader of the Pack and Eagle Eye. We also talked about how/why tornadoes form and looked at some tornado-proof architecture. Then I challenged them to design and build their own tornado-proof home from paper, tape and 4 jenga blocks. They had to keep their pa

We began the morning with a game of Predator vs. Prey. Then we hiked to the schoolhouse and did gratitude circle. After that, we checked our water pollution experiment. We recorded the results by drawing our observations in our journals. We noted that the celery with soap in the water only traveled 1 inch while the celery with no soap in the water traveled 7 inches. We recorded our data on a bar graph and concluded that water pollution (the soapy water) slows the capillary uptake of water in plants. Then we went outside to check the results of our Solar Still. We could see some of the water condensing on the plastic wrap before we opened it. We had a good inch or so of clean fresh water and

After more archery practice, we played "Oh Deer". Then we hiked to the schoolhouse and looked at lakes around the world that are strange colors like Lake Natron. We talked about why lakes are certain colors (due to minerals, algae, glaciers). Then we made a solar still for collecting fresh water. We will see how much water collected over night tomorrow. Then we made our own water play titled "The Kingdom of Glory". You can ask them to retell it to you. Everyone picked a character and we all gave suggestions to create the plot together. After snack, we did Suminagashi painting (Japanese technique of floating ink on top of water and capturing the image with rice paper). We also talked about oi

After some archery, we played "Flower and the Bees" and "How Many Ways Can You Cross the River". Then we hiked to the schoolhouse and did our gratitude circle. We then finished the last three Ocean Zones (Midnight, Abyssal and Hadal) which included creatures like the Snipe eel, Vampire Squid, Sea cucumbers, Tripod Fish and more. Then we discussed water pollution (causes and solutions) and started an experiment. We made one cup with water and red food dye with some celery stalks in it and the other with water, food dye, celery stalks and soap. We hypothesized whether or not we think the soap will affect the capillary uptake in the celery. We will be able to see what happens tomorrow and recor

We began the day with some archery practice and "laser maze" (string maze with bells). Some were able to make it through the maze without ringing any bells! Then we hiked to the schoolhouse and made the second ocean zone page for our flip book. We talked about the hatchet fish, lantern fish, viper fish, mid-water jellyfish and rat tail fish that live in the Twilight zone and added them to our book. Then we discussed the water cycle and made mini water cycle models to take home. I will be sending all our projects home on Friday. The models are ziploc bags with the water cycle drawn on the front. They need to hang in a sunny window with water in them to watch the evaporation and condensation

We started the week off playing some Sneaky Animals and a silly name game. Then we hiked to the schoolhouse and did a gratitude circle. After saying something we are thankful for, we started our Ocean Zones flip book. We learned about the top zone (sunlight zone) and some of the sea creatures that live there. Then we colored in our animals and added them to the first layer of our book which we will work on a little each day. We also talked about what causes ocean currents (wind, land formations, salinity, temperature, etc. ) and I did a demonstration with cold blue water and hot red water released into room temperature water to illustrate how hot water rises and cold water falls. We also lis

We started with a game of Fire Protector (one kid is protecting his pile of sticks for a fire through the winter and is sitting by his "fire" blindfolded while all other kids try to sneak up and take a stick without being heard). Then we hiked to the greenhouse to plant lettuce and carrot seeds. We found a green horned caterpillar and fed it to the chickens. Then we hiked to the schoolhouse and recorded the results for our Biodegradable experiment. We concluded that organic matter decomposes faster than man-made materials. Did you know a glass jar can take 1 million years to break down?!? We played Scientists Observe and Animal Party. After snack, we performed "Meadow Dandelion" and played

To start the day, we practiced archery and played Predator vs. Prey. Then we made sensory maps of Little Rose. Sensory mapping includes all your senses. However, we only put one thing on our map for taste: blueberries. Then we learned about American Holly and White Oak trees. We did a leaf rubbing of the White Oak. After snack, we finished our plant mandala art and learned about where and why earthquakes occur. Then we took a hike to collect materials for building a seismometer. While in the woods, we played Lorax and the Onclers. Then, in teams, we built our seismometers. Once built, we used clay bricks we made from the creek clay to create a little model village. Then we caused an earthqu

We began with more archery practice, a game of Flower and the Bees and Sneaky Animals. Then we hiked to the greenhouse for some Gardening 101. We helped clear out some weeds from the tomato and radish beds. Then we planted some baby radishes. We also picked and ate blueberries. A few kids tried to feed the chickens blueberries. Then we hiked to the schoolhouse. We discussed and learned about some of the common bugs we might see at Little Rose (pillbug, field cricket, katydid, water strider, firefly and boxelder). Then we started a nature mandala art project. You can see some of our progress in the pictures from today. We also played a game called Animal Party (the guests act like a specific

First we practiced archery and played more Eagle Eye. Then we hiked to the schoolhouse, did gratitude circle and looked at different caves around the world. We discussed how stalactites form and create stalagmites and columns. Then we started our own stalactite to watch over the week. We also talked about local animals that live at Little Rose and the tracks they make. We practiced learning tracks by one team making them in clay and the other guessing which animal they belonged to. Then we performed the play "Magpie and the Bird Nest" which is about the Magpie building her nest and teaching other birds how to make nests for themselves. We also played Lorax and the Onclers (a tag style game).

We began the week with a game of Eagle Eye and some "Laser Maze" (see pics with string and bells tied to it). Then we played a silly name game to break the ice. Afterwards, we hiked to the schoolhouse and did a gratitude circle. Some of us were thankful for the weather, animals and friends. Then we did a pencil sketch of something we love. We will paint these tomorrow and fill them in with finds from our hikes as well. Then we went on a hike to collect materials for making nature brushes (paint brushes made from materials found in the forest). Some brush tip materials that they found were grass, dog fennel, pine needles and leaves. After collecting what we needed we made at least one brush