Wren's Nest Wilderness Preschool : Happy First Day of Wren's Nest!!

September 12th, 2016

Clear blue skies and twelve happy smiles rang in a beautiful first day of Wren's Nest! It was so nice to meet all parents, siblings, (& Hopey the pup of course!) Thank you for warming up our nest with good intentions for the year.

After we said goodbye we all settled around the nest and got a little more acquainted with each other and our space at Common Ground. We decided on our most important rules and boundries: you must always be able to see a teacher, don't eat anything, unless it came from your lunchbox :) without asking a teacher first, and being sure to have a safe body and keep each other safe.

When all of the business was finished we took a moment to quietly take in our surroundings by practicing our "Deer Ears" for deep listening. "The river! The river! I hear the river!" Many of the children began to call out. Their deer ears were right, we could hear the river song and our first adventure together would be down the yellow trail to the soft sandy river banks.

We packed up our shovels, buckets, pots, pans, and paintbrushes and off we went. We all took off our shoes and rolled up our pants. At Wren's Nest we let the children wade in up to their knees, but even though the sun was shining the river had a late summer chill.

Sarah, Jonah, Lincoln, Sammy, Ezra, Nash, Grant & Jackson busy 'baking'

The Chestnut Bakery showing off their beautiful & delicious creations

Sarah made this baby Wolly Bear a raft to keep him safe on the river

For when our toes got cold we had packed our paintbrushes and watercolors and got busy exploring the river bank for good rocks and sticks to paint.

Maisie, Aurelia, Layla, and Wyatt adding color to the river bank

We could have stayed and explored the river bank all day but some of our bellies were beginning to rumble and it was time to head back to the eco lodge. We kept our eyes out for any red eft that may be hiding under the leaves on the trail and found a big family of turkey tail mushrooms on a fallen tree. We stopped on the way home to hear Skywoman, the Ojibwe story of how the earth was made. As the daughter of the sky fell from above to a watery world below, all of the animals of the land and water gathered around to make a place to catch her. Heron, loon, sturgeon, and beaver all tried to bring earth from the depths of the water but it was muskrat who dove the deepest and held the most tightly to the mud in his paw. Turtle offered to hold the mud on his back, and thus there was a place for Skywoman to rest her feet. In her hand was flowers, fruits, and seeds from the sky world that she brought to turtles back and soon an island grew and the land on earth was made.

Its a story of friendship, sacrifice, bravery, beauty, and beginnings and it is my favorite way to start the year.