Tuesday, October 20, 2015

A Walk in the Woods

Today was our monthly morning outdoors.  We went to Fairy Lane, our first visit for this school year.  The sun came out which made for a beautiful morning.
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We started with a StoryWalk using the book Stella and the Fairy of the Forest by Marie-Louise Gay.  I cut two copies of the book to create the StoryWalk.  Luckily I found several copies at thrift stores.
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I set it up zig-zagging down a paved path that runs between the forest.  Fairy Lane runs parallel to the path on the right hand side.
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The group started to spread out as they read the book.  Some were faster then others.
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At the end of the StoryWalk we turned left into the forest.  I asked everyone to collect big sticks to make a fort for us to sit in for snack.  I also asked them to collect little sticks to make fairy forts later.
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               Collecting sticks, a favourite activity, is usually discouraged.
  The parents didn’t realize, at first, that we needed long sticks to make the fort.
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The base of the fort was a big branch of a tree that was hanging down to the ground.  We leaned some of the sticks around it then draped fabric over.
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The children helped clear away the underbrush so we could spread our sit-upons.
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As we were clearing away the leaves we found a piece of bark with teeny
                           mushrooms and two different slugs.
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While the children had their snack I read the story The Dark, Dark Night by M. Christina Butler.  I picked this book knowing that the sun would be out and we could play with shadows.
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After snack we headed back up to the start of the paved path to decorate little
                           wooden houses to add to Fairy Lane.
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I walked the trail after the children and found their little homes tucked in with
                                        the other fairy doors.
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                  I also found a twig fort built beside a fairy door.
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We had lots of time to check out all the homes that have been added since
                            June when Fairy Lane re-opened.
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                           I wasn’t the only one taking pictures.
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It was a gorgeous autumn morning spent in the woods, introducing Fairy Lane
                                to many new families.
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            One more peek at our forest fort before I take it apart.