Boat Building

Last week for Earth Day we did our annual boat building

at Brooklyn Creek.

We are so grateful to Grandpa Ben who made all these boats for us.

He even drilled a small hole and included doweling for a mast.

Awesome!

Other materials we used was sandpaper, tape, hammer, nails, screws, screwdrivers,

 markers, fabric for a sail and yarn.

The families got busy gathering their materials to build.

Some started with sanding their boat,

others decorated their sail,

and others started with hammering.

Once they had it decorated and the sail attached they had to do one more thing before launching.

They needed to tie a string to their boat and the other end to a stick.

Time to launch.

And launch again and again.

A few boats had issues staying upright so some modifications had to be made.

"Oh, oh my boat is sailing away!"

Grandma to the rescue.

After playing in the creek for over an hour we walked to the beach

for snack and story.

I read "One-Dog Canoe" by Mary Casanova.

It's a cumulative tale that includes lots of animals.

We then attempted to sail our boats at the beach but it was quite windy

and the waves kept pushing our boats back in.

This picture sums up our Earth Day.

We love the earth and love spending time outside.

A Colour Hunt - Never Gets Old

Hunting for Teeny Tiny

Last week we went for our first walk in the forest behind our school.  We weren't going to be outside too long so I decided to have them go on a hunt for small items that can be used in our fairy play area.

As a measurement tool we used empty raisin boxes.

This helped the children to really look around and think "what can fit in this box?"

Once they filled their boxes we headed back to the school.

Inside we emptied the boxes at our Fairy table and started to play.

As the children collected their bits outside I overheard a couple of things they imagined they could be; like a stove or a blanket.

I'll be watching and listening for more of their ideas.

Another Monday at the Pond

This was our final Monday heading to the same pond.

This week we focused on beavers.

We started by walking around the edge of the pond looking for signs

that a beaver had been here.

We found several old trees that had been chewed.

 

We also searched in among the grass at the edge of the pond

in hopes of finding frog eggs.

We did find eggs but they were salamander eggs

so we put them back.

As we walked around the park I asked the children to collect thin sticks

so we could build our own beaver lodge.

We talked about how beavers cut down the trees.

That their teeth are much stronger than ours.

Since we couldn't use our teeth to cut the branches we collected,

and I didn't think the parents would be happy if I gave

their children knives, I brought vegetable peelers to do the job.

It took some practice and most had success with peeling the bark off.

With our sticks we built a lodge starting with sticking the sticks

up like a teepee.

We added mud from the pond to help hold it together.

I was impressed how the children really got into handling the mud.

Our finished lodge.

When asked how the beavers get into their lodge, a few children answered;

by underground.

Next the children completed the last page in their pond study booklets.

Draw a beaver and it's home.

Pretty awesome picures.

Finally we had visitors from Mountainaire Avian Rescue Society

talk with us about beavers.

They introduced a lot of new vocabulary for us, like;

semi-aquatic, mammal, herbivore, and more.

A friend lent me a beaver skull and we were able to check out it's teeth.

Next week we will visit a different pond.

In the meantime another friend shared this great video about 

beavers.