Erin Kenny's Page

     In America, we place such a huge value on measurable learning that we forget some times that children are learning every time they seem to be "just playing". There are wonderful ways to support the naturally scientific and inquisitive mind of a preschooler as is demonstrated in an excerpt from the Cedarsong Forest Kindergarten monthly newsletter:

     "As the weather warms up, we have gotten out the paintbrushes several times to use with our black charcoal “paint”. The children…

     Spring has kicked into full bloom and our foraging opportunities have increased greatly. After the weeklong spring break this month, the kids immediately noticed two distinct changes in the plants: that there were pink flowers on the salmonberry and that the very red young tender new growth of the evergreen huckleberry leaves had shown up. We are enjoying the flavors of the leaf buds on the huckleberry, salmonberry, salal, and hazelnut. We have also found many fallen branch tips of the…

Teaching respect for all living beings, as well as for each other, for our families and for ourselves is paramount to the Cedarsong Way. We were so encouraged to hear a 2 year old caution the other kids not to step on a bug and a 4 year old then chime in "because it’s a living being". One day, we noticed a root becoming exposed by our digging and talked about it with the children. We collectively decided to move to another digging spot to protect the plant’s root. We teach the children how…

Of course the most fascinating observation we have been making all month is the ebb and flow of our mud puddle. Before the rain returned, the mud puddle area was dry and dusty and the children explored the perfect dirt to water ratio for creating the ideal mud. When the rain first began, it was a drippy, misty rain and we observed black spots on the dry dirt which the children guessed correctly was caused by rain drops.

Once the fall rains began in earnest, the mud puddle re-filled…