Seasonal Delights
Each season at Wonder Woods offers new sensory experiences, opportunities for play, and kinship with nature. Many of our playworkers are well attuned to the plants, animals, and shifts in the elements, and they enjoy helping attune the children to them as well. We encourage you to help your children embrace the wonders of all four seasons–even the extra cold or exceedingly muddy times. The following are a few of the seasonal delights we look forward to throughout the year:
Autumn
Autumn is an exciting time. The weather is energizing and often beautiful. We work on establishing routines and relationships with the children. Highlights include:
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Hawks
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Courtship behavior among the deer
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Wooly Bear Caterpillars
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Stories of the woods
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Prairie Plants
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Puffball & Turkey Tail mushrooms
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Preparing for winter
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The first frost
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Black Walnuts & Acorns
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Preparing for Winter
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Dehydration
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Fall Equinox
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Samhain
Winter
In Winter we are bundled up in snowsuits and mittens, so the play can become very large motor- and adventure-oriented. We run, sled, and saw wood to keep warm. In order to balance this out, we go very deeply into storytelling by the fire after snack. Highlights include:
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Ice and snow
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Hot chocolate days (above 15F and below 20F)
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Gathering Kindling
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Hot Tea & Maple Syrup
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Pinecone Bird Feeders
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Preparing the Fire
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Stick Bread & Dutch Oven Cooking over the Fire
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Candle Making
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Winter Solstice
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Darkness
Spring
Spring is a very social time. Everything is thawing and there can be lots of mud! We observe and experience the emergence of new life that this season brings. Highlights include:
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Bird Songs
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Bird migration
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Rain, Thunder & Lightning
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Planting flowers & food for snack
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Oyster Mushrooms & Jelly Fungi
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Harvesting wild foods for snack
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Rain Shelters
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Baby Deer
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Windiest Months
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Spring Equinox
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Clay
Summer
Summer is a dreamy time. The plants are all in bloom and the colors feed our eyes. The weather is often hot and sticky. Kids who attend “indoor school” throughout the other seasons often join us for this season so there is often a larger group of kids who are very excited to be outside. Highlights include:
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Garlic mustard & Stinging nettles
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More mushrooms!
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Insects & Cicadas
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Clay Harvesting
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Natural Dyeing
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Mulberries from the mulberry trees
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Juneberries
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Water Play
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The role of the sun
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Summer Solstice