Tinkergarten - Fall Season

We’ll kick off our fall Wellness series by offering four ways to connect to the earth beneath our feet: mud making/play; stone washing; creating with stones; and barefoot explorations. Four ways to engage our senses and feel grounded in our bodies and connected to the earth.

Featured Creature: Earthworm  

Invitation to Play: How can we play with the earth beneath our feet?

Wellness Focus: Activating and balancing our senses

We’ll find a treasure box, only to discover that it is empty! Together we’ll move like agile squirrels as we search for hidden treasures that we can cache in our treasure box.

Featured Creature: Squirrel

Invitation to Play: How can we move and play like squirrels today? 

Wellness Focus: Physical activity leads to healthy outcomes

We take a wonder walk around our outdoor classroom! Along the way, we observe and ask questions about the nature around us. Then, we notice something unusual...squiggles that we can use to pretend and spark joy. 

Featured Creature: Bee

Wellness focus

Invitation to Play: What can we wonder today? 

Wellness Focus: Curiosity is key to well being

Taking inspiration from migrating birds who make a long journey every fall, we’ll use mud to decorate "wings," then fly through our classroom, stopping for food on the way. Each explorer can take home seed and directions to create a bird feeder to support migrating birds.

Featured Creature: Whimbrel

 Invitation to Play: How can our feathered friends teach us about taking on challenges? 

Wellness Focus: Persisting through challenges

Today we set out to create, only to discover that our canvas has an unwelcome splotch on it. Even worse, we forgot our art supplies! We’ll work together to adapt and use colorful objects from nature to turn the mistake into a masterpiece.

Featured Creature: Raccoon 

Invitation to Play: How can we turn a mistake into something beautiful?

Wellness Focus: Adjusting to challenge and frustration

To help kids learn about taking and managing risks, we’ll introduce the “#1 toy of all time”— sticks! We’ll safely discover all of the marvelous things sticks can be and do. 

Featured Creature: White-tailed Deer

Invitation to Play: How can we take risks and stay safe as we explore and play? 

Wellness Focus: Managing risks

In this lesson we’ll discover a box full of “gifts” from the trees and learn more about the marvelous trees around us. Then, together, we'll use sticks and printed gratitude leaves to create a “thankful tree” to express the gratitude we feel for all that we share. 

Featured Creature: Oak Tree

Invitation to Play: How can we show our thanks for the trees? 

Wellness Focus: Practicing gratitude

In preparation for our annual Lantern Walk, we’ll use tissue paper and glue to turn ordinary jars into lanterns that can light up the darkness of the evening, help us learn to embrace change, and connect us to the cycles of nature. We’ll learn the Lantern Walk songs and take a practice walk. 

Featured Creature: Snowshoe Hare

Invitation to Play: How can celebrate the changes that come when the seasons shift? 

Wellness Focus: Embracing change 

At the end of the day, it's the relationships that sustain us most of all. In our final lesson, we share and celebrate special traditions of our families as we cook a pretend feast just like the ones so many of us share with family and friends during the holiday season. Featured Creature: Explorers

Invitation to Play: How can we work together to make a fall feast? 

Wellness Focus: Family and community connections