Secret Forest Playschool

Perspective is a powerful thing. When I saw a cracked, blue Robin’s egg and realized there was no nest nearby, I immediately considered death. When the children saw the same egg, they innocently assumed life! They were certain a chick had hatched and life was given.

We will never know if this egg gave life but it’s a gentle reminder that in the heaviness of the world it feels good to take a child’s perspective and to be optimistically hopeful.

“I want to cross this bridge, but I don’t know if it’s strong. I don’t want it to fall when I’m on it. *nervous, uncertain, cautious

“Will someone check to see if it’s safe? Stop! Wait! Make sure you crawl on your knees so if it breaks you won’t fall from too high. Make sure you go slow… *aware and evaluating risk

“You made it! You did it! Now I am ready to try.” *risk assessment complete – it is safe for you and for me!

Play is work. This is what a protected childhood looks like.

Some days my roles as a mother and a childcare provider overlap in the most meaningful ways.

We recently surprised Hazel Jo at her academic honors ceremony. We also had the opportunity to support another Secret Forest Playschool alumni, whose speech included a quote from one of our school’s guiding books: “Even the grandest of trees once had to grow up from the smallest of seeds” — Miss Maple (Eliza Wheeler).

It means so much to me for our young Seeds and Sprouts to have such strong role models to look up to. Having the opportunity to show up in both of my roles at once is a true gift. This is a good life.

Watching children at play can naturally mitigate feelings of loneliness or isolation for senior citizens.

Grandpa Nook said “I don’t remember the last time I drew with sidewalk chalk”. He laughed as he looked at his art, “it was suppose to be Donald Duck”. I assured him, it’s not about the product, it’s about the process.

As the children blew bubbles, climbed a tree, decorated the sidewalk with pictures and designs using chalk and chased their friends in the yard Grandpa Nook looked on with the warm spring sun on his back and a big smile on his face. I think it’s safe to say, today was a good day in the neighborhood!

“Ms. Meghan I made you a smoothie, from the heart-berries I pretend picked. I didn’t take the first or the last, and I remembered to pour it in a glass jar with metal straw. Do you like it?!”

This is a moment filled with meaning:
• a child using their imagination
• demonstrating their understanding of Honorable Harvest
• practicing low impact/ “trash free is the way to be!”

They are listening. They are learning. This is loving our Earth on so many levels.

Community In-Reach: 56 Physical Therapy students from the College of St. Scholastica - Doctorate of Physical Therapy joined us in The Forest for their Lifespan Motor Development class.

The children engaged in imaginative play while the PT students observed the motor choices and movements that they made in a natural environment. Whether the children were saving the world from natural disasters (running and climbing), pretending to be owls flying in the night (jumping and balancing) or gathering kindling for a campfire (lifting and carrying) I hope that this observation opportunity impacts the work of these future providers in a meaningful way.

And maybe, just maybe, we will begin to see more therapeutic appointments take place beyond the four walls of a structure and out in the fresh air!

The rock in the center of our Cedar Grove Camp and a log moved across the way recently became the foundation for a game during Forest play. What started as simply jumping off the rock evolved into a more complex combination of jumping off the rock and then over the log. As the children’s confidence grew, so did the distance between the two.

When children are in an environment that is versatile, rather than stagnant, you will witness them assessing their own skills and adapting their involvement in play, making it much more approachable and inclusive. I love seeing children playing in ways that are both individually engaging and appropriately challenging. I would take rocks and sticks every single day over a one-dimensional play structure.

Silent• Scentless• Spotted

You are safe here in The Secret Forest.

This is a box. A box from my childhood. At one point it held my treasures at another point it held my diaries. I am not sure how/why it has continued to travel this life with me, particularly because I don’t save much and because I don’t like clutter… but it has, and here it is!

I recently added this box into one of our nature play area. It is often filled with special things the children have found. It’s often hidden behind a tree or tucked under a long. It’s often held open just enough to peek inside it and then closed quickly as to not let the magic escape.

And just today I noticed something about this box… inside there is still a treasure from my childhood… inside there is a memory. My grandfather made this box for me. Inside is a “note”. Not a note that was addressed to me, but a reminder to me that my grandpa liked to dream, design and create. I am sure this “note” was just one of many improvements that he was considering making on the family Cabin- the vary place that introduced me to the North Shore and led me and Cody to put our roots down near Lake Superior.

Thanks Grandpa for introducing me to a place I feel so at home at. A place I dreamed of, that Cody and I designed a place where we are creating a good life. Maybe your sketch will inspire our next bathroom remodel. But of nothing else this box will continue to be filled with love collected by small hands and big hearts 💕