I'm a Likin' the Lichen!

Lichen Week! And boy howdy did we find a lot of it! Not only quantity, but many many different kinds of lichen. We also looked at mosses and algae. We learned that lichen is a symbiotic relationship between a fungus and an algae!! They need each other to survive and thrive! The fungus is the scaffolding and the algae lives inside making food for both.

Tuesday Froglets cracked on and studied lichen and moss under magnifying glasses.  

Tuesday Frogs saw an addition to our ranks. A has moved up to the kindergarten group and we are so proud of her!! Glad to have you with us!

Wednesday Froglets found an owl feather, spun until they were dizzy (and Teacher Kathleen was dizzy), posed for photos, and hiked 2 miles!! 

We also came across the high schoolers "running" for P.E. and decided to play a trick on them! Boy were they surprised when 8 three year olds leapt out from behind trees at them!

Thursday Tadpoles were focused and deliberate today. Magnifying glasses and flashlight in hand these hikers got down close to their quarry. 

K even took a short nap in the moss.

Thursday Frogs worked hard on a fort. It needed some steps and there was much trial and error before we finally made it work. There never were more proud engineers than on this day. 

Later we drew in algae and leapt from sliding rock.

Flowers and Seeds

What a beautiful week! We really lucked out with gorgeous weather! A perfect week to dig in the soil, and plant some seeds. As the shirts also came in, we spritzed them with color. As an update to that, I must have the most amazing washer as nearly all the stains were removed. *sigh* Try try again!

Tuesday Froglets found some slugs, a bouncy log, and helped each other succeed. We even got to hear a book read by Teacher Kathleen this time! 

Tuesday Frogs tackled the art project with gusto. I think we hiked about 2 miles today. 

Wednesday Froglets spent time working on balancing and their "Peter Pan Pose" TM  ;) 

Thursday Tadpoles gained new confidence with a borrowed back pack and a first time drop off. Congrats! We have some Tadpoles that are growing up!

Froggy Holler Spring Break Camp!

Earth Heros Unite!! We came together in Hamlin park this week and with an element each day, learned about our earth.  Water, earth, air, and fire came together and under a banner of green cloaks we are ready to celebrate Earth Day, every day!

Our cause was lucky, as we had a wonderful visitor. A big kid that loves the woods as much as we do! She helped some of us cross streams, climb trees, and deepen our appreciation of the natural world. Thanks G!!

There was singing and dancing. There were ear ribbons, and hammocks. We even picked up trash and made sure not to leave our own behind.

Cones were explored. Sliding rock was slid upon. Slopes were conquered. Even a tree was peered through!

Hiking buddies not withstanding, these frogs are number 1! Thanks to everyone who participated in camp. And extra thanks to all your support of outdoor education!

Enjoying the Earth

 Earth Day happens next week and since we do not have class (due to spring break in Shoreline schools) we especially enjoyed our earth time this week! 

Tuesday Froglets chased squirrels about (who were chasing each other and did not notice us), climbed a Madrona, experimented with negative space on fun scratch paper, and found a shelf fungus the size of our head!

Tuesday Frogs made it yet again to the infamous ivy fort working diligently on the invasive vines and creating a space all their own. This is the only FH group that comes to this fort. There was some experimentation with gravity, a slope, and a largish rock. As always, these guys are ever in motion.

Wednesday Froglets worked on letters by creating them with rocks. They enjoyed an umbrella (even though we had little rain under the roof of the forest!).  We learned more about respect and the the creations of others. Thank you B for a wonderful fire pit. It warmed my heart!

Silly froglets under an umbrella!

Thursday Tadpoles explored the raging creek, found potato bugs and even rode a bouncy balance log!

Signs of Spring!!

Welcome and welcome back Froggy Holler Families!! We had a lovely week in the woods looking for signs of spring! I have quite the list to to share. 

Tuesday Froglets trekked the furthest this week at just over 1.7 miles! Wow! Well done! We visited many favorite locations and found signs everywhere. From Wood Violets, to new buds on trees, to a butterfly fluttering by!

Tuesday Frogs blazed a new trail, (like always) and solved a mystery! We found a brand new carpet of moss laid in the dragon's nest earlier that morning and the Frogs found where that carpet was taken from! Super sleuths in the making here at Froggy Holler!

Wednesday Froglets enjoyed some team building, hiding in the ferns, lots of giggling, and even discovered fiddleheads! New ferns poking out ready to unfurl and greet the world! A woodpecker came by for the story and there were even a few power beads found.

Thursday Tadpoles explored fungus, beetle holes, and a chattering squirrel. We saw witches butter fungus, shelf fungus, and lots of worms! We even built a fire ring a pretended to roast goodies.

Make Up Day!

As in to make up a class, not face paint... 

Wednesday Froglets had a canceled class earlier this winter and this week was their chance to get it back. And what a day to do it! We had sunshine and warmth and even a new fort.  There was a lot of hard work, team work, fort building, mountain climbing, mountain sliding, face contorting, and focused studying.

We found a whimsical post with an angry face to mimic.

Someone saw the inside of a tree.

A few hid in the ferns,

A few more rolled in the ferns.

All in all it was a lovely last day of winter. 

MUD!!!

This was the perfect week to end winter! Mud, sunshine, and puddles galore!! 

Tuesday Froglets managed to stay dry and mud free unfortunately. We did try to find the squishy stuff but to no avail. Instead we explored and played and enjoyed the warmth of the next season peeking out at us. 

Tuesday Frogs on the other hand found loads of the lovely wet dirt. A few of us managed to get quite soaked and others were not so interested. The hammock was a nice change and good end of the session treat. 

Wednesday Froglets also found the mud! We had a mud contest to see who could get most covered. I think it was a six way tie!

Thursday Tadpoles were the only group to actually hike Muddy Trail this week.  Previous puddles were on the other side in Dinosaur Valley. Muddy Trail proved extra sloshy and we made good use of our boots!