Water. Ice. Snow

Take children into the woods and they will learn. Guaranteed.

I am always reminded how much learning Nature has to offer, when children are given time to explore without the distraction of toys and equipment. 

Check out more outdoor fun at the

Outdoor Play Party Link-Up 

Fairies and frogs

Fairy House Collections

Decorating what appears to be a pre-existing fairy or gnome house among the roots. 

Closer view of the root house.

A fairy boat that the kids created.

We were very curious about these white things growing everywhere. Thanks to a little mobile internet search we found out that they are called "Indian Smoke Pipe or Ghost Plants," they are not capable of producing chlorophyll. It was also used by Native Americans for several different medicinal purposes.  I love it when I get to learn something new along with the children. 

This was our first frog sightings within our playground. Every time one of these two frogs hopped the other would follow. The preschoolers think it must have been a Dad and a Kid frog. 

This froggy was not shy at all and I was really wishing we had a net!

Painting rocks with water.

I collected these lovel rocks on a weekend excursion with my family. Many of them turn beautiful rich colors when wet. The kids were using a lot of descriptive words when working next to each other to describe the colors, textures, and changes taking place.

Drying them off to start again. 

This little boy kept saying "they get painted" when they were wet. I was having a hard time convincing him that he wasn't applying anything except water. :)

Rain Rain Come and Play!

We've been waiting and waiting to wear our rain suits again! We certainly would not have gone out without them today. It was a very steady rain and I was very happy to have an umbrella. I don't ever think a rainy day at preschool has ever been this satisfying. 

Everything all lined up. Ready! Set! Go!

So many adventures to be had in the rain. 

Puddles and water are pretty magical things.

Water Slide

Work to be done.

Beep Beep

Rain Suits were soaked, but we were cozy and dry! Amazing!!

Unstoppable!

We were so excited last week when our new rain suits arrived from Oakiwear (Outdoor Adventure Kid Co.)! We recently had a fundraiser and were able to purchase a wholesale order of a variety of sizes. The children range in ages from 3-5 and are wearing suits from size 3T to 6/7. Although they looked very roomy before putting them on, they fit perfect over their warm clothes. The neoprene adjustable cuffs on the wrist and ankles are great for a better fit and especially for keeping the water out. There is also an adjustable elastic cord to tighten the waist.

Today was our first day using the suits and so far A SUCCESS!  I would definitely recommend these suits to anybody who likes to spend a lot of time outdoors in all kinds of weather. I was worried that the kids would be hesitant or feel awkward about wearing the suits, but they were actually very excited and played easily with them on.  They were so excited that we got to go out and play on a rainy day! We were nice and dry when we got back inside.


Can't wait to get back outside tomorrow! 

Waiting patiently.

In the Woods

Puddle Jumping

In Action.

On the playground.

I was very excited that Kierna from

 Learning for Life 

invited us to be part of the 

Outdoor Play Party. 

Check it out for lots more stories of outdoor fun.

Down in the cool of the pool.....Dragonland?

Almost all the snow is gone. 

It is time to start splashing in puddles right? 

Who cares if it is freezing cold and windy? They didn't seem to.

This is the first spring we have had access to our "work in progress" playground.  There is one section that seems to be VERY wet. Perfect for our current Water Theme. 

When we arrived in our little patch of woods today, we found the large puddle with a very thin layer of ice over it. I showed them with a stick how thin it was and instructed them to stay off it. The words had no sooner escaped my mouth when I was already second guessing myself.

 After looking around at their feet and seeing they were all wearing puddle boots, I amended my request to using caution to not fall in. (Can't wait for those waterproof rainsuits to arrive!)

After they had a chance to break all the ice and I realized how deep the puddle was in some places (just over the TOPS of their puddle boots), we decided to make a "fence" around it. 

Did I mention that it was FREEZING cold? 

I also talked to them briefly about Vernal or Spring Pools. I told them we should keep it safe in case some frogs wanted to lay their eggs there. Without the excitement of being able to step in the water they mostly scattered. 

The two that remained became very involved in fishing for ice  (for windows), which required a lot of teamwork and determination.

The collection.

They were calling the big pieces of ice "windows." Most of the pieces had leaves and twigs frozen into the thin ice.

Meanwhile on the Dragonmobile.

We have been adding to our wall of logs all winter long. Now it is finally exposed and fully accessible.  Today I watched as it became the Dragonmobile, a fantastic form of transportation that can transform into anything you need, to be able to get the Dragonland. The trouble was it kept breaking down, so I'm not sure they ever made it to Dragonland, which is like an aquarium full of different kinds of dragons, way down deep under the sand at the bottom of the ocean.

You just need to pull this lever right here.

Lots of teamwork and imagination.