The toddler and preschool group have begun their forest journey, walking down Bristol Road to the Denne Woodlot several times a week. The preschoolers who have just moved up remember different areas in the forest to play, and are beginning to act as leaders, showing the toddlers where to go (where the “fire pit” is, the climbing tree, boundaries, etc).
On our first visit, we noticed that the “fire” that we had previously built had been destroyed- either by animals or people visiting the area. The first task that the children chose to do was rebuild the fire. The fire pit acts as our gathering area; we meet there before exploring the forest, and again before we leave. The children set out to scour the area looking for the right sticks to replace the missing ones. The children also noticed that a log was missing; their next task was to find a log to replace the one that had gone missing. While searching, they noticed that our log had been repurposed into a bike jump. The children all worked together to find a log and carry it over, putting it into place.
Early childhood programs cultivate authentic, caring relationships and connections to create a sense of belonging among and between children, adults, and the world around them (HDLH, 2014, pg. 24).
Children thrive in programs where they can engage in vigorous physical play in natural outdoor spaces and playgrounds that present manageable levels of challenge. In addition to providing physical challenge, active play outdoors strengthens functioning in cognitive areas such a perception, attention, creative problem solving, and complex thinking. Through active play and physical exploration, children gain increasing levels of independence, learn to persevere and practice self-control, and develop a sense of physical, emotional and intellectual mastery and competence (HDLH, 2014, pg. 24).
On another recent visit, the preschool children wanted to go and find “our climbing log”. They led the toddler children through the trails until they found the tree. The toddlers spent a lot of time exploring under and around the log, while the preschoolers recalled climbing on top of it and quickly scrambled up on top of the log to carefully balance and walk across it.
After observing the preschool children climbing up and walking, one of the toddlers decided to give it a try, and on his own climbed up and began to walk slowly across the log.
