The bright blue skies this week felt like a harbinger of the growing daylight and all the gifts of winter yet to come. Snow changes everything. The pond is now an ice rink. The tiny, unremarkable hill to the office is the epicenter of frenzied sledders. Our campsite is a mine of glittering ice jewels and crystals. While the adjustment to the winter takes our bodies and minds a bit, once we lean into it, there is so much to experience that is only possible with the transformation of snow.
On Tuesday we revisited White Pine and worked to finish our cough syrup. At our morning table students compared conifers and learned how to identify white pine, red pine and spruce. But memorizing and looking at guidebooks is one thing, learning through action is way more fun! So, we played steal the bacon conifer style but not just that, on the ice! Julie laid out branches of the three types of tree in the middle of the ice and students had to race to the center, correctly identifying which tree was named and make it back to their team. It was thrilling to say the least.
Helpful tips for remembering:
- White pine has 5 needles in a cluster like your 5 fingers
- Red pine has 2 needles in a cluster like your eyes
- Spruce has 1 needle like your nose
The rest of our week was filled with tracking adventures, a great big adventure to Birch village to collect birch bark, and lots of sledding and sliding.
On one day, the students completed a fire challenge! We tied a bucket in the trees filled with treats. In order to get the treats, the children needed to build a fire to burn the rope, which would release the bucket. After working together to collect and build the fire with the help of counselor Masha, one student was chosen to light the fire. No easy task in frigid weather, with gusts of winds and surrounded by all his classmates. He persisted and with the help of our fire song, was able to light our fire and release our treats … dates! We roasted our delicious dates over the roaring fire. What a perfect way to end the week!
—JJ and the Woolly Bear team
February 5, 2022