We had some lovely time this morning in the teaching barn finishing our favorite plant projects and timing ourselves with the times tables. Isaac gave a riveting lesson about Hanibal defeating the Romans by sneaking up on them through the Alps on Elephants. The children finished off the morning with some games in the field and snack.
Then we headed out to our campsite where we carried stumps to complete our benches for the fire. Some kids helped drill the screws into the bench tops while others made leaf piles to jump in or tried out the vine swing by grandmother maple.
We had lunch around the fire pit while we explained the rules of the fire challenge where partners were tied together while they collected firewood. Their teamwork was commendable. Once they collected wispies (small sticks) and some larger ones they were given tinder and the flint and steel they made. One group got a fire in 30 seconds! Some kids got their first sparks and learned to master their new tool.
We cooked apples in the fire and started planning the swamp walk while they baked. In the swamp, a wood turtle was found and brought back to mark on the wood turtle survey started last year.
We were grateful for another beautiful day on the land!
In Nature Connection,
Sarah Latifa (Black Birch) and Isaac (Brown Recluse), October 16, 2023