Discovery Woods Learning Community: Our Enironment

Our Environment...The Third Teacher We are working on descriptions, but enjoy the pictures for now!
Outdoor Discovery Areas The Sandpit We have over an acre of land backing up to a woodland with a creek and an abundance of plant and animal life to study and explore. We spend time in this "classroom" every day. (except for bitter wind chills and code red air quality days) I recently heard someone say (please tell me who you were so that I can credit you!) that there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing! Come prepared.

1/2 of the playground We are working toward creating a natural playground area with many "loose parts", and will gradually replace our plastic playground equipment with stumps, tires, reclaimed canoes and kayaks for pretend play, ropes, pulleys, etc.	backyard	In the front area we have a croquet set, a swing for reading stories, a "Toad" habitat that the children created in the front garden bed, and several areas in the woods that we often use for morning meetings, stories and fort making.


What can you do with 3.5 tons of sand? Our 12x30 sand pit is used daily. The children add water, pipes, animals, sticks, and whatever else they can imagine to create zoos, rivers with dams, ice cream companies, deep holes, or just to learn what the sand can do.		Working Towards Certification as a School Yard Wildlife Habitat from the National Wildlife Federation Caring for the natural world is important to us. One of our current projects is developing our outdoor areas to provide for the abundant wildlife in our woodland.

	One of The Play Rooms




a climbing area	finding deer tracks

Savannah is drawing the tree.	Thethree children on the right became very excited this morning when they discovered these shoots in the garden bed. They are drawing them.
Observing changes in our environment...observational drawings for our nature notebooks


We discovered a large bed of natural grey clay in our creek area. We are learning how to clean it and make it ready to use. We hope to build a fire pit for the kiln.


These two girls walk around and around the perimeter of the sand pit practicing their balancing skills	J is searching for a special purple flower for A because she was sad	Making an "ice cream" delivery businesses


We discovered a red-backed salamander in our playground		Off to search for more animals in our woodland


		Creating our own toys



Mechanics and Construction: learning to assemble small machines

Exploring light and shadow



	Painting a "boat"	Math games with real objects


Participating in planning and creating our meals and snacks


		part of the main level studio



Our mice had babies!		drawing the mice


	Learning to play chess

making a compass		Our morning planning meeting



Jackson is working on his ongoing investigation of trains	some handwork

sharing a story	Everyone participates in "building" and caring for our school