It’s Snowtime!

“One of the very best reasons for having children is to be reminded of the incomparable joys of a snow day.” -Susan Orlean

This couldn’t be more true this week here at the Nature Preschool. The children’s excitement to explore the snow was infectious! Parents, teachers, and visitors all stopped for a moment to watch the children charge  up the hills, sled in hand, and share in their big smiles as they slid back down! The new snow blanketed the ground once again, providing a fresh canvas for animal tracks, snow painting, and more! This week the children had the opportunity to explore the snow in the outdoor classroom. It was magical stepping into the untouched area. There were no footprints left by people, but upon further investigation, we found several tracks left from our furry animal friends! The children’s eyes lit up as they discussed what the animals might do in the outdoor classroom when no one is here to see them! Do you think they climb through our tree tunnel? Do they play hide and seek together? All these imaginary scenarios made the children giggle and inspired us to have some fun of our own! Hide and seek is always a class favorite and who could resist when we have blankets of snow to help us take cover! We even brought the snow into the classroom! The children mixed snow and watercolors to make icy cold paints and created beautiful wintery works of art in their nature journals! The sensory tables were filled with spice ice! Chunks of ice with several spices frozen throughout them. The children loved excavating the hidden scents with sea salt and various tools!

Some special events took place this week!  First, we had another live animal encounter! It was an animal from the story, The Mitten, is nocturnal, and is covered with pokey spines. That’s right, the children were introduced to our hedgehogs, Bubba and Kirri! Also, our incredibly missed interns returned from Stevenson University. There are even some new friends that have joined each classroom! The children were overjoyed to see familiar faces and to show our new teachers all the fun to be had at nature preschool! On Thursday morning some students from Owings Mills High School joined us to teach the children how to work with clay! They assisted the children in making “snake coil” pots and they turned out wonderfully! The teacher’s can’t wait to pass on that same lesson with the rest of our students next week!