We had a great first day of ECO on Wednesday.  Our morning centered on learning specific ECO routines and expectations and exploring our ECO space.  All of our expectations fall under the broad umbrella of the three cares:  take care of yourself, take care of each other, and take care of the earth. Some very specific expectations we learned were the forest boundaries, how to be safe around the safety circle (where we eventually will have a fire),  and how to treat living things in the forest.

Each week we follow the same general structure while varying our games and activities.  When we first get off the bus we stop in the field where we greet each other, share something we are thankful for, sing a song, and play an active game.  We then make our way up to the forest, using our senses to notice changes in nature or interesting observations along the way.  When we arrive in the woods we gather around our safety circle to share these nature notes, eat snack, and listen to a story.  This is followed by our guided exploration for the week.  Some weeks we may have time for some forest choice before gathering back together to say goodbye and thank you to the forest and walking back to school.  Parents are always welcome to join us!