Nature Experience

Posted on February 1st, 2009 by randy
Every Friday the older Kindergartners and the Grades students venture out to Sanborn Park in Saratoga for a day in our ‘Living Classroom’.  We sing, say our verses, follow the changing seasons (rain or shine), explore natures beauty, tell stories, stomp and run, build bridges, follow animal tracks, and have a wonderfully fun and engaging time.  

Here is a recent account of some of our adventures from Teacher Eva:  

“Every Friday, since we started hiking the earthquake trail, the children have asked if we can start our afternoon hike earlier and earlier, giving up without hesitation their precious play time!  And each time, we’ve gone a little further.  But the top of the mountain continues to elude us.  Every time we think we’re near the top, the trail rounds a corner and we see it climb further up!  And every time, the children mark where we have been, before turning around to go back down (it has become a ritual).  

This past Friday, we came close -  very close.  We slowly climbed up past our first marker, then past our second marker, then past the trees that looked like bamboo until we emerged as if from a dark, cold tunnel into a warm, golden world with a wooded valley falling away on one side and a grassy hill rising above on the other.  Looking out over the tree tops, feeling the mountains so close you can almost touch them, seeing blue jays and hearing birdsong, being so close to that bright blue sky, and having the sun bathe us in its warm golden glow  – it was so beautiful we had to sit quietly and just let it soak in.”

 

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