Hello Nuthatch Families!

This past week, the Nuthatches spent a lot of time thinking about changes, in ourselves and in our surroundings… and the change of seasons! We celebrated and welcomed Fall, finding signs of its presence all around us in the changing leaves, the crisp morning air, and in finding our rhythm in our new Ash Grove nest. Here are some highlights so you can connect with all the joy we’re finding in our new forest home together!

During our first full week at preschool, the Nuthatches really settled into our routine and rhythm. We’ve spent time together each day making our new nest – the Ash Grove – our home. We learned how to spot ash trees in our nest by noticing their compound leaves, and opposite branching patterns – like stretching your arms out to both sides! In our opening circle on Tuesday, the official Equinox, we practiced standing on one foot. Then we tried extending our arms on either side, like the ash tree’s branches, and found we were able to balance more easily. We paused to think about how the day and night are the same length now, like two branches level with each other, or a balanced scale. The Nuthatches also celebrated this special time of year by learning a new song and singing it every day this week (there’s the third R: repetition!). Here are the lyrics so you can sing it with your child (there are motions too!):

Turning, turning, the Earth is turning.

And from morning, round to night.

On our way to Ash Grove one day, we gathered signs of Fall and then placed them in our fire circle (yet to hold fire!). 

The Nuthatches are a busy brood of builders. We’ve made a playground in our Ash Grove! Every day, this playground looks different. Often we find that all we need is a sturdy ash limb (left over from the construction of our lean-to) and we can go on top of, under, over, or even hang from it! One day, an ash limb became a door and we took turns giving clues for fellow Nuthatches to guess passwords like “goldenrod” and “charcoal” and our birth months.

One of the many evolutions of our forest playground! 

On Tuesday, Elisabeth finally revealed what was inside the Mystery Box! A sinking stone, used by Native peoples to fish, and used by Tunbar in the final installment of our first ongoing story. We asked for volunteers to bring our next mystery and were met with enthusiasm; one preschooler kept a secret for two days, giving us hints and fielding our questions about the object. It was bigger than the sinking stone, round but bumpy, different on the outside than on the inside, and it had been cracked open using not one but two hammers. At the end of Thursday, our volunteer opened the box to show us… a geode!

A preschooler holds onto Mira’s arm to take a big jump — and a moment after this picture does it independently!

The Nuthatches played games this week to learn each other’s names and to get to know each other. One the preschoolers asked for again and again was Seasons Are Changing, a rendition of a Primitive Pursuits favorite, Forest Fire, which Mira adapted for our themes this week. We started our “project time” – the South part of the day in the 8 Shields model – with a conversation about animals and how they change throughout their life cycles and adapt to the changing seasons. Shedding fur/scales/skin! Growing bigger and more independent! Hibernation! Migration! Caching! Then we invited everyone to choose an animal but keep it to themselves until the end of the game, like their own little Mystery. For the first round, Mira started off in the middle of a field, playing the role of The Seasons. Preschoolers then ran from one side to the other when Mira called out an attribute or behavior of their animal, dodging bandana balls – or “banana balls” as we accidentally, and now jokingly, call them – on the way. Upon getting tagged, preschoolers became “Seasons” too and collectively came up with more traits to call out: “If your animal _________”… And when nobody ran, we shouted “Seasons are changing!” signaling all the animals to run to the other side, because seasonal changes affect every living being. 

The Seasons huddle while the animals wait to hear if they need to run. 

Last but not least, the Nuthatches took our first adventure far from the nest on Wednesday. We gathered colorful leaves that called out to us as we walked to the camp up the hill from the Chickadee nest. We then practiced “fox walking” down the path into Trillium Camp, which we had heard would be empty when we got there. Still, we wanted to be as quiet and mysterious as we could while sneaking in, placing the basket in the Chickadees’ fire circle, and going right back out the way we came. Despite the excitement of this task, we stayed quiet until we were all the way up the hill again! When we got back to our camp, we found a basket of beautiful leaves in our fire circle… how did it get there, we asked? One preschooler thought the Chickadees may have read our minds (we’ve been having a lot of “mindreading” moments lately). Another preschooler suggested that a snake ate the basket, carried it in her stomach to Ash Grove, and then pooped it out for us to find. One of the numerous mysteries this week, and there are many more to come!

Equinox wishes for balance and welcoming changes,

Elisabeth and Mira 

Hi Chickadee Banditry!

The forest is constantly changing around us and we feel so grateful to have the opportunity to observe these changes with your children, who see so much! They’ve noticed the abundance of leaves on the ground in Trillium Camp, they’ve spotted some leaves starting to change color and they’ve been taking time to stop and pick up rocks to see what might be hiding underneath. This time of year, the harvest season, can be so busy but your children remind us to slow down, look at the world with wonder and walk with curiosity.

The Chickadees on a wander in the Meadow in search of colorful leaves.

This week we welcomed Fall and all of the colors, smells and gifts it brings! Maddy wrote and taught us this Equinox Song, which you can listen to by clicking on the link below. And here are the lyrics so you can sing along too!

Dear Nuthatch Families,

We are so grateful to have begun this adventure of learning and growing alongside your children this fall! We want to share this journey with you, so here is a taste of what we’ve been up to, from our nest to yours…

Preschoolers spread out with their lunches after a morning of focused, hands-on activity. 

These first two days at preschool have found the Nuthatches stepping into a beautiful place that is new to many of us — the Ash Grove — and asking how we can make it a home. Part of this has been social; we’ve been learning each other’s names and what brings us joy and gratitude (trees, twirling, family, and dancing – to name a few!)… And then there is the natural space around us: at snack time on Thursday, we asked the preschoolers how they would like to care for and shape our nest. The first projects they got excited about were adding to the basic structure of a lean-to shelter in camp (thanks Jed and Sean for putting this up!) — tying limbs together with goldenrod, making deer fur pillows and other furniture — and working as a family of squirrels to add nuts and leaves to our “fall sensory pit” with the awareness that winter is gradually on its way. Several children began measuring everything they could find in the shelter using bark measuring tapes. A few others began a different building project: fairy homes! 

Children working on furnishing and beautifying the shelter. 

Upside-down nuthatches (ask your children!),

Elisabeth and Mira

Dear Chickadee Families,
We can’t believe that our first two days of preschool are already behind us, but what a fun first two days they were! On Monday we gathered in the log circle near the red oak tree and Maddy taught us the Welcome Song. The lyrics are below so you can sing it at home!

Chickadees playing on the Climbing Hill with Hannah. 

We traveled down to Trillium Camp, stopping along the way to pick up special sticks, stones, leaves, and other objects that caught our eyes. The children put their treasures on the nature table and noticed a basket made of smooth white pine bark and a nest made of mud and dried grass. The Chickadees were exploring Trillium Camp when they came across a large slug. The children described what it looked like (“grey skin with black spots”) and watched as it started to move slowly across the dead leaves, leaving a shiny trail of slime in its wake. 

A child touching a leopard slug!

On Tuesday, Sarah asked the Chickadees to help her solve a mystery! She played these two sounds (play the first audio clip called “song” and the third named “calls”) and asked the children if they had heard them before. “It’s a bird,” one child said. “A chickadee,” said another. Hannah showed the group a picture of a black-capped chickadee from a field guide and explained that the little, but brave, bird with black feathers on its head is what our flock is named after!  During snack, the Chickadees heard some rustling in the leaves behind the woodbox. Everyone sat very still as a small animal with white stripes ran toward the climbing logs and sat staring at us — it was Chippy the Chipmunk! The children practiced fox-walking, walking very quietly like a fox, to see how close they could get to Chippy without scaring them away. Do you think we’ll see Chippy in Trillium Camp again this week? 

Children building a tower of wood cookies. 

We had a wonderful first week with your children and are so appreciative of their wonder and curiosity for the world around them. We can’t wait for the adventures the Earth has in store for us this fall!

Slugs and chipmunks,

Sarah, Maddy & Hannah