Ducks, Mud and Beans...Oh My!

Quacking along the trail.

Oh-we are loving the warm weather and hot sun here at The Outdoor Preschool.  We began the day chasing bubbles with nets.  Sometimes the nets filled up with little flowers instead.  During circle time we learned a new song about birds then talked about bird's songs.  We stopped and listened really closely to the birds singing in the woods and wondered which birds we were listening to.  Many kids had ideas:  hummingbirds, chickadees, crows, woodpeckers.

Today at snack time the blue group heard the story Make Way for Ducklings" by Robert McCloskey.  They so enjoyed the story that we spent the rest of the hike pretending to be baby ducks and walking (and running) in a line.  Each of the kids picked a "duck name" , some from the story and some from their imaginations: Pack (Noah), Quack (Nina), Jack (Ruby), Snack (Isaac), Short Sleeve and Shorts Duck (Tyler), Snack 2 (Nicholas) and Mr. Mallard (Henry) and Mama Duck (Teacher Jen).  Quack!

Measuring the depth of the water.

On yellow's hike we first went and checked on our herbs planted in the garden.  They were really thirsty after the hot weekend.  I hope they make it!  Some kids did more weeding and we had a few trips to the compost pile with weeds.  We'll keep that garden looking pretty!

Then we found some amazing mud and water in a flooded area north of the meadow.  Maya carefully checked the water depth to see if it was too deep to walk in.  We are careful not to let the mud go over our Bogg boots!  It was a little spooky in the woods there with all of that water and lots of high weeds and plants.  Some kids were a little scared at first-but then it became a big adventure!

Observing sprouted beans.

We ended the day observing with our magnifying glasses the sprouted beans.  I'm wondering if your beans sprouted at home?  We'll have to ask the kids on thursday!

PS: I hope the 31st of May is on your calendar!  Picnic-arrive at 10am and stay till 1230pm.  The kids will show you around the park, sing for you and then we'll all eat lunch together.  Bring your own lunch please!

PSS:  There are still a few spaces in the Tiny Treks Preschool camp that I am leading in June.
Please join us!  Also-there are drop off camps for 4-7 year olds that I will be leading this summer.
Go to Redmond Parks and Rec and look up camps: Tiny Treks