November 6
After last week’s insanely high river levels, we were curious to see what the river was doing today. We weren’t disappointed! Behind the dam, the water had dropped about 5 to 7 feet, revealing a muddy playground that was perfect for exploring and getting stuck in. It turned into a hilarious adventure.
The kids were also excited to revisit our “jungle tree,” spending much of the day perfecting their rooms in it and relaxing on the branches while being read to. We wrapped up the day with a fun game and a story about a lake, a fishing village, Indigenous people, and a bear. It is a true story, ask your wildlings if they remember it and can tell it to you.
November 13
This last day was a rush! With stone soup and donuts on the menu, then lip balm and bath balms on the craft side, we were working hard. These wildlings chose clove as their scent for lip chap and lavender for the bath balms, and they were pretty proud of it. They played hard too, building a fort, hosting tea parties, and diving deep into the Dino world.
Thank you so much for trusting us with your most precious cargo. We loved getting to spend fall with your wildlings. I can easily say you have some of the funniest kids I have met and they had us laughing every single day. We hope to see you all again soon in the wild.
I am so sorry I forgot to send their nature books home with them. They were hiding from the snow in my cart and I forgot 😬. I will hold on to them, so if I see your wildlings in spring I will bring them.
Previous Weeks
We kicked off the season by starting our very own nature journals, a place to capture discoveries, reflections, and memories throughout the weeks ahead. We balanced quiet moments of observation with lively games that sparked teamwork, laughter, and stronger bonds within the group. To close the day, we wandered down to the creek, where the water is slowly chilling with the shift of the seasons. It reminded us that learning and growth come in many forms, sometimes still and thoughtful, sometimes playful and full of energy, and sometimes simply by noticing the world changing around us.
P.S. Ask your wildlings about the ladybug kingdom we discovered!
Hibernation dens, anyone?! These kiddos rose to the challenge of constructing a den they felt could last through the winter. They didn’t stop at just the shelter either, adding bedrooms, bathrooms, and even kitchens to cover all the basics! They were fully immersed in the build, and so disappointed when it was finally time to pack up!
We quickly dove into a world of hammers and hand drills, painting, creek play, mud cupcakes and soups, tarp shelters, and even the start of a new stick fort! It all came together as a sensory-filled, hands-on day of learning and play.
These wildlings put in all the work today! From starting the fire after our collecting walk to harvesting apples off the faraway tree and cutting them up for apple cider. Then they even worked hard at playing a little Daredevil! Some of them hooked themselves up to each other and whipped down a hill, while others tried to build a slackline with rope and shovels to hold onto. We finished off the day with their requested challenge award from a previous day: hotdogs and s’mores!
How did most every cool invention start? Because someone wondered something! So we set off for the day on our own wonder walk that lasted the whole day. We made airplanes out of maple seeds, picked goldenrod galls for necklaces, and most of these kids had ten things in their hands within the first five minutes that made them wonder something! We found a quaint picnicking spot to settle in and draw in our nature books. We picked river snail shells (“seashells!”), made fall bouquets, found the skull and bones of what I think was a weasel, and then discovered a decaying deer in a hole (both sad and captivating for these wildlings). All in all, it was a great day of exploration and a reminder of the importance of always keeping our wonder brains on, so we stay awake to things most people stop seeing.
Today, we stepped back in time with ancient stories of ancestors all over the world, and how they left messages for us to remember them. We then smashed and mixed our own primitive paints from earth, stone, and egg yolk, then created rock art inspired by “pre-paper” cave painters, even tackling making our own brushes!
It was a day of imagination, muddy hands, and remembering that creativity can shine even in the quietest corners of the forest!
We started our day with some excitement, a snake sighting and an accidental step on it because it caught us by surprise! 🫠 We played “Guess the Object” (where the kids get three clues), which turned out to be a piece of petrified wood! One of our wildlings also brought a buffalo tooth fossil he found on his family’s property.
Our plans took an unexpected turn when we discovered that the water levels were extremely high. We set out to make casts of animal tracks but had to pivot when the muddy areas were completely taken over by floodwater. Totally fine, though… learning about scat and bones once again stole the show and had everyone captivated!
Crossing the big bridge became its own little adventure, and soon after we found the most amazing tree jungle gym, strong and large enough to hold all the kids at once, with plenty of little nooks for everyone to claim their own spot. They loved it and played there for nearly an hour.
We wrapped up the day with a trek back, a story, and some games to finish things off.
Today’s Fire Day came with pumpkin, apple crisps, and hot chocolate on the menu, and to our surprise, most of the kids actually liked the pumpkin! They were visited by the Queen of Spiders (ask your wildlings if they can tell you a fact about the marbled orb weaver spider), who gave them royal tasks to complete.
We painted pumpkins, played games, shared stories around the campfire, and ended the day full, happy, and with new memories.
