Spring 2022

March 23

Today we put our cooking skills to the test! Autumn the deer LOVES fruits and vegetables, so today we will be creating some colorful salads for her. But before we jump into things, every chef needs a hat…

Using tissue paper and paper strips, the toddlers created their very own chef hats.

Taste the Rainbow

The more colors in a salad, the better! Children made Autumn salads that were a work of art, using fruits and vegetables of different colors.

Chopping time!

After discussing the safe ways to handle sharp kitchen tools, the toddler jumped right into chopping and cutting the ingredients for their salads. Some noticed that certain foods were harder to cut than others, and learned which tools were better for what they were wanting to do. Having this type of independence fosters confidence in their abilities and willingness to take risks.

Feeding Time!

Now that the salads have been uniquely prepared, it is time to share our creations with Autumn so she can have a colorfully nutritious meal!

Two at a time, the toddlers entered Autumn’s enclosure to hand-deliver their salads. The group watched as Autumn’s curiosity about the food encouraged her to move closer to her visitors. She managed to sneak in a few times while we were transitioning pairs in and out of the enclosure.

I think it’s safe to say she liked the salads

March 16

Sometimes there is too much excitement and exploration happening in the forest to stop and take photos! As wonderful as it is to have photos to look back on, it is important to slow down and live in the moment not only for ourselves but for children to experience meaningful engagements with adults who are fully present. With that being said, please enjoy our small but wonderful collection of photos from today’s outdoor adventure!

March 9

Now that the weather is (sort of) starting to warm up, that means two things: better sap flow & longer hikes into the forest! But this adventure came with an added challenge…the tots were greeted in the parking lot with a map of the nature center that had a yellow path with 3 red Xs on it, representing the location of an activity. The first X was the meeting spot which they had to follow their map to find.

Good news! Everyone successfully made their way to the meeting spot, where they were able to explore various tree-related materials, play instruments, and come together for our Good Morning song. The next X on the map led us to the Sugar Bush so we could check our tapped tree for sap!

After finding our tree we use some investigative skills, such as feeling the weight of the bucket, to guess whether or not there would be sap. The tots helped uncover the bucket to discover that we did indeed get some sap from our tree!

Investigating our tree even more led us to discover a stream of frozen sap stuck to the bark!

Into the forest, we go…

The third and final X on the map was waay on the other side of the nature center, which took a long and exciting hike to get there. Along the way, we stopped to explore the frozen pond, got as close as one can get to (and in) a tree, spotted two geese, dropped items from a bridge, discovered turkey tracks and SO much more!

March 2

Today, the tots kicked off March in the sweetest way possible! We learned about all things Maple. Our day started with a craft that involved painting a paper Maple leaf with chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is made by trees to absorb light for energy and is what makes leaves green! These painted leaves were used to make a beautiful sign that would identify our tapped Maple tree. But before we could tap a tree, we had to learn about the process!

Mr. Brian was kind enough to invite us into the Sugar Shack for a demonstration on how we take sap and turn it into syrup! But of course, the best way to truly appreciate this process is to get a taste of the sweet end product, which the toddlers all gladly did :)

Finding the Perfect Tree

The group explored the Sugar Bush, studying and hugging trees to decide whether or not it was the one we would tap. After finding the perfect tree, it was time to start the first step of tapping a tree: measuring! We measured with our arms and also with a caliper. However, our tree was SO big that the caliper couldn’t measure high enough!

After measuring our tree, it was time to tap! We used a hand drill to create a hole in the tree, inserted the spile, hammered it in place, then hung our bucket.

The final step in our tree-tapping experience was placing our sign, so everyone could see the team effort of tapping this HUGE tree and so our class can check on our sap levels anytime we visit the Sugar Bush!

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