After several times gathering and drying the plantain leaves we were ready to infuse the olive oil. This part I did at home, because it required a long consistent low heat. The result was a beautiful green oil. Next we grated beeswax to make it easier to melt. Now it was finally time to make the salve. We melted the wax using a hot water bath over a camp stove and then added the plantain infused oil. Once it was thoroughly mixed and still hot, I poured the salve into small tins.

The children each decorated their own label and during our final day celebration we displayed them all in a plantain altar. It was a really fun project to do in very small parts over a few weeks with the preschoolers. They were all very excited and proud to show off and try out their salve. 

Three preschoolers “sleeping” in the nest they built. 

We still have limited spot available for the coming school year! Children in our program explore nature, learn about emotions and making friends, listen to stories and challenge their  bodies and minds to try new things. We have so much fun getting dirty and playing together. Please contact us if you would like to learn more. We can’t wait to hear form you.

We started the Winter session by cleaning up Trillium camp and taking advantage of the mild weather to get ready for the rest of the season.

A basket full of whispies for starting fires.

We made bird feeders to take home, and filled one to hang in Trillium Camp.

We saw Bobcat tracks right in camp!

On November 30th we had a friend, Barbara, join us and she documented our day with photos. Here is what that day looked like: After opening circle we headed down to Trillium Camp, hung up our bags and immediately went over to the sandbox. We were looking to see if any animals had eaten the nuts we had placed there for them and had left us some tracks in return. We were not disappointed. We saw many squirrel tracks and could see where they stopped to pick up the food.

After looking at the tracks, Sean demonstrated how squirrels move. The preschoolers loved it and then tried to move like squirrels as well.

Next we climbed up the Climbing Hill and then wandered up to Turkey Knoll. We played some hiding and finding games where the preschoolers pretended to be coyotes, and howled to be found. At Turkey Knoll we explored a shelter that home school kids made, climbed on some logs and rode on the horsey log on the way back to Trillium Camp to have lunch.

After lunch we played one of our games, the mitten. This game is based on the book The Mitten by Jan Brett. I tell the story and the preschoolers act out the story, each of them being a different animal. Of course the more we play the more imaginative the animals become. One round we had a whale, lion, shark, unicorn, and bear all fitting in one mitten. Lastly a mouse crawls onto the bears nose which tickles the bear and makes it sneeze. The sneeze is so big all the animals fly out of the mitten.

The last thing we did was play a sneaking game. We had to sneak up on someone when their back was turned. But when they turned around if the person caught you moving you must gohad to go to the back of the line. Eveyone loves sneaking!

Many days this fall we have spent time on the climbing hill at the end of the day. It is always a favorite activity for the preschoolers. They work hard learning about balance and looking for good handholds.

One day while collecting leaves for our shelter we took turns jumping in the leaves.

A big dying tree was cut down in the field where we gather in the morning. Many days we have gathered it’s branches for firewood. One day we watched the “big” homeschool kids cut some of the tree trunk, then helped them bop a wedge with a big mallet to split it.