tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54435278291589909132024-02-19T08:48:02.773-08:00The Outdoor Preschool - Nurture through NatureAnn Glaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07111723347438363452noreply@blogger.comBlogger150125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5443527829158990913.post-86136894423666988222014-05-15T23:25:00.003-07:002014-05-15T23:25:26.892-07:00Hands, tall grass and tadpoles<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The joy of watching the kids become good friends and chatting while hiking and exploring. We are such lucky teachers! We've had an amazing spring with real heat making all of the plants at Farrel McWhirter grow to amazing heights! The grass is already over the kids's heads and they had such fun today walking through it.<br />
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But we were headed to one of our furthest destinations today; the forest at Juel Park. If you haven't seen the wonderful wetlands there, it is worth a saturday visit. We told the kids to stay out of the water in order to look for tadpoles and to not disturb the animals living in the slow moving and shallow stream. Pretty soon Conrad spotted a frog hiding under a log. Most of us peered under the log and saw it's hiding place.</div>
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We also watched a few tadpoles darting through the water, also hiding from our shadows. We sang "One Little Speckled Frog" while we waited for them to show themselves. We ate a quick lunch on the side of the forest and then high-tailed it back to meet the parents by 1230pm. <br />
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What I noticed today:<br />
Kids were very attached to their friends.<br />
Some kids were very intent on pulling the wagon and very proud of their work. (Clara, Sruthi)<br />
Some kids got hot but no one complained that it was too far to walk.<br />
Everyone was very busy and intent on what they wanted to see, look at and explore.<br />
Everyone was careful to stay out of the stream and jumped across the water when they wanted to cross it.<br />
Some people remembered going to Juel Park in the beginning of the year-others were amazed and said they had never seen it before. (everyone had but September is a long time ago when you are little!)<br />
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Parents: It is almost the end of the year! What an incredible year it has been! Roo and I have watched these kids become avid, eager explorers. A wonder to behold! <br />
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<br />Ann Glaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07111723347438363452noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5443527829158990913.post-60888383563550352142014-04-29T16:50:00.001-07:002014-04-29T16:50:54.346-07:00Water Play Teaches Concepts of Volume!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Today was a warm and sunny day. A perfect day for water play! The kids learned how to use the water faucet and how to turn it on and off. They carefully filled up buckets and spray bottles and then were ingenious on how to use them. Some kids "painted" the park bench with water and watched how the wood changed colors. Others created a puddle in a hole in the grass and made potions and "poisons". Many kids harmlessly sprayed each other and the teachers with spray on our waterproof boots and pants. There were huge giggles and laughing along with very concentrated carrying of full buckets to their special destination. The play went on for a whole hour before we interrupted them for snack and stories. Everyone was engaged in the water play. Everyone was a bit wet-but no more wet then a regular rainy day in the Northwest! Pretty soon we were taking off layers and enjoying our stories about frogs and rabbits on the grass.<br />
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We expect Thursday to be hotter then today. Please send your child in a t-shirt underneath whatever layers you choose so we can get down to the lowest layer easily. Please DO send them in boots-but you do not need waterproof jackets or pants. It just may be too hot! ( I don't say that too often!)</div>
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Have I mentioned lately all that your children are learning at TOP? Today we had a special lesson on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Brennnessel_1.JPG" target="_blank">nettles</a> since they are prolific this time of year. We learned how to identify them : Heart shaped with sharks teeth on the outside . We learned that you can use the underside of a sword fern that has spores to help get the sting out if you get nettles on your skin. Or you can use the slime from a banana slug to anesthetize your skin. <br />
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We also learned about volume. Filling containers up with water, watching it pour out, water the water go down in the spray bottle. These actions all teach about volume.<br />
<br />Ann Glaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07111723347438363452noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5443527829158990913.post-86167668623480976272014-04-23T07:35:00.002-07:002014-04-23T07:35:56.960-07:00Earth Day at TOP<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The sun and the water and sticks.</td></tr>
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We celebrated Earth Day at TOP by creating some "earth art" with coffee filters, markers and spray bottles. Everyone was enthusiastic about the project. Flora said "Earth!! My mommy and daddy and grandma and grampa live there!" We learned 2 songs about the world and will continue to sing them as our new circle time songs. <br />
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<b>Reduce Reuse Recycle Song ( sung to the tune of Have you ever seen a lassie)</b></div>
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Reduce Reuse Recycle, recycle recycle</div>
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Reduce Reuse Recycle It's easy to do.</div>
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Cause your wold is my world, and my world is your world.</div>
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Reduce Reuse Recycle It's easy to do.</div>
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<b>We've got the whole world, in our hands</b></div>
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We've got the whole world, in our hands</div>
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We've got the whole wild world, in our hands</div>
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We've got the whole world, in our hands</div>
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We've got the whole world, in our hands</div>
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We've got the little bitty babies, in our hands</div>
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We've got the little bitty babies, in our hands</div>
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We've got the little bitty babies, in our hands</div>
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We've got the whole world, in our hands</div>
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We've got the Outdoor Preschool, in our hands</div>
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We've got the Outdoor Preschool, in our hands</div>
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We've got the Outdoor Preschool, in our hands</div>
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We've got the whole world, in our hands</div>
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(then we make up our own verses!)</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVgFFa1JJRvagDJLomwYLhtEYp4_SA7wMNeMurTa-2CFOnfjpB_8wgt_9YW3paiRvz4BBhKkljX4Kh3XE9zsbNH9SzRc1wxLWMTe7dP30iui4U4ESrNqBaL5Bfw7HIb9K52cky2RX2R3vc/s1600/4+22+14+high+log.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVgFFa1JJRvagDJLomwYLhtEYp4_SA7wMNeMurTa-2CFOnfjpB_8wgt_9YW3paiRvz4BBhKkljX4Kh3XE9zsbNH9SzRc1wxLWMTe7dP30iui4U4ESrNqBaL5Bfw7HIb9K52cky2RX2R3vc/s1600/4+22+14+high+log.jpg" height="320" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A new place to climb.</td></tr>
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Hiking on Tuesday was exciting. Everyone was glad to be back from spring break. There were lots of changes in the forest. The water was high and rushing along. We looked for the owls but didn't see them. We saw lichen and moss and new fern fronds. The kids found secret places to climb on top of and scampered up familiar climbing areas. The sun was shining on the stream in places making it a cool place to watch how the current changes with sticks. The sun came out and pretty soon jackets and hats were off and everyone was happy to have lunch in the sunlight. <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikEHB5mAG8CPS_dOH8Xt-gmi-P5vfhJqYqCcU1_IzGt-HUd_2cDqg1LwutGEtFHpTmw0zow6N519yFVk6f1aqOluKnKG41Ftfbowxp9-iBYNlt6Mg1smC_ERg_gzjI87Kl0qoif4ErHuDi/s1600/4+22+14+logan+in+stream.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikEHB5mAG8CPS_dOH8Xt-gmi-P5vfhJqYqCcU1_IzGt-HUd_2cDqg1LwutGEtFHpTmw0zow6N519yFVk6f1aqOluKnKG41Ftfbowxp9-iBYNlt6Mg1smC_ERg_gzjI87Kl0qoif4ErHuDi/s1600/4+22+14+logan+in+stream.jpg" height="320" width="239" /></a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQQaRdnHDGMrHGznk02keyo_cqPT-i43n8IxzYU-50VpfBOuKZH-ESq8LsJlzriTnPYJ6Ojy_O896gANco0elgr2kcxaRJCE2hxJ-4W_8_vCleLVdV5ywCaxcyPMGzLiixldpWRcVm-yEs/s1600/4+22+14+lunch+on+lawn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQQaRdnHDGMrHGznk02keyo_cqPT-i43n8IxzYU-50VpfBOuKZH-ESq8LsJlzriTnPYJ6Ojy_O896gANco0elgr2kcxaRJCE2hxJ-4W_8_vCleLVdV5ywCaxcyPMGzLiixldpWRcVm-yEs/s1600/4+22+14+lunch+on+lawn.jpg" height="239" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When the sun came out, we got to have a picnic!<br /></td></tr>
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<br />Ann Glaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07111723347438363452noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5443527829158990913.post-54559490604254890992014-03-29T14:50:00.003-07:002014-03-29T14:50:44.646-07:00Inspiration from Norway!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">What path is this?</td></tr>
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Teachers Roo and Ann had an amazing week with a continuing education seminar at UW. There were 2 professors visiting from the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Maud_University_College" target="_blank">University of Queen Maud in Trondheim Norway</a>. We had about 30 professors, preschool teachers and students come and visit TOP last week. We got some great feedback about our program. People were impressed with our kids and all that they get to experience with TOP. They loved our circle time and how the kids use the forest as their playground. It was reassuring to get this good feedback and now we are invited to come to Norway to see their program there!<br />
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So you can see what they do in Norway, here is a<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIi1WkFhGvc" target="_blank"> fun video</a> of preschoolers in an outdoor preschool in Norway.<br />
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So, you ask: What did we learn at this seminar?<br />
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1. Risk taking is good for children. It is important that children get the chance to try and sometimes fail at climbing, hiking, running, exploring. This way they learn how far to push themselves and what their limits are without someone telling them. They learn intrinsically in a way that is a much deeper learning.<br />
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2. In Norway babies are put outside to sleep, even in the extreme cold weather. They believe that the fresh air is important for their health. They put them in very warm sleeping bags and put them outside under a covering.(!!)<br />
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3. In Norway the preschools have cross country skis to use and sleds play with. (Too bad we don't have more snow!)<br />
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Roo and I ended up inspired to let our kids do lots of exploring and climbing. Of course we already do this! But some of the things we are trying that are new:<br />
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<li>The kids are making their own rules during circle time. We vote on the new rule to see if we all agree whether it is a good rule or not. They can also be revisited in the future if we need to. (Just so you know-the kids restated all of the rules we already have and voted they were all good ones. The only one we changed was letting the kids hike with sticks. We will revisit this rule if it doesn't work out.)</li>
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<li>We are letting the kids have more autonomy in their choices and decisions of where they want to explore for the day or what they would like to do.</li>
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<li>We are letting the children work out their differences more. We will be intervening less to see if they can figure out what is going on with their friends. More speaking to each other about what they are unhappy about or how that person made them feel and less coming to us and telling us what happened. We will help to facilitate the discussions as needed but be stepping in less.</li>
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And to you parents: Thank you for letting us have your children each week and letting them have these amazing outdoor experiences with TOP</div>
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Ann Glaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07111723347438363452noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5443527829158990913.post-65310016531284116672014-03-14T19:29:00.000-07:002014-03-14T19:29:08.679-07:00The Littlest Explorers!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Scrambling off trail.</td></tr>
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The kids this week were so adventurous and ready to explore everywhere in the park. Here we are after scrambling under and over branches and bushes to find this new spot for snack. As I stumbled through the bush trying to keep up the kids kept saying "can we have snack here Teacher Ann?" and Flora said to "This is so fun!" They carefully balanced on this log to eat their snack and hear a story about <u>Curious George </u>and <u>There was an old lady who swallowed a fly.</u><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Exploring the new swampy area.</td></tr>
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There is a new swampy area at FM Park that we had lots of fun exploring this week. There was good deep mud to squish in and get stuck in. It is an area we haven't explored this year (isn't it great that we still have new areas to find!) plus since there has been so much rain the grass has turned to new streams and squashy-ness.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Getting through the mud by climbing on the log.</td></tr>
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And I can't end this blog without mentioning the physics lesson we worked on while swinging. Conrad asked why the tire swing didn't stay as high as when I first pushed the swing. We had a lively discussion about what that might be. We did an experiment-Conrad thought if I pushed the swing more than the usual 10 times-we might get the swing to stay high. So I pushed 15 times and the swing again gradually slowed down. Conrad thought and thought and then decided the tire "gets too heavy." We didn't get into gravity-but that was pretty close!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">A lesson in gravity.</td></tr>
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<u>Parents:</u><br />
If you plan on coming back to TOP in the fall of 2014-Sign up for fall is March 18th. There is no preferential registration for current TOP families. The registration turns on at midnight (March 17th). It may behoove you to sign up then-or at least first thing in the morning of March 18th. We have a number of new families who are ready to join us in the fall!<br />
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PSS-<br />
There have been requests for the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQ8KRznrXiA" target="_blank">Water Cycle Song</a>.<br />
Here are the words and the link:<br />
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Clouds fill up and the rain falls down<br />
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Water fallin down to the ground</div>
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Big drops small drops all around</div>
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This we call precipitation</div>
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When the water hits the ground and runs off to the sea</div>
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Fill the water way past your knees</div>
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Sunshine comes and heats it up</div>
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And this we call evaporation</div>
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It is a perfect cycle</div>
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And it happens every single day and</div>
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its called the water cycle</div>
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When the mist rises up from the sea</div>
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It goes against the force of gravity</div>
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Lots of drops and Great big clouds</div>
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And this we call condensation</div>
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When the Clouds get heavy with all those drops</div>
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The cloud will fill till it pops</div>
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Clouds burst open and the rain falls down</div>
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This we call precipitation</div>
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It is a perfect cycle</div>
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And it happens every single day and</div>
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its called the water cycle</div>
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Ann Glaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07111723347438363452noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5443527829158990913.post-81314555488366107122014-02-26T17:32:00.001-08:002014-02-26T17:32:21.424-08:00Timberrrrr! <br />
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The Outdoor Preschool found out today what happens when there are big winds at Farrel McWhirter Park! The TOP kids snuck up on a big tree that had been blown over this weekend. Wow! Luckily there weren't any winds today-just lots of rain!<br />
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TOP had its own Olympics today! We learned about the 5 Olympic rings-some people colored their own rings and we also had our own mini Olympics. The kids had to balance on a log, jump off a rock, run around a tree and find a spider web to name a few. We had fun with our Olympic games as we hiked through the park.</div>
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Oh yeah! We also found an animal skull and jawbones with teeth intact. Teacher Ann will be trying to figure out what animal they might be from! If you have any suggestions or knowledge it will be appreciated! The teeth are really sharp and the jaw is quite big. Opossum has been suggested. Hmmm....</div>
Ann Glaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07111723347438363452noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5443527829158990913.post-28040448596433446892014-02-26T17:32:00.000-08:002014-02-26T17:32:03.230-08:00Owls Hooting in the Woods!We heard the hoo hoo-ing of owls today. As we walked through the forest we tried to find them. We looked up high into the trees and hooted back at them hoping they would respond.<br />
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This website has what I think is close to the sound we heard. Possibly a <a href="http://wdfw.wa.gov/living/owls.html" target="_blank">Great Horned Owl</a>. And here is what their <a href="http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/spring/OwlDictionary.html" target="_blank">hooting</a> sounds like.<br />
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As we walked along the trail, stopping to play in new and old favorite places, we began to hear the sound of voices, children voices. And there was the blue group-hidden among the downed trees and bushes. We had to climb over and under trees to get to them. The kids were excited to find each other and I could hear the talking about the owls hooting in the trees above.</div>
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There was some stump climbing,</div>
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and mud stomping along the way also! <br />
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Oh-and we got to have lunch in the sun! Hooray for the sunshine!<br />
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<br />Ann Glaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07111723347438363452noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5443527829158990913.post-57172954467801260552014-02-13T18:26:00.002-08:002014-02-13T18:26:10.581-08:00Valentine's Day fun!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's the day before Valentines Day and The Outdoor Preschool is ready! We began by stamping and gluing and cutting to make special valentines for whomever-some for their mommies and some for "me!" Then we sang a Valentine themed song: The Beatles "All You Need Is Love." So if your little one is singing "Love, Love Love" -that is what they are singing about. Next we voted on where to hike to. It was almost unanimous to go explore the stream/trail over by Mackey Creek.<br />
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We headed over there with 10 very excited preschoolers. When we got to our special stream trail we found that we could get through further then we usually could. We all decided to plunge through the mud and brambles and see where it would go. Teacher Roo said that we were like Lewis and Clark on a big adventure. At the end of the trail we found hummocks of dead grass to play in. (see the video above) It was like walking or jumping on a trampoline and so soft to fall into!<br />
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After lunch we gave out valentines and then were treated to <a href="http://www.menchies.com/frozen-yogurt-shops/frozen-yogurt-redmond-way-wa" target="_blank">Menchie's Frozen Yogurt</a> for free! Menchie's is promoting their new location in Redmond near Whole Foods and gave us all free frozen yogurt to try! Thanks Menchie's! We all enjoyed the treat!<br />
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Attn TOP Parents:<br />
Next week on February 18th begins the early registration for spring TOP. Current families have 2 weeks before new people can sign up for spring. If you want to register your child for next fall, 2014, registration will begin on March 18th. You can register at midnight if you want to be sure to get a spot....<br />
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PSS: I just want to remind TOP parents that we have a 15% discount at <a href="http://www.oakiwear.com/" target="_blank">Oakiwear</a>. You type in TOP to the discount section. They make great waterproof pants and boots and other outdoor wear for kids.<br />
Ann Glaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07111723347438363452noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5443527829158990913.post-45172675445768514382014-02-12T21:55:00.002-08:002014-02-12T21:55:43.833-08:00Bothy Bags to keep us warm.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://www.austinkayak.com/products/7393/Terra-Nova-Bothy-2-Emergency-Shelter.html?gclid=CPHp2vixyLwCFciCfgodsncA5A" target="_blank">Bothy</a> bags are survival tents and last week we used one! Teacher Roo brought her Bothy Bag to TOP thinking that we might want to warm up since the weather was in the low 20's. After making our valentine bags inside our own little Farrel House, we marched outside to run around and have fun with the balls and wagon. Soon it was time for circle time and Teacher Roo taught us all how to set up the Bothy and get inside it. It seemed like a magic trick to get all of us into that small space. We crowned in and put the sides of the Bothy under our bottoms. Not everyone was keen on the idea of squeezing in there-but we all managed. Pretty soon we were singing the Good Morning song and taking off our gloves and hats. The Bothy held in our natural warmth making it possible to tell stories and sing many songs in spite of the fact that the ground below us was frozen.<br />
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After coming out of the Bothy and getting everyone's gloves and hats situated again, we headed out together to find the frozen parts of the park. There was ice to break and smash and slide over. There was our favorite hill to slide down, logs to balance on and cool bubbled frozen bits next to the streams.<br />
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Everyone kept moving and no one complained about the cold! We did eat lunch indoors-the first time in 2 years. These kids are hearty, dressed warmly and fun to be around!<br />
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<br />Ann Glaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07111723347438363452noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5443527829158990913.post-22072160168210847532014-02-04T18:39:00.002-08:002014-02-04T18:39:50.352-08:00Bellis the Cow, Mud and Ice!<br />
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We were lucky to have a special time with Bellis the cow and Farmer Elise today. Farmer Elise talked to us while she brushed Bellis and changed out her water. Bellis seemed to enjoy being taken care of and we enjoyed watching her use her long tongue to lick the clean water. Bellis is pregnant and due to give birth any day now. One of these days we will arrive at Farrel McWhirter to meet a new calf! How exciting!<br />
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There was ice on the mud and mole hills today. The kids picked up ice crystals and some wanted to take their ice home. I wonder how long it lasted in the car?<br />
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Some of the kids found the mud and tromped around in it. Others wanted to climb on the "castle." The castle is a big Douglas Fir stump with lots of climbing possibilities. <br />
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The blue group today ended up on a very long hike around the perimeter of the park. Don't be surprised if you little blue TOP kid is very tired today!<br />
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We ended the day eating in the mild sunshine. Please know that we are doing our best to keep the TOP kids warm. We kept on the move today with fun games like Red Light, Green Light, Blue Light and Yellow Light! (You can ask your kids what we do when the other colors are called! ) We also learned to swing our arms around and did some jumping and dancing. If the weather gets too cold on Thursday we have the option to eat lunch indoors. If you have hand warmers I recommend you open them at home before you leave so they are starting to get warm when you arrive. They can take an 1/2 hour to warm up. Then they last for 4-8 hours afterwards!<br />
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Thank you for trusting your kids to TOP during this winter session! We are still having lots of fun in the cold!Ann Glaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07111723347438363452noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5443527829158990913.post-1171986315093519082014-01-29T22:10:00.001-08:002014-01-29T22:10:41.861-08:00Tree dust and BIG Animal Prints!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Wow! Those are big animal prints! <br />
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On Monday my tiny treks class found large animal prints in the mud next to the first little bridge at Farrel McWhirter Park. So I downloaded a bunch of images of possible large animals and their prints to have The Outdoor Preschool kids help to figure out what animal they might be from.<br />
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We had a neat time learning about animal prints. We checked out and counted how many toes the animal had. Could we see claws? Yes! That probably means not a cat. I have to say I was a little relieved that it probably wasn't a cougar. A large coyote? Maybe. Definitely not a bear. Everyone was very attentive and watched and listened carefully to the information and comparisons to the photos I brought. <br />
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After our lesson on animal prints we hiked until we came to on of the kids secret spot. As the kids ran under the trees they were excited and shocked to see that there was a new dead tree down in the stream. We searched the area until we found the tree stump it came from. As we examined it we found the inside of the tree had turned to mush! The kids were eager to dig their hands into the sawdust middle of the tree.</div>
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They were all walking around with this soft, smushy decomposed tree dust and squeezing it into shapes with their little hands. We talked about how this tree wasn't a healthy tree and we observed that bugs had been eating the tree as well. We wondered how the tree had gotten into the stream from the stump and when it came down. Maybe in the last storm?<br />
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Who knows what wonders we will find next time at The Outdoor Preschool?<br />
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<br />Ann Glaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07111723347438363452noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5443527829158990913.post-66835180862734882102014-01-24T15:10:00.001-08:002014-01-24T15:10:06.992-08:00Creativity and Democracy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The sun was shining and all was right in the world. <br />
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One thing I love about The Outdoor Preschool kids is that all it takes is putting out a toy and they get right to "work". Usually one of them decides how to use a new tool-in this case shovels and pails-then pretty soon many of them follow the idea. It takes very little direction from us as teachers. <br />
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<br />There is new research that has come to light about what happens when you "show" a child how to use a toy. The toy that has been given without any instructions is used the most creatively. A toy that is shown how to be played with is often played with only one way. <br />
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Yesterday cups and straws were offered out by the swings and soon the kids were making "ice cream" and "smoothies" with their utensils. This play was spontaneous and deep learning was happening on many levels. There was creativity going on, sharing, social interaction and fine motor skills to name a few.</div>
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On the swings the kids are learning how democracy works. After the kids clamber onto the swings and before I begin pushing, I tell the kids to ask their friends on the swing if they want to go high or low, fast or slow. This gets the kids talking to each other about what they want and like. Often one of the children doesn't want to go high or fast. The other children sometimes seem a little disappointed but they go with the flow and have a slower ride. After they have swung for a while I might say-some kids want to go high and fast. How about if we give them a turn? The children who don't like the wild ride will get off voluntarily and let the other kids have their turn. After doing this for a month the kids will begin to automatically ask the other kids on the swing how they want to be pushed as soon as they get on. I like to think that this exercise in asking what others want in a ride will extend to their life. Perhaps they will learn to communicate their own desires and how to listen to others. </div>
Ann Glaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07111723347438363452noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5443527829158990913.post-23945291705304259542014-01-20T16:35:00.002-08:002014-01-20T16:35:18.729-08:00Mud slides can be like a sledding hill<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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When I began The Outdoor Preschool, I couldn't have imagined some of the things kids would find fun. In the 3 years since I began TOP I have learned just as much from the kids as they have learned from me. I didn't know that kids could find a steep dirt bank with a trail next to it as compelling as a sledding slope would be.<br />
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Once the kids figured out that a dirt/mud bank can be a bit slippery it became the place to be for the morning. The kids eagerly ran up the bank, giggling and yelling to their friends and laughing as they slipped down. They were careful to not knock over the other kids and no one got hurt or pushed. <br />
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Other kids decided they wanted to run down the hill on the trail right next to the mud slide. We hiked up and ran down, hiked up and ran down, hiked up and ran down-you get the picture. Over and over-just like you would with a sled or on skis. As we ran down we made noises and some of us put out our arms like we were flying. Again and again. Each time we picked up a few more kids until we had about 8 kids running down the hill together. Again, no one got run over or pushed out of the way-everyone was aware of their body in space even though they were eager to go as fast as they could.<br />
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The Outdoor Preschool kids learn how to use their bodies in safe ways because they are out there-where there are no straight lines or man made play grounds.<br />
Ann Glaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07111723347438363452noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5443527829158990913.post-76560282765166295542014-01-15T19:33:00.001-08:002014-01-15T19:33:54.517-08:00Cooperation, communication and exploration!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I am so glad to be back after our long break and then having the flu. The kids seemed happy to be back too! We have a new student, Alexis and next week we will have another new student, Finn. It is always fun to get to know a new friend at school and it gives all of the kids a chance to practice going over our safety rules and our routine-such as it is.<br />
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After a rousing circle time with many people telling what they had gotten for Christmas or where they had traveled, the yellow group was off into the woods. We started with an exploration of a spot where wild mushrooms had been prolific. The kids were really wondering where the mushrooms had gone. When we couldn't find any sign of them, the kids had lots of questions and ideas about where they might have gone. <br />
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During story time we were being serenaded by a perhaps confused frog in the winter. We spent some time at the stream searching for this frog. We didn't find him but saw some rocks that kind of looked like it could be a frog.<br />
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As we trekked along the very familiar trail Adela wanted to climb on a log that we had never noticed. Bo shouted out "Be careful of the skunk cabbage!" Then she looked and they were all gone! Kids were picking up some strange dead plants and showing them to me. "What is this Teacher Ann?" It was remnant of the horse tail plant. All of this dead material led to a discussion about what survives the winter and what dies.<br />
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Up at the top of the trail there was another area we had never noticed. This one with an enticingly big downed log. Conrad led the way and scrambled up the side and over the log. Everyone wanted to follow but they weren't sure how to accomplish this. They turned to me for help but I said I could only help them a little bit. There was a lot of discussion about how to get up. Pretty soon a couple of the bigger kids had gotten up on their own. But the smaller ones still hadn't figured it out. I mentioned that it looked like you could go over the log OR under the log as there was a big opening under the big log. So Iris checked that out and saw the other side. Pretty soon they were helping each other up the log. You can see Bo pushing up Cooper while Conrad helps to pull him up. They all made it up on the log. Some over to the other side and some stayed on this side. We played on this new climbing structure for a long time till we had to rush back for lunch. I'm sure we'll be back there again-bringing the other kids there or remembering how to get up and over. <br />
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Another successful day of cooperation, communication and exploration!<br />
<br />Ann Glaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07111723347438363452noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5443527829158990913.post-39909726270733046152013-11-25T08:59:00.002-08:002013-11-25T08:59:02.460-08:00Letting the kids drive the playOne of my real joys at teaching outdoor education to children under 5 is watching their transformation physically. Some of the kids arrive at The Outdoor Preschool already climbers and explorers but many are new to the thrills of going deep into the woods. As we end the first trimester of TOP we start seeing such adventuring in the kids. Even the littlest ones are ready to go off trail and do some scrambling.<br />
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Last week I attended to a preschool conference and heard some speakers that are very cutting edge with play-based education. I came back to The Outdoor Preschool ready to try some newly learned techniques. One was to really let the children lead the learning. Now-this has always been my philosophy but I wondered if I could try and relax even a bit more and see where the children would lead us.<br />
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As the yellow group left circle time and we headed into the woods the hike took us by a favorite log to walk on. As we passed the log, Clara and Adela naturally stopped and began walking and balancing on the log. I made a conscious decision not to tell the rest of the kids to STOP and wait. As one child asked for my hand and the other said she didn't need it, I looked ahead on the trail to see how the other children dealt with this hike delay. As the two girls walked again and again on the log I quietly observed a few of the boys hanging out by a bridge-but they appeared to be just chatting away.They had stopped on their own. No one said to the girls to stop climbing and balancing. I could see the boys gesturing towards the running water and perhaps to the horse and property next to the fence. They didn't seem bothered or bored-just hanging with friends.<br />
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So-I kept standing near the balancing girls while they practiced - again and again and again walking the log-jumping down-climbing back up and walking again. Their bodies were beginning to understand balancing-And they were gaining confidence in their skills. Pretty soon-neither wanted my hands and they walked further on the log until it met another log and another. As they naturally finished their exercise Conrad said, "Let's go this way!" Then the whole group was ready to move on. They were calling to each other "come on! Over here!" Everyone joined back up and we were going off the trail, over logs and into uncharted territory. Sometimes they helped each other get over the difficult bits. They waited for the group patiently and exclaimed over found mushrooms and crunchy leaves. <br />
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They had become a community, a unit working together for the overall fun of the group. What a wonderful lesson in life. There are challenges, some waiting and hanging and some exploration. It might be difficult and it might be scary but it might be exciting and rewarding. However it turns out-let's do it together!<br />
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PS If you want to learn more about the invigorating speakers I heard, try:<br />
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Teacher Tom <a href="http://teachertomsblog.blogspot.com/">http://teachertomsblog.blogspot.com/</a><br />
The Ooey Gooey Lady <a href="http://www.ooeygooey.com/">http://www.ooeygooey.com/</a><br />
Erin Kenny <a href="http://cedarsongnatureschool.org/resources-and-links/blogs/">http://cedarsongnatureschool.org/resources-and-links/blogs/</a>Ann Glaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07111723347438363452noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5443527829158990913.post-84696015730652717262013-11-15T09:23:00.002-08:002013-11-15T09:23:49.278-08:00Dissecting Sunflowers is cool!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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For gathering time we put out some sunflowers that were drying out and getting ready to display their seeds. Some of the kids spent time picking off the smaller flowers and pulling out the seeds from the flower head. If you get some home you can plant them now-or wait till spring. We have been told that they can spend the winter in the ground and still sprout when the weather warms up. Let us know if they do sprout in May or June!<br />
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It was fascinating to watch them work on their fine motor skills-pulling out the small seeds with their fingers and placing them carefully into a paper cup. As they dissected the flowers we game names to the parts of the flowers. Disk flowers and ray flowers and seeds, stem and leaves. We even pretended to be sunflower seeds sprouting during circle time with one hand going down into the soil and another reaching for the sun high in the sky. As we rose from our seated position to standing-pretty soon we were doing a yoga pose, tree pose-but making it into a sunflower pose with sunflowers coming out our hands. Pretending to be part of nature is so fun.<br />
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On Tuesday the yellow group went on a long hike all around the park on a trail even I had never been on. Logan found a cool log for us to have snack on-since he lives close by and knows all the trails well. As we walked we counted trees - to see where we should stop next. We found a stream and bridge that was new, a cool hollowed out log and finally the horse corral. I asked the kids which way was the way back to lunch-and they all knew. Smart kids! Again, it was unanimous!<br />
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The blue group had stayed and played next to the stream the whole time we were on our big walk. Funny, because the class before it was the opposite-the yellow group enjoyed the stream and didn't want to leave and the blue group did a big hike. We just keep shaking it up here at TOP!<br />
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Thank you for sending your children in plenty of layers. I had one child announce on Tuesday-"Teacher Ann-I have 3 pairs of pants on!" I told her "So do I!" Unfortunately I didn't have 2 pink pair and a purple pair like she did. (wish I did!) We will continue to take off layers or put then on as needed. Ann Glaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07111723347438363452noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5443527829158990913.post-31414507215605571102013-11-07T22:18:00.001-08:002013-11-07T22:18:18.841-08:00Mushrooms are never green<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Ok-today it was WET and COLD! It has become that time of year where it is hard to have too many clothes on! But the kids didn't seem to mind. They had a blast running through the deep puddles and sweeping the water here and there. <br />
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We decided to have circle time under the monkey tree-because it was semi-dry under there. During circle time we talked about mushrooms. Did you know that there aren't any green mushrooms because they don't have chlorophyll? Luckily we had Teacher Roo, the biologist, to explain mushrooms and fungi to us all! We learned that mushrooms are not plants. Also that they don't have seeds but use spores to grow new mushrooms. We will continue to study mushrooms this fall since they are so prolific this time of year.<br />
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We also talked at circle time about splitting up the groups but then meeting at the secret spot to create a new fort. So the blue group went off hiking-first swinging by the yellow group's pumpkin and then taking the long hike with frequent stops for mushroom sightings.<br />
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The yellow group made it as far as the stream-then spent the entire hour plus following leaves as they floated down with the current. The kids put in small sticks and then bigger and bigger branches to see what they would do in the water. Did they move with the water or were they too big? Did the extra branches on the sticks make it so it couldn't go under the bridge? The TOP kids seemed fascinated by observing the path a leaf would take down the stream. They ran along side of their leaf as it floated along in the stream-following it the 20-30 feet along the bank.<br />
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The kids worked together to move big branches and sometimes figuring out how to rescue branches that got caught under the bridge. I mentioned that we should go catch up with the blue group but my group was having too much fun with the stream. As it turned out, the blue group was having too much fun finding mushrooms so neither of us made it to the secret spot. But that is the way we roll at TOP. We follow what the kids are interested in and give small, discreet lessons on whatever they are observing. I'm hoping that some of the kids went home and mentioned the "current" of the stream or that mushrooms are never green.Ann Glaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07111723347438363452noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5443527829158990913.post-89465729199981358772013-11-07T21:38:00.003-08:002013-11-07T21:38:27.806-08:00Follow the signs to the pumpkin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It was the blue groups turn to lead the yellow group to their pumpkin. The kids were very excited to lead the way. The yellow group gave them a head start by taking time to visit Herbert the Giant Flemish Rabbit. We had fun petting him and watching him hide under his house. <br />
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Then we started looking for clues to follow the other group. There were giant arrows made by sticks and sometimes drawn into the dirt. Each time we found a clue there were squeals of excitement!<br />
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When we got to the group they were having snack under the tree next to their pumpkin who was being eaten by a slug. Then we all played in the stream that overflows the bank. <br />
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Some of the kids wanted to kick up the water. It only took one suggestion that they kick away from their friends and pretty soon there were 5 kids standing next to each other and kicking away into the weeds. There was lots of fun splashing with no fear of getting kicked. The amount of fun these kids can have in the water is amazing!<br />
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FYI Parents! As the weather gets wetter and colder I have a few suggestions that can help us as teachers and perhaps you as parents.<br />
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1. Please label all of your child's clothing - including their mittens, gloves, hats, backpacks, lunchboxes. It can be hard to tell one child's items from another. Thanks!<br />
2. Please send extra gloves with your child as they tend to put their hands-gloves and all-right into the water and then they are cold again! Mittens can be easier to get on then gloves if their hands are wet.<br />
3. You may want to invest in handwarmers. You can buy them in bulk at Costco. We suggest opening them in the car so they are warm by the time your kids begin to get cold. It takes about 15 minutes before they warm up.<br />
4. It is time to put wool socks on their feet. Many layers under jackets. I personally wear 2 layers under my waterproof pants and I had on 3 layers under my jacket today (and I still got a little cold. I'll wear more next week.)<br />
5. It is very tiring to get cold. I suggest a warm bath when they get home and some quiet time. Not every child needs it-but your child may! For instance, don't expect to go shopping right after preschool. That may be too much! And don't forget the change of clothes in the car. I'd include a towel also!<br />
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We are still having a blast even if we get wet! We try to limit the getting super wet till the end of the day so they aren't wet the entire class.<br />
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See you next week! Ann Glaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07111723347438363452noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5443527829158990913.post-31342524780937536822013-10-27T14:05:00.001-07:002013-10-27T14:05:29.108-07:00Chestnuts to roast on an open fire?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We began the day with a pail for each child to collect leaves. We looked for big leaves, small leaves and medium leaves. We also stood under a maple tree and collected yellow leaves and red leaves. Another day with the signs of fall. As we looked closely at the ground we were excited to find a chestnut tree at the farm. This is a sweet chestnut tree with edible nuts. We also found a closed "burr" (the pod of the chestnut). It was very pokey and sharp. Someone suggested we throw it up into the air to see if we could break it open. It took 2 tries, but it burst open-revealing the nut within.<br />
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This week TOP had two visiting teachers. One is Nicky Mack who is a senior at UW and has applied to get her Masters in Education at UW. She will be with us every Tuesday this session while she observes how an Outdoor Preschool teaches science. <br />
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Nicky Donovan was with us on Thursday. Nicky is learning about TOP and outdoor education as well. She plans to be teaching with Tiny Treks next year at Keep It Simple Farms on Mondays/Wednesday and Fridays. <br />
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<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Nicky studied zoology for her degree and then went on to train as an Occupational Therapist. After many years she followed her heart and retrained as elementary school teacher. She has spent time teaching 1st grade and 4th/5th grade in the UK. She has particularly enjoyed introducing children to the natural world and has used her background in zoology to aid her teaching. Since moving to the US, Nicki has taken time to settle her teenagers to US life but remains an avid walker and nature lover. Tiny Treks is lucky to have such a talented teacher come join the Tiny Treks team!</span><br />
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Ann Glaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07111723347438363452noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5443527829158990913.post-45532316738479219222013-10-17T21:32:00.001-07:002013-10-17T21:32:11.299-07:00Rake, Jump and Laugh!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Some of the older kids were really determined to make big piles of leaves.</td></tr>
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It was a beautiful fall day. A day we don't always get in the northwest. The leaves were dry and crunchy and just begging to be jumped in. We took kids's rakes ( and 2 adult rakes for the teachers) and went under some huge Big Leaf Maple trees and began to rake up piles of leaves. Everyone helped. I mean everyone! The 3 year olds were working alongside of the 5 years olds! The little ones were the first to jump into the leaves and stop raking-but I was impressed that they helped at all! I think it helps to have size appropriate tools like we do.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Everyone helped with the raking.</td></tr>
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Everyone was giggling as they threw the leaves up into the air and eventually us teachers were belted with huge armloads of leaves. All in good fun. We had so much fun that we forgot about snack and then had to send Teacher Roo back to the picnic tables to get our lunches so we could eat lunch out in the back meadow. We ended up making 3 big piles of leaves that kids hid in, jumped in and threw!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">No one got smacked by a rake-everyone was careful.</td></tr>
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At lunch we continued with our study of salmon. We read the story <u>Swimmy</u> by Leo Leonni and a facts book about salmon. We also talked about seasons. Concentrating on fall and what the changes are in fall.<br />
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We will be continuing our talks about the seasons as we observe nature change around us.<br />
<br />Ann Glaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07111723347438363452noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5443527829158990913.post-68986968491392322132013-10-15T17:13:00.000-07:002013-10-15T17:13:14.521-07:00Balancing on a log<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Deep in the fern wood.</td></tr>
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This sunny day led us to a favorite fallen log. This log is so long that the kids practiced watlking up and down it for a long time. If you follow it to its natural end-behold! There is another log there-so you can jump or climb onto the next log and keep going. The younger ones wanted a hand to hold as they walked and the older ones managed just fine on their own. We are so lucky here in the northwest that even if the kids slip off-there is usually a soft fern or leaf covered forest floor to catch their fall. As we were up and down the log the kids got more and more comfortable with their own balancing prowess. <br />
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I must say that as a forest teacher, I don't help the kids much. Even those who want my help by holding my hand as they climb or balance-find that I'm not much help at all. If they resist me telling them how to climb up themselves, then they find a very limp and not strong hand at the ready. Sometimes they try and direct me to be stronger-but instead my hand goes to the log or branch that I want them to learn to grab-and soon they are climbing and balancing all by themselves.<br />
Our log walk dropped us off into some very high forest brush where we bushwhacked our way through in order to get back in time for our tractor ride! Thank you to Farmer Elise for giving us a fun and very bumpy ride around the park and farm. We were up high and so we could see the apples on the tip top of the apple tree. We saw leaves changing colors and the tractor found some deep holes to jostle us around!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Waiting to ride the Farm tractor and wagon.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">
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Now that it is October, we are beginning to talk about pumpkins and Halloween.<img src="http://images.anbmedia.com/articles/books/strega_nonas_harvest.jpg" /> Today we read a book about pumpkins and at the end of the month we will carve our own jack-o-lanterns and then hide them in the woods to watch them decompose! We won't be wearing costumes to school because of our need to wear so much clothing to TOP. But we'll have fun talking about the season. We also learned a pumpkin finger play today!\</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: proxnov-reg, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate,</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxnov-reg, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: proxnov-reg, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">First one said "Oh my, it's getting late!"</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxnov-reg, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: proxnov-reg, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">Second one said "There are witches in the air,"</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxnov-reg, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: proxnov-reg, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">Third one said "but we don't care!"</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxnov-reg, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: proxnov-reg, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">Fourth one said "Let's run and run and run."</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxnov-reg, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: proxnov-reg, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">Fifth one said "I'm ready for some fun!"</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxnov-reg, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: proxnov-reg, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">Ooo ooo went the wind, and out went the lights,</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxnov-reg, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: proxnov-reg, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">And five little pumpkins rolled out of sight.</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxnov-reg, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></span></div>
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Ann Glaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07111723347438363452noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5443527829158990913.post-16548554083331385642013-10-08T22:10:00.002-07:002013-10-08T22:10:31.444-07:00Scissors, String, Sticks and an old sheet<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzj6V0EEKq80oGN34bj_F4roBuAM6eBHhuwAOwPh536HTy13KsRmxfPQR8bBdn0EEcUde6GYT3BstED8IeIZYXso8UWsC5-3BPITRMeawPuqAtQpRCrSCCYXEuJZY41i7O-8OmMRfNMTgN/s1600/10+8+13+string+and+sticks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzj6V0EEKq80oGN34bj_F4roBuAM6eBHhuwAOwPh536HTy13KsRmxfPQR8bBdn0EEcUde6GYT3BstED8IeIZYXso8UWsC5-3BPITRMeawPuqAtQpRCrSCCYXEuJZY41i7O-8OmMRfNMTgN/s320/10+8+13+string+and+sticks.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Concentrating on how to tie the string.</td></tr>
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What do you get when you give 10 children under the age of 5 a roll of string, scissors, sticks and a sheet? I've been thinking about this class for awhile. I wanted to see if we could build a structure or a tipi with the children or what might happen if we tried. So into my backpack went string, scissors and an old sheet.<br />
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At circle time I showed all of the contents of the backpack to the kids. I asked them what they thought they could do with them in the woods. There were suggestions of "make a hammock" and "make a fort". So then we were off to find an area in the forest. We first explored an old tree stump that is already in the shape of a tipi. A bunch of the kids went into it and tried it out. But it wasn't the right size.<br />
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During snack time on a cool log we read a fun story about kids and a wagon. Just like the wagon we have at TOP! The wagon became a train and a rocket ship and a truck. We talked about how the child really used their imagination in the story <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Red-Wagon-Renata-Liwska/dp/0399162399" target="_blank">The Red Wagon</a>.<br />
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We hiked all over the park, listening to the rain pelting the leaves (but not us!) and hearing thunder in the distance. It got really dark for a while-but since we were deep in the forest, we didn't get wet!.<br />
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We ended up in the "secret place." Again, out of the rain. There on the ground were all of those sticks we gathered 2 weeks ago. I got out the string, scissors and every child got to cut a piece of string. As I helped them to place the sticks on the tree to make a shelter-I was very curious to see how they would use the string. Soon, almost all of the kids were picking up sticks and tying on the string. Some tried to tie two sticks together-but for most of the kids the fun was just in practicing wrapping the string, or trying to make a knot or even a bow for one girl who knows how to tie her shoes.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZmtZZGfd7TWkkTtHf1ljtcMlDNSdGN8GCqHX-ByuDp0BZFWizQlIcfXUsh8GiWO8ucYorz2lz2JRBufoBqYEd6gD6dW6s8Hg5TPq8IhDW0sL5vyph7ERHcEgbWdoD6LPvVM5tuGQwUygs/s1600/10+8+13+sticks+with+string.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZmtZZGfd7TWkkTtHf1ljtcMlDNSdGN8GCqHX-ByuDp0BZFWizQlIcfXUsh8GiWO8ucYorz2lz2JRBufoBqYEd6gD6dW6s8Hg5TPq8IhDW0sL5vyph7ERHcEgbWdoD6LPvVM5tuGQwUygs/s320/10+8+13+sticks+with+string.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">String carefully tied to sticks. </td></tr>
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After a good long time with the string, I got out the sheet to hang. But first the kids wanted to play with the sheet. We put pinecones on the sheet and snapped them high into the air. Then the kids went under the sheet and played under there while Irena and I made it flap up and down. Then we hung the sheet on the tree and the kids went into their fort. It was a lot of fun and I enjoyed watching how the children played with the think in their own environment. <br />
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In the words of <strong>Maria Montessori ,</strong> <strong>“</strong><a href="http://www.dailymontessori.com/"><strong>Education</strong></a><strong> is a natural process carried out by the child and is not acquired by listening to words but by experiences in the environment.”</strong><br />
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PS Thank you to Irena, Bo's mom, for helping out today. It was a very fun day!<br />
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Ann Glaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07111723347438363452noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5443527829158990913.post-27265081998780627852013-10-02T18:07:00.003-07:002013-10-02T18:07:52.217-07:00"It's unanimous!"<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">I was sorry to have missed this fun day-the first day of October! Luckily Teacher Roo and our guest parent, Jen Downing were there to lead the class! Thank you Jen for helping us out in a pinch. Our other back up teachers were not available and Teacher Ann was down with the flu. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">In the future, if you would like a chance to help out in class sometime-send me an email and we will put you on the list. Sometimes we can't find a certified teacher to </span><span style="font-size: 15px;">substitute</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> and turn instead to you parents. It can be either of you-as long as you are willing to don waterproof clothing and be ready to climb, hike and get into mud with the kids. We usually can't accommodate your younger children, so I know that can be a bummer if you would like to help but have a younger child. If you would really like to be there sometime-we can plan a day so you can get a babysitter ahead of time.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">On Tuesday the TOP kids were storm watchers. We talked about the storm and what it effect it might have had on the park. The kids looked for downed branches and puddles and found both. At snack time we read a fun book about a witch and a storm.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM-SZXKGyYFJiA5vUcgDXCGDmH1GZOkDJ-vc0BDQZeXRipvq8SQJmxi6LAK6RTpBZ1JQvJQob7dz4Kr00miu06mmZ6croqi5W8MpFJG1403hGQd1CdMhqVtcgj7HajvTJlTb019tK5QhhN/s1600/10+1+13+no+faces+puddle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM-SZXKGyYFJiA5vUcgDXCGDmH1GZOkDJ-vc0BDQZeXRipvq8SQJmxi6LAK6RTpBZ1JQvJQob7dz4Kr00miu06mmZ6croqi5W8MpFJG1403hGQd1CdMhqVtcgj7HajvTJlTb019tK5QhhN/s320/10+1+13+no+faces+puddle.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Our hike took us to very good puddle all the way on the other side of Farrel-McWhirter and the kids had a blast stomping and splashing in the puddle. Since it was a long hike there, the kids were asked to vote at each intersection of the hike. We have a name for this kind of voting. We call it "voting with your body." The kids will stand next to the trail they want to take. Sometimes we ask them to "use the map in your head" to remember which is the right way to our destination. If everyone agrees it is "unanimous"! We've had many children begin using this word at home. Let me know if you are hearing it!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0lnuI82-b6KGyrWl_Ye_0yxqT9H2D2RaWzb9-NRupK7xvX3YKMpIglIaWfQjmpFE4kUIkBCwz0nhUJYZpanrSBDorAPoA-Sd-6MxOU-7unp3N29kQzCrAphJz4xmi9J-5EJfZWHMjGZwg/s1600/10+1+13+stomping+in+puddle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0lnuI82-b6KGyrWl_Ye_0yxqT9H2D2RaWzb9-NRupK7xvX3YKMpIglIaWfQjmpFE4kUIkBCwz0nhUJYZpanrSBDorAPoA-Sd-6MxOU-7unp3N29kQzCrAphJz4xmi9J-5EJfZWHMjGZwg/s320/10+1+13+stomping+in+puddle.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">We also found this cool beetle. I tried to identify it online to no avail. Oh well-its cool anyways!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqeZEivPr8JwhjYauLtix5-5my-_EElzTHWLP4KBa1DuqmtKZlLVPQBXs7goT70aTPi7KOQWJ07S2navXk91JJLnqY6t_Gx2QiHNU-rH0MyLBiPpg5047wW_RVK8He6RlKJUriUVi2_j2X/s1600/10+1+13+beetle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqeZEivPr8JwhjYauLtix5-5my-_EElzTHWLP4KBa1DuqmtKZlLVPQBXs7goT70aTPi7KOQWJ07S2navXk91JJLnqY6t_Gx2QiHNU-rH0MyLBiPpg5047wW_RVK8He6RlKJUriUVi2_j2X/s320/10+1+13+beetle.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px;">Teacher Ann will be out again on Thursday and thank you in advance to Monika, Conrad's mom for helping out Teacher Roo!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px;"><br /></span></span>Ann Glaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07111723347438363452noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5443527829158990913.post-671479372130089352013-09-28T16:03:00.002-07:002013-09-28T16:03:17.999-07:00Cat tails, rabbit ears and tic tac toe!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgli9pflcvuy96enB58JrD6H1Fxm5gxYkpNXT7AzZkfZMsOz69iGeZ8Bc3my8xMHD0ODYWaX2_5oqjrjhFCT_3CkhSPsg64xzsWs7BN6nrVtRlAmutx08rZkvUSE5hI0ugYhQZRbbk3D1Cn/s1600/09+26+13+herbert.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgli9pflcvuy96enB58JrD6H1Fxm5gxYkpNXT7AzZkfZMsOz69iGeZ8Bc3my8xMHD0ODYWaX2_5oqjrjhFCT_3CkhSPsg64xzsWs7BN6nrVtRlAmutx08rZkvUSE5hI0ugYhQZRbbk3D1Cn/s320/09+26+13+herbert.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
We began the day comparing cats to rabbits. How are they the same? How are they different? Many kids mentioned that their tails were different; that they both have 4 legs; they are both soft. Then we petted first Santa Fe, the farm cat and then the baby bunny (name may end up being "Oreo". The name is still under discussion.) We went into Herbert, the Giant Flemish Rabbit's pen. We all agreed that both of the bunnies were sweet and soft. We got a close up look at their ears and tails in order to compare them with the cat. We noticed that rabbits hopped and cats don't, except someone said that cats can jump really high. Hmmm<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_nA68u8EXGcDHqiyFd9AAKAPHroPWrDnhFNvZRmXC6WRzBD_hm32i7flxonc4IkQFQlnJqtt5qqScAvTRfiz_z5ypFBO8ArCu3nU-_z2mR7R7tMDmllh_RWOmQiHVFYjxvX3-QWo3bPOh/s1600/09+26+13+sticks+with+4+kids.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_nA68u8EXGcDHqiyFd9AAKAPHroPWrDnhFNvZRmXC6WRzBD_hm32i7flxonc4IkQFQlnJqtt5qqScAvTRfiz_z5ypFBO8ArCu3nU-_z2mR7R7tMDmllh_RWOmQiHVFYjxvX3-QWo3bPOh/s320/09+26+13+sticks+with+4+kids.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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On our hike today we ended up in the "Secret Place." Soon we were noticing the many sticks that were there. A suggestion was made to make a structure. All of the children got involved, finding sticks, putting them in a pattern (someone said it looked like tic tac toe!) They worked together as a team and were very happy with the results. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Ann Glaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07111723347438363452noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5443527829158990913.post-71052623445473422792013-09-24T15:17:00.000-07:002013-09-24T15:17:14.207-07:00Thunder the miniature horse and some wild deer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">Shhh! I see 2 deer ahead!<br /></td></tr>
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Today we began with loud noises of trees being removed and chipper shredded. As sad as it is to say goodbye to lovely trees at Farrel-McWhirter-there is a good reason. They are about to begin work on expanding the horse pen in the barnyard -so the trees had to come down. <br />
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We had a date today with Thunder, the miniature horse. Thunder has been at Farrel-McWhirter Farm for almost 10 years and is a favorite with our very smallest riders. We learned about his mane and tail. We got to touch and pet his soft nose and neck. We also looked at his hooves and talked about how they were similar to our fingernails. I suggest you reinforce this lesson by asking your child what they learned about horses today.<br />
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Since the weather remains nice, we headed out for a picnic near Juel Park. It was a big hike for many of the kids who are new to TOP. But we had such fun playing "Stop and Go!" along the way. We are working on reinforcing the safety rules we have at TOP by practicing how to stop when the teacher says "Stop!" This is a real challenge for some of the kids-Please feel free to play this game at home. The rule is that if the child does not stop they have to come all of the way back to the person who is calling the game.<br />
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Along the way we spotted 2 deer way up the road. We tried to sneak up closer to the deer but they disappeared into the woods. We are inspired to try and find them next time we hike there!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">A picnic lunch!</td></tr>
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It is always fun to have a picnic lunch on the trail. While the weather holds, we will have as many trail picnics as we can!<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQkFC1QHvRfDbRP6vcjCTYF5ritQvJyzxtarRdZTwix05e7C0QVaBzYSJ2_qsMiQY_vG3ZO2FZQ_yPU5aWUF6I6ycrjZ2XfuvM9USCFoZa-PikwqpjIGWDxd7fCt3b_e26m9TKJ-XUy9a6/s1600/09+24+13+bo+and+adela.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQkFC1QHvRfDbRP6vcjCTYF5ritQvJyzxtarRdZTwix05e7C0QVaBzYSJ2_qsMiQY_vG3ZO2FZQ_yPU5aWUF6I6ycrjZ2XfuvM9USCFoZa-PikwqpjIGWDxd7fCt3b_e26m9TKJ-XUy9a6/s320/09+24+13+bo+and+adela.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">New friendships are being forged!</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8xqD1x79Fsed1D6twXicc5_dtAf_Eaiwo09vr72KnUr8zeorOGSJJdz0LpkPAbNHIpZX-RHVn9Uw_6hFaQl-FWVv3xL-g6rHRrULI2dYB_-kM9MiX-1gwRx6nHhrHt5MNi4d6o6_sUBXh/s1600/09+24+13+running+in+mud.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8xqD1x79Fsed1D6twXicc5_dtAf_Eaiwo09vr72KnUr8zeorOGSJJdz0LpkPAbNHIpZX-RHVn9Uw_6hFaQl-FWVv3xL-g6rHRrULI2dYB_-kM9MiX-1gwRx6nHhrHt5MNi4d6o6_sUBXh/s320/09+24+13+running+in+mud.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Running through the mud and ruts along the dirt road is great!</td></tr>
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TOP Parents: Thank you for sending your children in waterproof pants, We certainly used them today while we ran through the new puddles and sat in the damp grass. I would expect your children to be tired and dirty today-and every day when you pick them up. You may want to have a change of clothes and a big towel in the car so your child can change on the way home. I also would not expect to do errands after TOP. They may be just too tired!<br />
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Ann Glaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07111723347438363452noreply@blogger.com0