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.
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.
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.
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!
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