Fiddleheads in Winter

Originally published January 7th

Hello everyone,

We had a fun and frosty week talking about animals in winter. On Monday we read Winter Dance, which tells of the winter habits of many woodland creatures, and we pretended to be animals in winter. On Tuesday we read Time to Sleep, and learned about hibernating animals and played hibernation. On Wednesday we read Little Fox in the Snow, examined predator and prey relationships and learned about camouflage. We played a predator and prey camouflage game in the woods. On Thursday we foraged for some sticks and did some roasting of apples and hot dogs over the fire. Then we went inside and read some books about camouflage; Animal Hide and Seek and Look Again. After that we made some adorable camouflage forest creature dioramas. Next week we will be talking about some other animal adaptations in winter, including migration.

The cold presents us with so many interesting things to notice every day. On Monday and Tuesday the world was hard and sparkly with the cold. Wednesday was milder and wild and windy and we played outside all day long. Thursday was frosty and snowy again, and we enjoyed the fire. The cold temps allowed us to make some beautiful ice windows!

News for Now:

Next week we will have some very gnarly temperatures. I want to outline our basic plan for intense winter temps. If the highs for the day are above 30 degrees, we will keep our usual outdoor schedule. This past week when we had temps in the teens as school started, and temps heading up into the low 20s later in the day, we started the day inside, having snack and circle indoors. Then we headed to the forest for a short visit as the day warmed up. All was well and everyone was appropriately dressed and comfortable. (We had some hot cocoa to warm us up once we got to the forest.)

This will be our plan for high temps between 16-29 degrees. For 15 degrees and below we will start the day indoors, have snack and circle inside, and then we will venture outside for a walk or an exploration, but we will not attempt to go all the way to the forest, so that we can head back inside as soon as we stop enjoying the conditions. We will attempt as much outdoor time as we can every day, but on a day like this coming Tuesday, where the high temps are projected in the low single digits, that time will be very limited by necessity. Of course if there is wind chill or some other condition bringing the temps down, we will take that into account in our plans as well.

Here is an approximation of what your child should be wearing to school every day while the high temps remain below 35:

2 pairs of wool or wool blend socks

base layer on bottom

warm sweatpants or other comfortable pants

base layer on top (or two)

thick sweater, sweatshirt or fleece on top

neckwarmer or balaclava

snowpants or snowsuit

heavy winter parka or snowsuit

hat

heavy snow mittens or gloves

Thanks so much for everything that you do to keep your kids geared up and enjoying forest school.

News for the Future:

It's almost conference time! Conferences will be held on Friday, February 4th. Grandma Bonnie will be available for childcare during conferences. You can sign up for a time on the google sheet that I will send out separately. If you can't make the 4th, Monday through Thursday on the week of the 7th will be available at 4:00. Just reach out and let me know.

It's re-enrollment time!

For those interested, it is time for re-enrollment for the 2022-23 school year. I have attached the 2022-23 enrollment docs. To secure a place for your child for next year, please return the docs with a $500 tuition deposit by Feb 5th. Please note that this next year you will be able to sign up for a 2 day or a 4 day option.

I will open up available places to new children after the 5th. There is a growing list of interested families for next year, so any open slots will fill quickly and we will likely have a waiting list. If you know anyone that might be interested, encourage them to reach out soon.
Have a lovely weekend in the snow everyone and stay safe. We’ll see you next week as we go deeper and deeper into winter. May you be happy, May you be healthy, May you be peaceful, May you be filled with joy.

Jessica