what can "be" a paintbrush?

here we go! there's never a straggler when the forest beckons.....

a bird's nest, spotted early on...what a beautiful sky!

We learned about ironwood trees today! They look like muscles.

listening very closely to the ironwood tree. It was singing.

I'm not stuck, I'm just yelling!

over a bridge

time to explore

grab a paintbrush...here's some paint!

sticks....leaves.....more sticks....paintbrushes!

tapping the stick to make a painting

all types of shapes and marks

tap tap scrape scrape

I need more paint, please!

wind makes painting even more adventurous!

a balancing act

slippery boots are soooo funny!

We headed out to the trails for a noisy crunchy walk, and found a wonderful place to pause and play, and then paint! The children "found" paintbrushes, and we provided a little bit of brilliant paint to make marks on paper as it blew in the wind. We learned about RED and WHITE oak leaves, and the ironwood tree which is as strong as its name suggests. A brilliant day in the beautiful forest.
Until Next Time,
Michele

who lives in a tree?

here we go!

oak leaves

exploring a very tall tree

comparing leaves

 squirrel's nest

bird nest

journal coloring

yes, we belong!

We spent time outdoors exploring a very tall tree. It was an oak tree! What could live in or near that tree? We discovered squirrel's nest and bird nest close enough to photograph. Our journals were filled with poems and pictures of creatures that could live in  or near a very tall tree.
Until Next Time,
Michele

Out in the Woods

listening to the shaker sounds

what shall we put in next?

take my picture please!

getting ready

GO LEAVES!

listening to my favorite tree. It sang to a few of us.

this is a big vine hanging here

over the bridge

touching moss

 It was a beautiful afternoon to spend in the woods. We made shakers from "things" that we found on the ground...seeds, leaves, sticks, rocks, or whatever would fit in the classic cardboard tube. Our walk through the woods included stops to spend time seeing, hearing, smelling, and touching, and the children helped to create a book of senses for our hike. I almost wish we had an audio to this blog, as we happened to be REALLY LOUD....maybe so we could be heard above the crunching of the leaves.....maybe it was just a LOUD afternoon.
Smiles,
Michele

A Leafy Day

ready to go!

the search is on

how's this shape?

friends

look at the different shapes!

it's a little breezy, hold on!

choosing the right colors

journaling

attaching

this tree has a leaf at the top

The muddy boot club met on a day meant to be rainy...which was, instead, breezy and warm....we searched for three different shaped leaves and learned how to make leaf rubbings to discover beautiful shapes and lines....we made a beautiful wreath for a special person at our school, and after a long hike over the bridges we updated our journals, attaching leaves to the pages, coloring, and telling stories about rainbow trees.

What Happens in the Fall?

We looked around at the fields and asked "what is happening to all the flowers?" and the children just knew...flowers dry up and die so seeds can be planted for new flowers in the spring. Our experience of the seeds was that they could be STICKY, FLOATY, and FUN. I think the milkweed seeds were the favorite. We gathered seeds to push into salt dough pendants, and along the way we discovered galls in the stalks of some flowers, maple seeds that had floated into the fields from the woods, and helped to fill up a bag with a tangle of seeds.

the muddy boot club journal

this looks like an action picture

I made this!

Official Members of the Muddy Boot Club