Spotlight On - Nature Kindergarten

I had the opportunity to head outside with Nature Kindergarten this week and was so pleased to be able to get my hands dirty and to experience Forest Time with our Kindies. Mrs. Jones clearly has our youngest students well-versed in their daily routines, and opened outside time with a review of the discussion that was had earlier that morning in the classroom, about the cold temperatures and whether or not students believed the creek behind the school would be frozen. Students had time to share wonders and thoughts, and then, with Mrs. Jones’ go-ahead, the kids were off, racing to the gate to the forest area at the furthest point away from the school on the gravel track. After some final reminders before heading into the woods, the first stop was the bridge that crosses the creek; and was it frozen? No, not cold enough, but students made observations about animal tracks on the creek bed, newly formed bright green buds on tree branches and the lack of leafy greens currently on trees, making our forest space more open at this time of year. Following our stop at the bridge, students were given the freedom to explore the forest independently and many of them were eager to share their discoveries with me. I saw students searching the forest floor and stumps along the path for ice crystals, others spent time building structures with sticks, rocks and leaves, some spent time climbing and reaching new ground and others experimented with the path that water can take when poured at the top of the sand pit. Each discovery was precious to the child making it and the learning was authentic and literally in their own hands; hands on and experiential learning at it’s finest supported both inside of the classroom and out in the local environment. Mrs. Jones is providing engaging opportunities and building resilient learners through her skills in working with young people and her knowledge of the natural world, contributing to what makes Bondar such a special place to grow and learn.