It was a grey, rainy morning at Forest School, so we started our day getting cozy in the dome, colouring and listening to stories. I'm beginning to think the Wildflowers would happily let me read to them all day!
But eventually, we decided it was time to get outside and go for an adventure. As one Earthkeeper reminded us, "Wildflowers never give up!"
So off we went into the rain, making our way across Blackfriars Bridge. Our two youngest Wildflowers were walking together when I overheard one say, "Hey, can I tell you something? Worms come out when it rains!"
The girls were also delighted to discover that the couch we'd seen in the river was finally gone! (A little behind-the-scenes stewardship: Tom and I removed it last night after our service requests to the city went unanswered.)
As we walked, we practised all those little things that come with navigating our community: sharing the pathway, using crosswalks, watching our surroundings, and listening for the bells and voices of approaching cyclists. When you stop to think about it, there's an awful lot for children to learn about moving through the world safely and independently!
Despite the drizzle, there wasn't much complaining. The girls admired enormous leaves, recognized familiar landmarks, and entertained themselves singing about raining tacos.
When we reached Wish Bridge, we peered down into the water looking for minnows. There had been so many the past two days, but today we couldn't find any! I wondered aloud whether perhaps they hide when it's raining.
"Minnows are very tricky!" offered one Wildflower.
"They should like the rain, because it's just water," reasoned another.
Fair point!
We continued towards Gibbons Park, stopping briefly at my dad's memorial tree along the way.
Once we arrived, some girls headed straight for the playground while others wanted to explore along the river. That's when one sharp-eyed Earthkeeper noticed something hopping amongst the leaves.
A toad!
The girls took turns holding their new friend, whom they named "Toady," before bringing her over towards the playground. One Wildflower pulled out our field guides to learn more about our discovery, and together they identified her as an American toad.
Then it was time for some serious sliding!
The Wildflowers were eager to test out their rainy-day "slip n slide" idea on the MUCH bigger slides at Gibbons Park. And boy, did they slip! The wet slides sent them flying down at quite a speed, sometimes landing a couple of feet beyond the bottom!
One girl noticed that she wasn't sliding nearly as quickly as the others. After thinking about it together, the girls realized she wasn't wearing splash pants. Could the slippery material be making the difference?
I love when the girls make these observations and start working out possible explanations together, right in the middle of their play.
On our way home, one Wildflower asked if we could visit my dad's tree again. This opened up a conversation about memorial trees and benches, and how people create special places to remember loved ones who have died.
The girls were interested enough that when they spotted another memorial bench, they ran over to read its plaque. They read the man's name and then worked together to figure out how old he had been when he died.
Since memorial places had captured their curiosity, I challenged them to find another one: our mole grave!
I offered clues based on landmarks along our route, encouraging them to pay close attention to where we were and what they recognized. Sure enough, we found the mole grave and stopped to pay our respects.
When we reached a fork in the pathway, the girls decided we'd take the upper route home. This turned out to be a great decision because, from high above the river, we had a wonderful view of our heron friend fishing!
We stopped to watch her, and were lucky enough to witness her spear a fish with that long, pointed beak!
We also spotted a rather bedraggled, rain-soaked spider sitting on the railing along the dyke. Some of the girls declared it "cute!"
Haha, I'm glad they think so!
After such a long walk and so much time in the rain, it felt wonderful to get back to the dome, dry off, and get cozy. The rest of our afternoon was spent enjoying arts and crafts, board games, poetry, peg puzzles, and clapping games.
What started as a gloomy, rainy morning turned into a day full of discoveries, interesting conversations, and some very speedy slides. I'm glad we decided to head out, and I'm glad the Wildflowers reminded us that we never give up!
Thanks for a great day, Wildflowers!
