Outdoor Learning

We're at the point in the winter where there's nothing really left to look forward to. Christmas is over and so is New Years. Unless you are planning a March break getaway (we certainly aren't!), there's only a slow, bleak march towards the spring to occupy your days. Those depressing grey days when the snow isn't white anymore; just a dirty lump of mush. Mush that will freeze solid causing you to twist your ankle. Oh glorious spring! Where for art thou? It's so easy to get caught up in the winter blues and forget that there is actual life outside! Though it may be grey, cold, and uninviting, there is actually a lot of opportunity outside. If you're a toddler and a preschooler anyways. They can often find the silver lining or bright side to anything when we "jaded" adults can not.

Today was centered around exploring everything about the winter and what was in our own backyard. Itwas a kind of "outdoor science" day. At least that's how I sold it to Miss. A anyways. After breakfast we bundled up and when out in the backyard. We noticed how the snow had a crust of ice. We tried to walk on the top without falling through. Both the girls are light so they could do this and thought it was really neat. Afterwards we slid down the toboggan hill that was slick with ice. Miss. A loved the fact she didn't need and sled and took full advantage of that freedom. She went down on her butt, her back, her tummy, over and over again. Afterwards we gathered snow into a bucket and went in for some hot chocolate.

When we were warm and filled with coco goodness we looked at the bucket of snow inside. I showed them a bowl of water and a bowl of ice cubes. We touched them making "observations" about what happened when we did. The water was wet. The ice and snow cold. In our hands they would melt. We asked lots of questions about what we saw. Why did the snow and ice melt? Why do they look like the bowl of water? I asked Miss. A what she thought would happen if we left the snow inside for a while. "It'll melt?" She asked. We decided to find out. She spooned some snow into a bowl which we left on the table while we enjoyed our grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch. I put onions and tomato in mine. She said that was disgusting! Cheeky monkey!

After lunch Baby K went for a nap. We killed time watching a movie, and when she woke up we checked on our "experiment". After careful "observation" (he he) we discovered the now was now water! "Oh my goodness, it DID melt!" Miss. A exclaimed. I suggested we put the bowl outside in the cold to see what would happen and check it the next day. (Guess what? It turned into ICE!) In the meantime I brought out a bunch of items I found in the backyard. Pine cones, pine needles, leaves, rocks, seeds etc. Baby K loved feeling everything in the box; especially the rocks. Miss. A and I talked about what everything was and what it did. What do seeds do? Why are the leaves and pine needles different? What type of rock is this? Not only did we learn about what things were, what they felt like, and what they did, but also how they smelled. Until everything had warmed up inside, I hadn't noticed the nice pine scent. Now I have some homemade potpourri! Fancy!

Later while I was getting the house cleaned up, we are more than a bit rough on this poor house, Miss. A coloured in pictures of all the things we looked at that day. At the end of the day I asked her if she had a good time. She said yes and that she liked doing all her "experiments" and whether she could do more the next day. Yeah! And that's the story of the day we only watched ONE movie. Tomorrow is "baking and cooking" day.  Which is good, I needed a sous chef anyways.