Woodland Nursery School

10/07/2022

Woodland Nursery School shared a post on Instagram: "A gorgeous October day to press cider!". Follow their account to see 110 posts.

05/18/2022

“The more risks you allow your children to make, the better they learn to look after themselves” - R. Dahl

If we want children to trust themselves, their bodies, their choices, their decisions, then we need to give them the space, respect, and trust to practice these learned skills.

The woods offers an abundance of physical challenges - A fallen tree, a jagged rock, a big jump, an obstacle-filled trail. We can either teach children to avoid said risks or allow them to test their boundaries and trust their capabilities.

“Do you feel safe?” “Does that rock feel stable?” “Do you notice how that branch is moving when you climb?” “What is your plan for getting down carefully?” “Do you feel that slippery moss under your boots?”

Is there anything more magical than the determined look on a child’s face when they’re challenging themselves? Or the look of pride when they accomplish a newly set physical goal?

05/13/2022

Scientists take a closer look at water samples from the vernal pool. They make observations on the water consistency (“it’s slimy mucky”) and notice and identify some of the creatures within. Using magnifying glasses and books on verbal pools and amphibians, children thoughtfully record their findings in their journals.

“Water worms”
“Water centipedes”
“Worm fish”
“This one has 83 legs”
“That’s the allergy (algae)”

05/11/2022

“Art is born of the observation and investigation of nature” - Cicero

Through close observation of color, texture, shape, and size, young artists used oil pastels to transfer their ideas and visions to paper. Some children decided to trace the shadows, others asked to remove the flower and trace it directly onto the paper, and some stared closely at the flower and decided not to look at their paper and let “their hand do the work”.

“I see a line under a curve under a swirl. But the colors go together here. I’ll have to put pink on top of white.”
“[My sister] says it looks like a lady in a bathtub if you flip it. I don’t see that. I see a heart.”
“The whole heart is held up by a tiny speck. I don’t know how!”
“…because stems are the strongest. It can hold everything that grows on it.”

05/04/2022

Children are inspired by building with loose parts and found natural materials - both large and small.

Large pieces of wood, branches, and stumps are stacked together to create an obstacle course and a fort. With no tools, young engineers use branches to balance pieces together and give their fort the strength it needs to withstand their play.

Found pine needles, sticks, sand, and wintergreen leaves are materials for a “fairy playground”. Children worked collaboratively to construct a slide, “kitchen with snacks”, and a “soft fall couch for sleeping and if you fall down it catches you”.

Utilizing both fine and gross motor skills, cooperation, patience, resilience when things inevitably don’t work out, creativity, teamwork, and problem solving skills, children guide their learning and demonstrate their capabilities to make magic and challenge themselves.

04/09/2022

The wonders of nature are truly endless…and through wondering and giving space and time to explore, true and lasting connections with nature (and each other!) are made.

Our walks through the woods gift us endless joys and unmatched learning experiences. On our walks this week, children reminded us, yet again, that it’s not about the destination but the journey - and when they slowed down and noticed the small, inconspicuous details, they discovered frog eggs, an owl pellet, and got an up close sighting of a barred owl.

It is such a gift to be co-discoverers with these attuned naturalists 🌲 🐸 🦉 🌳

04/06/2022

Flower Restaurant

Serving “Chocolate chips. Tons of chocolate chips.”
“And a bunch of teas. Kiwi tea, chalk tea, regular tea. You get to choose.”
And “…anything you can imagine!”

Children worked collaboratively throughout the morning to create a restaurant for teachers, lovies from home, and woodland animals. They decided every restaurant needs a waitress, lots of chefs, cleaners, tasters, and lovers (for when someone gets hurt and needs love 🤗).

Together, they created recipes (“these are eggs. See? It says we need two”), prepared meals, and invited guests to this unique dining experience.

04/06/2022

Welcome to Woodland Nursery School, Chicks! 🐥 🐣

Children observed, cared for and marveled at their 6 new classroom friends.

We learned how to gently care for the chicks while discussing what their names should be and imagining all their upcoming changes and accomplishments.

“I could just hold them forever and ever.”
“Someday they’ll be able to fly away over our heads!”
“Mine likes the sun. It’s sleeping”

04/01/2022

04/01/2022

02/17/2022

02/17/2022

So much to discover as the snow melts and the ground thaws.