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Our Cherry Blossom Playground - 4 Hour Class

A few weeks ago, Teacher Patricia suggested we take the children to the hill area across from the far parking lot. I was all in, as the hills were lined with cherry blossom trees in full bloom and below was a sea of pink from the fallen petals. I could feel that an adventure was going to happen with the children. So instead of going to the playground, we headed over in the other direction.

The children were all full of questions, such as where are we going, are we going on the bus, what about the playground, are we going to the field? We told them we are going on an adventure, it was a mystery. You could feel the curiosity building and more questions were asked. We gave them a hint and told them it was a pink place. Oh boy, that got them going… So off we headed down the walkway with no toys, no bubbles and no wagon, just ourselves.

Do you know what happened? We had many adventures, all with our imaginations, our bodies and the cherry blossom trees. The children loved the way the ground looked with hues of pink below them and above them. The wind would gently blow the petals down which the children thought was like snow. Some children chased the petals while others thought of a way to make the trees rain more petals.

 
The children ran up and down and around the hill endlessly. They climbed trees with a little help from the teachers and once sitting up there, they enjoyed the view. We saw squirrels running around and a few insects as well.



We had a parade that the children orchestrated and performed. There was also some super hero role playing and some dinosaurs running around too. The children also picked flowers from the ground and used them as props for their imaginative playing.



The time we spent exploring on the hill was proven to be a success. The children were so engaged in interacting with their peers, moving their bodies, using their imagination and building their growth in so many areas of their development, simply by being present in nature.

Until next time,

Deanna  

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