I stopped by Ithaca Forest Preschool last Monday to join students on a wonderful adventure. Seated in their circle, the preschoolers munched on snacks as instructor Monica told a story. Then it was time for the activity—taking care of the “baby trees” in the meadow.
Grabbing buckets and cups from the sandbox, we all set off up the hill. The sun filtered beautifully through the new fall leaves, covering 4-H acres in a golden hue. The children were eager to weed and spread wood chips around the young saplings at the edge of the field.
I asked, “Why do we pull the weeds and grass away?”
One preschooler proudly replied, “To help these trees grow happy!”
Taking turns, the children pulled away the weeds crowding the new trees. Then we all ran to the large wood chip pile to refresh the mulch around each sapling. The kids quickly discovered that they could place the larger woodchip buckets on their backs and pretend to be turtles.
Once all the saplings were cared for, we headed back down the hill for lunchtime. Everyone was smiling and enjoying the crisp fall weather!
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