1. One comparing myrtle and honeysuckle.
2. Next they compared mock strawberries and real strawberries.
3. Finally, we had a station for eating strawberries.

Of course the children’s favorite part was eating the strawberries!

We split them into three groups and had the groups rotate through each of the centers. They were able to find several differences in the leaves, flowers, and fruits of the plants.

Outdoors today the weather was lovely and balmy! We had light rain in the morning, but it finished shortly after we went out to play. The children enjoyed splashing in puddles and blowing in the muddy water with pipes! They also had a great time running, climbing monkey bars, swinging, sliding, rolling tires and balls down the hill, etc. Some caught a cabbage white butterfly and kept it in a butterfly house for an hour or two.

We also played some games at Toad Mountain today. We played an old favorite and introduced the newer frogs to it – Gazumbot. One person is in the middle and is the fire keeper. He has to keep his eyes closed because he is blind. There are keys or some other noisy object in front of him. Every one stands in a circle around him and tries to sneak up to get the keys. If he hears you, he’ll point and then you have to go back to your spot and try again. If you get the keys, you’re the next Gazumbot. There were probably 8 or 9 children who chose to play the game. We played several rounds, they had such a fun time with it! Afterwards another child had an Idea for a chasing game. Each person was to be a train. A diesel train would try to catch you. If you were caught by a diesel, you became a diesel and tried to get the other trains too. Everyone had a fun time! We also enjoyed a picnic at Toad Mountain today.

Centers were making things with natural materials, beans with containers, dollhouse, and train tracks. The children had fun in all the different available activities! It was another fun day at the Pond!

It was a Huntley Meadows day today. Those Tadpoles who went saw lots of different wildlife including woodpeckers, red-winged black birds, snapping turtles, another kind of turtle that is smaller, brown and green frogs, tadpoles, and geese. Along the pathway to the boardwalk there were a lot of different kinds of plants. They saw miniature white rose bushes (no blossoms yet), various vines, trees, and my favorite, ferns. We made
multiple stops on the boardwalk to sit quietly, watching, and waiting for the turtles and frogs to go about their business. We even got to see a dragonfly lay eggs in the water.

Those who stayed at Frog Pond got to go to the butterfly garden and learn about butterflies. After exploring the garden the Tadpoles went to Grandmother Oak Tree meadow and played around in the yard.

It was an awesome day at Frog Pond!

Miss Heather
Lead Tadpole Teacher

This Frog Pond ritual is a particularly dear one because the children host it. They decorate and mail the invitations and make the egg salad, hummus, and lemonade. It is their time to begin practicing competencies in planning, preparing, cooperating, and celebrating. These are skills that will last a lifetime and make life worth living.

We will have our ingathering in the playground and then follow the drum down the path to Grandmother Oak Tree. Herb Tyson will sing to us then we will have a picnic on the lawn prepared by the children. We look forward to this day to celebrate Spring and Grandmother Oak Tree with our Frog Pond Family!

In the meantime, enjoy these photos from last year’s celebration.

This morning we discovered two crickets in our classroom, one of them quite small. It had to have been a nymph, or smaller version of the adult. Then outdoors we found a ladybug larva. It looks nothing like its parents. It is black and orange, has six legs, and is spikey!

We also turned over logs and ofund all kinds of creatures living there. We found ants carrying their eggs and larvae to safety. We found worms, millipedes, slugs, and beetles. And, the coolest discovery in my opinion, we found a large (1 inch body, 2 inch leg span) black and brown mama spider protecting her greenish-white egg sac. The egg sac was almost as big as her abdomen!

We also observed the ducklings as they played and splashed in the water with their mamas. They are so cute! And they’re growing so fast! Take time to check them out sometime when you’re here.

Diana,
Lead Frog Teacher

It was so much fun playing outside with the Tadpoles. In small groups the children planted seedlings outside with Ms. Lora, and later with me. Then we watered the plants. That was fun. After they took turns helping me water the plants, I turned the nozzle to mist and showed the Tadpoles a rainbow while getting them wet. They kept running up to the water and away again, over and over. They were disappointed when the water was turned off, but quickly went back to playing in the yard.

The Tadpoles also helped me fill the bird feeder today. They each took turns scooping the seeds in. Then they sat on the ground a short distance from the feeder to wait for the birds to come. A robin flew to the ground and picked up a worm while they were waiting. They all got excited and watched as it moved around and flew back into a tree.

Inside, the Tadpoles played fun jumping games in the back room. They took turns climbing onto the step-like mat and jumping off of it. They also played catch with a soft ball back and forth.

In the front room, the Tadpoles played with musical instruments. They sang songs while they played, including “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,” “The Itsy Bitsy Spider,” and “ABC’s,” Some preferred to do drums while others played and sang.

It was a fun day at Frog Pond.

~Miss Heather
Lead Tadpole Teacher

Outdoors today some children played in the tent they had constructed yesterday. Others played with wheelbarrows and pretended there was a bad guy at the North Pole (top of Toad Mountain). Some found glue, glitter, chalk, and mesh fabric and made some artwork on paper. Others climbed, ran, swung, jumped etc. We also went to the Meadow, adjacent to Toad Mountain, and played Aviator. It’s a game in which one person is the air traffic controller and the rest are airplanes. Air traffic control tells them when to go, and then warns them if there is bad weather, such as a tornado, hurricane, or thunderstorm. If there is bad weather, they must turn around and go back. Whoever gets to the other side of the meadow first becomes the next air traffic controller for the next round. They had great fun racing across the meadow as airplanes! We also enjoyed a picnic outside and a little extra play time before coming in.

Centers this morning were watercolors, wooden blocks with ramps and cars, water with containers and exotic animals. It was another fun and busy day at the Pond!

Ms. Diana
Lead Frog Teacher

Animals that have been dormant through the winter crawl out of their havens to bask in the sun. These include the turtles, dragonflies, and snakes we have been seeing at Huntley Meadows this past month. Tiny new leaves pop out of their swaddling buds, and flowers burst open, dotting the muted, green-tinged landscape with bold color. The air smells of damp soil, and under logs hide slimy pink earthworms that wriggle and tickle the children’s palms. Aren’t you glad that your child can experience this sensory feast?

Lately I have been considering what should be the goals of an outdoor learning program for young children. I want to share some of those thoughts with you.

Immersion in rich sensory experiences is one of many benefits to outdoor play and learning. These experiences, along with running, balancing, climbing, hiding and resting in natural spaces with varied terrain and challenges, help to develop children who are whole, fully integrated and capable of reaching their fullest potential for learning and physical competence. This is one of our primary goals at Frog Pond.

Children are naturally drawn to animals and growing things. Another of our goals is to spark that interest and build on it to increase their excitement about learning and their love of the world around them. “Any natural place contains an infinite reservoir of information, and therefore the potential for inexhaustible new discoveries,” says Richard Louv, author of the international best-seller, “Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder
“* (p. 67).

When we walk to Huntley Meadows week after week and the children are learning to know a small piece of the natural world intimately, in different seasons, weathers and times of day. They look deep beneath the surface of the water to see fish and tadpoles. They look far away to see herons or woodpeckers, and observe closely to tell if that was a beaver or a muskrat we saw. They learn to spot clues to the presence of critters we can’t see. Studying this place through a magnifying lens will give them a sense of belonging here, and open their awareness of the larger world.

We want to teach children to love and respect the earth, and to understand that all life is linked. We want them to know our lives depend on earth’s resources. Children who experience wildlife and wild places will know that they are valuable and important. Those who have never known the joys of nature won’t notice when they are gone.

So what are our learning goals at Frog Pond—our Nature “SOLs”?

• Children who are whole and healthy in brain and body.
• Children who love to learn.
• Children who know that the more they look the more they will discover.
• Children who feel at home in the world and know that they belong.
• Children who care and feel connected to the earth and all the life on it.

*Please note that a small portion of all proceeds from all purchases made using the above links will go to Frog Pond. We appreciate your support!

In my group we read parts of a book about baby animals, how they’re born, how they grow, whether or not their parents take care of them, etc. We then acted out being baby animals in the back room. The children loved pretending to be baby animals! Some of them were chipmunks; others were raccoons or birds. We greatly anticipate the hatching of our ducklings,
which are due this week!

Another highlight today was the “growing up” of two new tadpoles to become frogs! The two came down with their Tadpole tails on, which we removed and gave them Frog hats instead! We then sang them a welcome song as we held hands in a circle and walked around them, while they stood in the center of the circle, taking it all in. Our class is growing!

Ms. Diana
Lead Frog Teacher

Some of the Tadpoles also enjoyed a trip to Huntley Meadows where they saw an ant colony that lives in a tree. They watched as the ants went about their business. They saw an Oak Tree sapling and squirrels running around. They saw and heard birds flitting about and talking to each other. They also learned about Poison Ivy; what it looks like and what will happen to their skin if they touch it.

The Tadpoles who stayed at Frog Pond played in the houses and the sand around the houses. After a little while the Tadpoles got to go on a walk to the butterfly garden and then to Grandmother Oak Tree. At Grandmother Oak Tree the Tadpoles asked to tell stories and each took turns doing so. We hear the Three Little Pigs, Goldilocks, Cinderella, a made up story about a bear and a butterfly, and  enjoyed hearing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star sung to us.

~Miss Heather
Lead Tadpole Teacher

In April we celebrate the life-giving beauty of the rain, as it waters the earth, stimulating life and new growth. We plant our gardens, starting them from seeds, and expecting to tend them through the summer to fruition. We play in the rain, the mud, and the muck, enjoying the sensations and creating lasting memories.

We learn about water, its importance to the earth and to us, its cycle from ground to sky to ground again, and so forth. We’ll also learn more about seeds and plants, what they need to grow and how to care for them.

We’ll also prepare for and host the Grandmother Oak Tree Tea Party on May 2^nd. The Frogs will be involved in the details of planning and preparing for the party, from creating invitations, to making food. We look forward to this celebration with you all, as part of our Frog Pond Family. Spring is in full swing, and we’ll experience it to the fullest!