The children in our School Age Group 2 program were very excited to go and explore nature in the forest. Now that the weather started to get warmer, they were starting to develop a curiosity of being engaged in nature. As we started the journey into the forest the children were exploring their senses by noticing, touching and smelling all the different types of flowers and plants. As they were doing this Ellery announced, “If anybody sees a white flower, please do not touch it because it is against the law.” Zoe then asked, “What white flower are you talking about?” But as the children kept on walking Ellery saw some of the white flowers and said, “Look those are the flowers, they are called Trillium” Then Olive replied, “Oh I have seen those before,” Aria asked, “Why are we not allow to touch them?” Felix who was walking nearby answered, “That is the Ontario flower.” As, Wesley was listening to the conversation he added, “Like how the Maple leaf represents Canada the Trillium represents Ontario.” As the journey continued the children were intrigued at all the different types of plants and leaves that they were seeing. When, Laura picked a few leaves and said, ‘I love the feel of these leaves they are soft and smooth.” Then Olivia added, “These ones over here are bigger and rough.” As we got deeper into the forest, the children develop their gross motor skills by climbing on some of the smaller trees while others were bouncing and balancing on large fallen tree trunks. They were also able to work together to collect different lengths of branches and added them to an already existing Teepee structure. While others were taking pieces of sticks to dig worms and other bugs in the soil, some were watching and listening to the sound of birds chirping and tiny creatures crawling and running up and down the branches.
This activity provided an opportunity for the children to work together and help each other to complete a task for a common goal. They were also able to practice problem solving skills and critical thinking and also be able to be involved in unstructured outdoor play that stimulated their creativity, encouraged safe risk taking and fostered their curiosity.
