June 29
Previous Weeks
We had our favourite herbalist Becky Murry join us today to do some foraging! We tried grass, liquorice, silver berries, spruce tips, mint, clover, golden rod, among many others… we used yarrow as a bandaid and mint as a mosquito repellent.
We then gathered around our “kitchen”, added our foraged goods to make an infused lemonade and cooked up cattail!
We said goodbye to Becky and headed to the wildlings favourite spot, the creek in search of crawfish, balancing our bodies through the current and climbing the “cliff”.
We ended the day learning about chlorophyll and building an adventurous story together as a group!
Fantastically busy day of learning water survival, tools, whittling, bows and arrows, games, playing in the creek, and hammocks!
We started fires as rain trickled down on us, mixed and made pancakes, played group games, caught falling rain on our tongues, read a book and explored the trails. It was ones of the wildlings birthday today, so the others made mud cakes and sang!
We finished the day imagining what our site would have looked like over the many years the world has been. The changes in animals and land at the place we now play. They all went a little quiet so you know their minds and creative thought were in full swing!
Today was a full on extension of last forest school, these wildlings jumped right back into their elaborate made up game filled with bases, forts, missions and countless sward fighting. We explored a new area to learn about survival shelters as a group.Our older wildlings learned knots and tarpology (setting up tarps in different configurations for different weather). It quickly turned into elaborate fort building!
Our littler wildlings started out building dens for our forest friends (woodland stuffies), it turned into a fleet of superhero’s rescuing forest friends! These wildlings took our teaching and transformed it into a learning environment they were excited about. Which is perfect, because it’s not always what they learn that is most important, it’s their relationship with learning that is most important for doing well in life.
We ended the day sharing stories in our creek side shelter as we watched the ducks seek calm in the banks and experiencing different currents the creek offered us.
Prompting questions!
– What do you do during a bear encounter? (Even get them to show you, as you act out being the bear 🙂 )
– What was your favourite animal to learn about?
– Whats the leading cause of death in a survival situation? What do you need to do first when in a survival situation? Food, water or shelter?
Diving straight into play we never even got a chance to leave the campsite area, these wildlings were having just too much fun! We discussed picking edible plants away from roads/pathways and where dogs bathroom. We picked dandelions on the hill and mixed up a tempura to dip and cook them.
They made up game with wars, bases, and inventive weapons. The plot and character developments kept on growing! Some listened to a book about dinosaurs and we played with dinosaurs creating habitats for them and even bathing them. One wildling hid them around the site for others to find!
We discussed knife safety and skills. We usually only do whittling with our 6+ wildlings, however even the younger ones were so excited to try. They made sure to listen really well to the safety tips and instructions, and with minor help and reminders, they all did great!
We ended the day whittling and telling stories.
Prompting questions!
– What is a blood bubble?
– Indigenous people watch bears closely, what did the bears tell them about the lake one year?
(This was a memory that was shared to me recently by a indigenous knowledge keeper)
Nothing quite like a day at the creek, so many memories to make. These wildlings wasted no time with the heat coming down and the water calling their name. We got to witness crawfish, frogs, and little fishes in their natural setting. We learned things like how crawfish go backwards, forwards and swim really fast when in full water; frogs are masters of stealth and camouflage.
They made up games together along the river bank and learned that it doesn’t work to fight nature, that we should work with it when navigating terrain.
We explored the world of rocks and minerals while panning for gold. I grew up panning for gold as a child at the 2 rivers that ran through our property, so it was great being able to share that! Most wildlings ended up collecting cool rocks instead of gold, as we found out that our creek is not having a gold rush anytime soon!
We ended the day fully embracing the light rain that accompanied our sit spots.
Prompting questions!
– Why does gold stay behind in the pan while panning?
– Where on a river do you look for gold?
– Does rain have a smell?
We learned how to forage for dry wood and materials that ignite easily, making a birds nest for fire starting!
These wildlings worked so hard at starting a fire of their own and then worked even harder making the fire for the group using only flint and steel. Having fire foods as an incentive works wonders!
After getting our fire roaring, banana boats and apples baking, they went into their make believe worlds full of imagination and full body play!
Prompting questions!
– What are 4 ways you can start a fire without matches?
– What did you draw/write in your nature journal?
– What game was played on the hill, and what was your character?
What an awesome group of kids! The mix of ages is beautiful when you see it in action. They all got along so well and were encouraging and patient with each-other. Some of the most important learning in life happens when you mix ages!
Today the mud called our name and we answered!! We explored, painted nature, had many fun conversations, went body sledding, told stories, and drank hot chocolate..then all went home muddy from head to toe! That’s what we call memory making perfection!
The first day we focus on growing our situational awareness and helping the wildlings learn they are amazingly capable at knowing what is best for them when they stop and think for a moment. We talk about what a risk could be in nature and go on a ‘risky walk’. We spot different risks and call out “RISK”. We do this to start becoming better aware of what’s around us and realizing if we are in a safe place/doing safe things or not. We couple this with thought provoking language to help children become thinkers, problem solvers and more confident in their decision making skills.
Prompting questions!
– How does your “spidey sense” help you?
– What colour and thing did you pick as part of the group story?
