Good morning to you all and welcome back to the best nature program of all! We are thrilled to be back together once again, hiking, singing and playing with friends. Take off your boots and stay a while to peek into the lives of your Knee High Naturalists.
A morning so warm and bright, we happily greeted old friends who were a welcome sight. To our surprise, Ms. Miranda and Ms. Aspen had a bucket full of new rakes and shovels that made our eyes wide! Together again, we got to work excavating rocks and dirt. We were quick to clean up and start our day, there’s nothing better than outdoor play! New to us this session, tiny maracas were used to get our attention. With memories clear and spirits high, we remembered the Good Morning song and sang in reply.
We became penguins and waddled to the warm pavilion, remembering our routine, we set out backpacks down on the blanket and gathered around. We listened intently to our predator book and gave each other wide eyed looks because we were hooked. Soon we washed our hands and dug into snack, finishing up by re-packing our backpacks. We played a name game and a round of first impressions before backing up to get boots on the ground. We revisited our hiking rules and headed off to see something cool.
We finally got to see our old friend, the Boardman River, and excitedly gathered around to see what it might deliver. Good vibes in the air, we continued our hike filled with muddy puddles that we really liked. We learned about trout and what they might eat, it’s incredible they can survive off bugs that probably don’t taste very sweet! At last, we arrived to one of our favorite spots, a little place called Jack’s Creek that we love a lot.
We immediately got to work racing leaf boats and sticks, seeing where they might travel or where they would stick. Rocks went PLOP and SPLASH as they were tossed into the little creek and gone in a flash. Some friends began construction on a fort with sticks of all sorts, some friends explored the creek side with eyes wide as they excavated old roots and rocks with a mighty try. It wasn’t long before our time came to an end, we packed up our cones and returned to the pavilion again.
We ended our day with snow paint play, delighting in the sun and (maybe) the last of our snow filled fun. Red, yellow, orange and blue, purples and green colored the snow, too! Shovels came out and rakes were used to dig up rainbow snow before it began to diffuse. We packed our bags and drifted over to our perfect pines for pick-up time. Our families were excited to see us and hear all about our day full of wonderous play!
Thank you all for an incredible first week of Winter/Spring 2024 Knee High Naturalists! We were ecstatic to catch up with you and your naturalists, we can’t wait to watch the growth, adventure and friendships continue over the next ten weeks. We can’t wait to see you all again next week to learn about the terrific lives and roles of trees!
