Boats

I just love the innocence of this photo and had to share it. On our way to our latest adventure.

Last time we took a trip to the forest we went exploring in the stream and two things happened. One: we hadn't had rain in a while, so the stream had dried up. Two: a homeowner yelled at the children through her window telling the children to stay away from her fence. That was embarrassing to say the least... especially since we weren't anywhere near her fence, plus her home backs onto a public green space!

This time around we decided to keep away from that area of the forest and knowing that it had rained quite a bit the last couple days, there was a pretty good chance that there would be water. Since the children eagerly race towards the stream each time we visit the forest, I wanted to ensure that the children stayed in one area of the stream (away from THAT end of the stream), so I brought along some styrofoam trays a grandparent had so graciously donated.

We quickly discovered that, although there had been quite a bit of rain, the stream did not hold as much water as we thought, and the 'boats' just kind of sat in the water. Not to worry though, it was neat to try out different areas, and to scoop the water with the trays... seriously, these children don't let anything stop them!

In the process we found ourselves soaked to the bone and loving every moment!

Some children tested out their boats with cargo to see if they could float as well 

In the end we discovered that nature has it's own way of making boats, we found a large cluster of pine needles that were able to float down the stream, this caused a lot of observing and a need to go collect our own needle boats... natural is always a better way anyhow! 

Those trays we useful in so many ways that day, and became a great carrying tray to bring forest treasures back to our school!