Golden Gate Park

Before meeting up with Charity for music class, the children had the chance to explore the forest, touching, hearing, smelling, and seeing all that it has to offer. One of the first things they spotted was a sprinkler that rotated 360 degrees around the grass. Sure enough, the kids ran through the sprinkler and got soaking wet, which helped cool their bodies down on such a hot day! Some of the children made a game of running away from the sprinklers as it rotated around in a circle; whilst, other friends tried to stand at different distances from the sprinkler to find out how far the water could reach. Beyond the sprinklers, the children climbed up a hill and found a log to play on. They practiced their balancing skills as they walked across it, and our observant friend, Nora, even spotted a red-tailed hawk high up in the tree!

Venturing past the log, we found a tall, fallen tree, sparking conversations about what had happened to the tree. Nora asked, “Why is that tree falled down?” Her buddy, Georgina, suggested, “Maybe it was burned. Maybe it’s dead. maybe it was chopped down.”

They moved closer to investigate and Rebecca pointed out that the color of the roots were black. Hearing this, Leif, who was nearby and curious about the tree as well, stated, “It was burned. It broke apart and fell down.”

As the children explored the forest, some friends collected orange flowers and various sticks, which they pretended were something else and used as props in their imaginative play. Dylan, in particular, found a curvy stick that diverged into two thinner branches. He pretended that it was a “grabber for water, hammer for knocking on trees, and a stethoscope.” He also explained that “the water goes through here and then pops out of here like a stethoscope water gun.” Finally, he ecstatically exclaimed, “These are all my water guns. They help me get away from water! They sucker up the water! It sucks in the water here and then pops it back out. Then it makes a fire rainbow!”

Creativity is just as important for young children as it is empowering, helping them to develop as critical thinkers and problem solvers who enjoy a growth mindset. The forest is undoubtedly the perfect place to promote creativity in young minds!

Here are a few more pictures highlighting all the fun that we had:

Crissy Fields

With the weather being so sunny and warm, the preschoolers headed to the beach at Crissy Fields to soak up the sun. They played in the water, running through it and splashing their friends, dug holes in the sand, and built sand castles! Below are some pictures with captions documenting what they were doing.

“I caught a puffy puff fish! A crab fish!”
-Dylan

“We’re pretending to make coffee! Strawberry coffee!”
-Eila

Leif and Ollie have dug a hole in the sand. They are pushing the rock in that hole.
Leif: “That rock is living in the home. This is a home for rocks. They sit in their home.”
Eila: “Can I help you too?”
Leif: “Yes.”
Eila: “What can I do?”
Leif: “Put sand on top like this.” (He demonstrates with his hands to pick up the sand and place it on top of the rock)
Eila: “Yes! Yes! It worked! I helped!”