Spring has Sprung!

Here we are in May already! We have been so busy enjoying transformations at the Forest Preschool.

We remind Parents and Community that we have two spots for Fridays until September. Please confirm which days you will be keeping as there are many families waiting for a place for their child.

In April, the children rediscovered variety on the ground as the snow blanket receded. Fungi and water were our favorite subjects for exploration. We got wet every day - sometimes twice!

In May we are identifying many new plants and flowers - like our old friend, poison ivy as well as blood root and wild betony to name a few. The bugs are back and we are studying them to better understand their life cycle. The children are so strong and hike with such confidence in the woods. It is a joy to wander with them.

Sara is busy with parent "Walk and Talks" as she introduces parents to the wonders of the Forest that their children have walked and talked about. It is a great opportunity for parents to discover exactly where the adventures occur.

Please contact me directly should there be any questions. Happy Spring!

Cheers,
Marie

WINTER IS MELTING AWAY

MOTHER NATURE PROVOCATIONS
By Sara Rocio Raeesi-Gujani


Winter has been a most enjoyable season in the woods! We explored the meaning of hibernation, recreated a Winterlude, and added dimension, colour and texture to the snow and ice.
Last Wednesday was the most beautiful day of the year. It was a truly Winter Paradise at the Forest Preschool. Suddenly everything was suspended and embraced in absolute silence and the forest was totally covered in white. The children have fantasized and wondered if all winter days were like Wednesday. Will they ever come back inside again? Will they live underneath the trees? They love to travel day and night in the forest lands and hills in search for treasures made out of snow and ice.
Our Winter Wonderland was quite inspirational on Thursday early morning:
LC: Let’s made a polar bear!
CL: And let’s made a penguin
SR: Where do they live?
GF: Polar bears live in the North Pole
AV: Penguins live in the South Pole
SR: What about if we use the compass to find out where the North and South are!
GF: [Holds the compass and points where the letter N is] Here is North!
LC/CL/EL: [All hold the compass while pointing where the letter S is]
CL: South is there!
Once we found the North and South Poles and began to make the polar bear and penguin, the children decided to bring snow from other lands to complete the project. We went to Greenland, England, Spain, and France. We also sailed and crossed the ocean to finally land in Greece for a quick soccer match. The forest became the world and as we travelled up the hills, down the hills, between the woods, and boarded trains and jets, and sailed across the ocean, we not only mapped a forest section but also brought with us beautiful souvenirs made of snow to complete our assignment.
Interestingly enough on Friday, the sky was grey, the air felt a bit warmer, the snow was very soft to walk on, and we found lots of small tree branches on the floor and mini-puddles everywhere; the polar bear and penguin have disappeared. It happens every year! The snow is melting!
March Pedagogical theme:
WINTER IS MELTING AWAY!
We will investigate the how, the why, and the effects of snow and ice melting. We will explore some factors that control the melting process: air temperature, the sun, the wind, and the rain. We will introduce the concept of global warming. We also will attempt to answer the following questions: a) Can we melt snow on fire? b) Where does the white go when the snow melts? c) Why does snow melt around the base of the tree trunks? Finally we will be searching for snow moulds on the ground.
Overall we will explore the meaning of melting! And while winter is melting away! Let’s think about what else can be melted? What about chocolate! Cheese! What changes can be observed? Have fun! And tell, show and share!

Food for the Forest Preschool

Here is our meal plan so you will know what yummy things we are eating each day. The menu will be flexible with the seasons and may rotate for variety. Right now we are enjoying lots of soups and pastas. Snacks may be flipped for each day and soup, stew, pancake, muffin, cookie and "brownie" recipes may be posted at a later date. We will not be serving meat and on Mondays we do not serve dried fruit (including raisins), nuts, peanuts and seeds. Rice milk, rice crackers and rice cakes are provided daily.
WEEK ONE
MONDAY
Snack #1: Rice cakes and Apple slices
Lunch: Spiral rice pasta with pureed lentil sauce (veggies and beans), muffins or cookies
Snack #2: Veggies or fruit & dip
TUESDAY
Snack #1: Veggies & dip or no-nut butter and rice cakes or crackers
Lunch: Homemade soup or stew, corn bread/muffins, fruit
Snack#2: Muffins or cookies with spread, fruit
WEDNESDAY
Snack #1: Pita/hummus or black bean dip & fruit
Lunch: Buckwheat Pancakes or egg dish with soygurt/syrup, fruit
Snack#2:Veggies & dip or no-nut butter on rice cakes
THURSDAY
Snack #1: Fruit, muffins or cookies
Lunch: Hot pasta or soup, roasted veggies, cookies
Snack#2: Muffins (Baker's choice)
FRIDAY
Snack #1: Muffins, cookies, brownies and fruit
Lunch: Cook's Choice of soup or stew, veggies and cookies
Snack#2: Rice cakes or crackers, veggies and dip
WEEK TWO
MONDAY
Snack #1: Fruit and muffins or brownies or cookies
Lunch:Tuscan Bean and Vegetable soup with brown rice noodles, fruit
Snack #2:Veggies and crackers with mashed avocado
TUESDAY
Snack #1:Apple slices and mini muffins
Lunch:Oven fries, grilled vegetables, tofu sticks or bean cakes, fruit
Snack #2:Hummus with rice cakes and veggies
WEDNESDAY
Snack #1:Rice cakes with no-nut butter, fruit
Lunch:Steamed vegetables (carrots, zucchini, broccoli, kale) bean cakes or spaghetti
Snack #2:Muffins or cookies
THURSDAY
Snack #1:Veggies and dip, rice cakes
Lunch:Soup or casserole, veggies and dip, fruit crisp
Snack #2:fruit with hummus and dip or no-nut butter
FRIDAY
Snack #1:Muffins or cookies, fruit
Lunch:Red lentil and carrot soup with basmati rice or noodles, veggies and hummus
Snack #2:Fruit with no-nut butter

Eco Healthy Child Care

The Carp Ridge Forest Preschool is pleased to announce that we have been endorsed by the Oregon Environmental Council as an Eco Healthy Child Care program. We qualified due to our focus and commitment to green, healthy, safe and sustainable programming. You are invited to check out the criteria for qualification at www.oeconline.org/ehcc
Thank you to everyone who helps us maintain our commitment to a sustainable future through our programs.

Winter Themes

WINTER PEDAGOGICAL THEMES
By Sara Rocio Raeesi-Guajni
Wow! New Year, new decade, and new beginnings!
Early in January as the children were eager to share their holiday season experiences, they also were extremely curious about how the forest has changed and who lives underneath the snow. While walking up to the porcupines’ house and singing our weather song [... tell me the weather: it is raining, snowing or it is hot?]
ET: Is it hibernating!!!
At that moment we decided to pause and to question:
S: What is hibernation? What about the trees? Do they hibernate?
G: Trees do not hibernate. They stand up very, very tall and the snow falls on them and that is why they do not need to hibernate.
LC: Yes, trees hibernate because the bark protects them.
C: No, trees do not hibernate because they are trees.
EL: Yes, trees hibernate, they grow tall till they become a cave and in the cave they look for monsters.
January’s pedagogical theme:
EXPLORING THE MEANING OF HIBERNATION.
We are deconstructing this concept with games such Hi? Bernate!!!, Camouflage!!, sensory explorations, nature treasure hunts, following animal tracks, building caves, dens, and burrows and by answering questions such who hibernates? How animals hibernate? How animals in the forest prepare for hibernation? Most importantly, we explore by having fun and enjoying the beauty of the snow with all our senses and, of course snuggling underneath trees and behind snow banks by the creek with meditation, telling stories and reading books.Lately the children are inquiring about:
1) It is possible to hibernate in space? Can people hibernate?
2) How it is possible to live in ice?
3) Who lives in the Arctic? Where do the penguins live? Does the sun shines in the Arctic?
4) How do the baby polar bears live in the cold arctic weather? What happens if the snow melts, can they walk?
5) What about if we add colour to the snow caves and ice houses we have created?
February’s pedagogical theme:
CELEBRATING LIFE IN ICE.
We will continue to explore the meaning of hibernation. We will add the concept of Winterlude, will investigate the life near the Arctic and Antarctic, and the children will be introduced to astronomy concepts such name of stars and how the stars are formed into constellations.We will recreate a Winterlude celebration throughout the forest, we will simulate the Aurora Borealis, and we will create a mini planetarium in the Igloo. These provocations will provide plenty for sensory explorations, games, artistic expression, reading, storytelling, building, creating and recreating, meditating and contemplating. What a great way to explore the forest in winter and to wrap up the most beautiful months of the year.Please join me and the children for a great winter celebration. Parents are welcome to share talents, resources, ideas, and by discussing and expanding these themes at home with your child.

A Big Welcome Back to all our Families! We hope that your winter vacation was fun and filled with wonderful activities.
Now that winter has given us so much snow we are on the prowl for icicles. I bet there are some under the snow. Sara and the children enjoyed their walk this morning. They explored up past the Yurt just to see what changes have occured while we were away. Then it was inside to warm up and play some more.
We are delighted to be offering home cooked meals and snacks. Warm soup for lunch will certainly fortify us as we get ready to play outside again this afternoon.
January is looking to be a great month for outdoor play. We know how to dress for the weather and are ready to have fun.

DECEMBER’S PEDAGOGICAL THEME
The children's connection with the nature continues to grow as our program honours each child’s unique gifts, wisdom, and passion to learn what they truly desire to learn; therefore we encourage fun, safety, creative thinking, problem- solving skills, perseverance, confidence, and self-sufficiency.
Now that most of the leaves are in synergy with gravity and everything has fallen in nature, the children where enquiring why some trees lost their leaves and others not. They have thought that perhaps the trees can be divided in two groups: the “losers” and the “not losers", or “because of cold and the wind trees lose their leaves" and "trees become "bare naked" but "pine trees never ever lose their leaves because they become Christmas trees". These were among the children's theories on why some trees lose their leaves and others not.
December’s experiences and learning opportunities for the children will be to discover their own answers about why trees are losing their leaves from studying trees. The pedagogical theme for December is “BARE NAKED AND EVERGREEN TREES” or Deciduous and Coniferous Trees.
Parents are welcome to share time, talents, and resources in celebrating and honouring trees.