Sprouts: January 23rd

We started the morning with a letter from Finny. It had been a while, but even fairies struggle to deliver the mail when there's so much snow 😉

Tending Our Space every week has attracted many feathered friends. The birds know where to come for food and throughout the day we saw Cardinals, Juncos, Blue Jays, Downy Woodpeckers, Bald Eagles, Sparrows, and for the very first time: Red-bellied Woodpeckers! There is also a mystery bird that we will try to identify if we see it again.

Tobogganing evolved into some "rough and tumble" play on the snowy hill. The little Earthkeepers did a great job learning how to navigate this type of play by checking in with each other: "Are you still having fun?", paying attention to body language and our friends' faces to see if they still want to play. They also practiced communicating when they wanted to stop. They revisited Rough and Tumble throughout the day, even discussing who would be the "Pusher" and who would be the "Tumbler". Read more about the benefits of this type of play here.

During snack we read three books; A Log’s Life, The Cardinal and the Crow, and The Girl and the Wolf.

A Log’s Life is an informative and creative tale about a fallen oak tree in the forest, teaching us about the various purposes it serves in the ecosystem during every step of its life cycle. The Earthkeeper’s enjoyed finding different creatures among the beautiful illustrations.

The Cardinal and the Crow is inspired by Aesop’s fables, and touches on themes of teasing, friendship, and doing the right thing. We still love the Cardinals that visit us though, they would never act like the one in this story!

The Girl and the Wolf is an Indigenous twist on a classic wolf tale. A little girl wanders too far and gets lost in the woods. As she begins to panic, a large grey wolf makes a sudden appearance and decides to help. Through a series of questions from the wolf, the little girl realizes she had the knowledge and skill to navigate herself--she just needed to remember that those abilities were there all along. At the end of the book the girl leaves some berries at the edge of the woods, in gratitude for the wolf’s help.

Between stories (and bites of snack) we practiced showing different emotions through facial expressions and body language. What might it look like if someone is having fun, excited, surprised, angry, or scared? Being tuned in to these cues is important when you’re part of a community, especially when playing games like Rough and Tumble!

After snack we brought out some spray bottles, and released our inner artists!

One Earthkeeper thoughtfully colour coordinated Finny’s door to indicate where it was okay to walk (we don’t want any crushed fairies!)

The other Earthkeeper took a large icicle piece and taught us how to pack snow on, then spray it to make beautiful sculptures. The ending of The Girl and the Wolf had obviously stuck with them, because they suggested we offer our art to nature.

We ventured inside to warm up during lunch, and all laughed when one Earthkeeper showed us that he had “Sprouts while I’m at Sprouts!”. He generously let us try some, and explained how to make them. They were delicious!

We’ve been noticing animal tracks in the snow lately and played a matching game that will help us recognize the tracks left by different animals. Some of them are tricky and look very similar.

We ventured back out into the snow and headed down to The Flats. They enjoyed being pulled in the sled. I’m not sure why I wasn’t getting the ride when they pretended to be horses pulling a sleigh 😂

We’d brought along our sculptures from earlier and the Earthkeepers chose a spot to leave their offering to nature.

We had just enough time for a few rounds of Hide and Seek (where following tracks in the snow comes in handy!), exploration of the ice near the river bank, and a “Hello” to a gaggle of geese, and then it was time to say goodbye until next week.

Thanks for a great day Earthkeepers!