We have had 3 fantastic sessions of ECO so far this year.  Much of our time has 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.  Most weeks we also have time for forest choice as well.  Finally, children visit their sit spots, where they write or draw in their journals before we come back together for a closing circle, saying goodbye and thank you to the forest.  Ask your child how we do this each week.

With an abundance of red efts in the forest right now, we have spent time learning about these cute creatures and talking about how to treat them with respect - look, but please don't touch.  We spent time building red eft houses, anticipating little visitors.  Red efts are an indicator of healthy wetlands and forests, so it is encouraging that we see so many in our space.  We had a conversation about other things we would expect to see in a healthy forest including trees, plants, water, birds, and other animals.

This week, after reading the book The Very Best Bed by Rebekah Ray,  children spent time creating a bed for their nature name animal.  These beds will serve as their sit spots in future sessions.