Blog | Fairywood Farm and Forest School

Dragons, Bubbles, and Popcorn

We used these simple bubble wands made of sticks and rope to create giant, swirling, magical bubbles all week! Every year we grow Glass Gem corn in the Fairywood garden. The kids have been picking the cobs and opening them up to see what colors they are. Each one is unique. We got out last year's dry corn for the kids to shell into a pot and then we popped them over a fire and made delicious popcorn. We told a story about a bear who hosts a party and every party guest brings him popcorn, and his whole house fills up with popcorn! We had a blast acting this story out later in the day. We spent a lot of time immersed in imaginative play at two special spots in the forest. One area is a sl

9/14-9/17

Monday We made potions and a whole lot of bubbles that we put on ourselves and the slide! It was so much fun making a mass of bubbles that kept on growing. We've really been into playing ukuleles! Tuesday We played "What's Missing?" and "Fire and Ice." In "What's Missing?" we set out an assortment of things from the forest (ferns, flowers, leaves, rocks, acorns) and everyone closes their eyes while one person takes away 1-3 things and then we try to figure out what's missing. Fire and Ice is an active game where everyone does what the caller says such as running, melting, freezing, bunny hopping, tornado spinning, hawk soaring, or even turning into a tree swaying in the breeze. Everyone t

Safe and Proud

As we explored the big creek we found a few spots with a very steep bank. It was an exciting and rewarding challenge to climb all the way up to the top. Some of us did it over and over again. One commented, "I feel safe and proud." Whether we're climbing higher than we have before, or asking a new friend to play with us, forest school gives us many opportunities to take healthy risks throughout the day while still feeling safe and supported as we venture a little bit out of our comfort zone. We did a lot of creating this week, exploring color and texture as we made "nature mandalas" with spicebush berries, leaves, and rocks. We also enjoyed painting with a powerdrill and other objects, b

8/31-9/3

Two things we've been identifying a lot at Fairywood the past week: the Spicebush plant, and a caterpillar called the American Dagger Moth. Spicebush is a native woodland shrub that has a spicy, citrus smell and is abundant here at Fairywood. It is one of our favorite wild teas. Spicebush has small red berries that fruit during late summer. The leaves, twigs, and berries can all be used to make tea and was a favorite of the Native Americans. We showed the kids what the bush looks like and how to use their sense of smell to test it to be sure it's spicebush. One kid was breaking up some leaves while playing and exclaimed, "Hey, this smells like my tea from the other day!" They used scis

The Big Oak Trees

The Flow of Sound, Light, Shapes and Color

Rules/Creeping Coyotes/Crystal Cheetahs

Dragons, Bubbles, and Popcorn

9/14-9/17

Safe and Proud

8/31-9/3