After School: Week Two - Sensory Awareness & Shelter Building
Today's forecast was looking pretty rainy, but that doesn't slow us down! We suited up in rain gear, packed a tarp for makeshift shelter, and headed into the woods for an adventure.
Opening Circle
At opening circle we shared gratitudes - lots of appreciation for trees today - and stories of the critters we saw over the last week. Mason shared that he went exploring on an island this week, and saw a green snake. How exciting! It still looked like it may rain at this point, so we decided to take our tarp into the forest and try to find a good spot to build shelter.
Fox Feet Wander
Before heading down the trail, we practiced using "fox feet" to walk as quietly as possible, and talked about how doing this can give you a better chance of seeing animals when you're walking outside. Then we set off into the woods to practice this sneaky way of walking. Along the way, some of our friends started to notice sounds that we may not have been able to hear if we hadn't been moving so quietly. We paused for a few minutes to use our "deer ears" and see how many different sounds we could hear. We could hear cars all the way at the road, water dripping, and a mysterious "ssss" sound. Hmmm...
"Otter Steals Fish" Game
After arriving at the open sandy patch, we observed the sky and decided we should be in the clear to play a game before putting up our shelter. We played "Otter Steals Fish" - a great game for practicing our fox feet and deer ears.
Tarp Shelter
While some of our friends continued to the play the game, others decided they'd like to have a go at creating a refuge with the tarp, even though it was looking more and more like the skies would be staying dry. Through teamwork, and a little trial and error, they were able to put together a fine shelter. We all crowded underneath to test it out, and found quite a surprise - some animal scat hidden in a tuft a grass. After some observation and gentle stick poking, Reid noticed the scat contained quite a bit of fur, so we hypothesized that it came from a wild animal, and not a domestic dog (which are allowed in this park). Nice observations!
Closing Circle
We had closing circle back at the gazebo, and the parents who were there were able to join in. We shared highlights of the day, and said our goodbyes until next week.
