Fall 2011 Schedule
Week 1- Field Journals
We will make field journals out of recycled materials which will be used throughout the session. We will also choose our "Special Places" and from there do many activities to introduce the idea of using our senses and seeing from different points of view.
Week 2-Fairy Portal
I will take the children through the fairy portal (a special place in the oak woodland where it is said to be a magical entry way into the fairy world.) We will visit natural fairy/gnome homes and hike to look at different animal homes. We will return to our meeting place to create our own fairy houses using natural materials.
Week 3- Medicine Bags
We will be making a meaningful connection with one of our most common Native plants, Sagebrush. This plant has many practical and medicinal uses. We will make medicine bags with the Sagebrush we collect. We will also do several activities to strengthen our senses in relation to the plants.
Week 4-The Seasons
We will learn about what causes the change of the seasons. Observe the changes of the current season. Practice and then perform a short "Seasonal Suite" play for the parents at pick up.
Week 5- Acorn Gathering
We will learn about the different kinds of oak trees and the variety of acorns they produce. We will collect acorns and learn how to process them into flour to be used in recipes that i will provide for the children to make at home.
Week 6- Camouflage
We will learn about camouflage, how animals use it, how people used it for hunting and survival and we will make our own camouflage capes for some exciting camouflage games we will play.
Week 7- Seeds
We will hike and look at all different kinds of seeds. We will learn about which ones are edible, the importance of seeds, their role in pollination and propagation.
Week 8-TBA
End of session celebration.
Some other ideas that may be included or replace one of the above:
Decomposition
Ecological footprint
Tracking
Medicine shields