Spring has Sprung!

It seems as if Spring has finally sprung here at Tumbleweed. It's the second week of April and buds are just now starting to form on our trees and shrubs, the maple tree is blooming, and seeds were planted just a few weeks ago. It's a huge relief after the months of grey that our weather has been giving us, and we are excited to see what our yard has to show us this year.

We are also looking forward to the spring spruce-up of the materials outside. After winter, we always find our yard turned into a mud zone, with materials scattered and forgotten. When the sun begins to shine we find our impetus to tidy, organize and create provocations both for and with the children. The new bulbs and veggie seeds are finally showing their green, and we are feeling those tingles of inspiration when we bring the children outside and bring their attention to the changes occurring around them.

There are stumps salvaged from a teacher's parent's home, piles of willow branches, fallen sticks from our maple tree, rocks, and new pathways to think about. We are dreaming of planting more native plants along our new paths and creating smaller focus areas for the children to explore. As the days become warmer we spend longer days outside, and art materials are brought out for natural explorations. We're looking forward to supporting a natural order and tidiness to our materials outside, while allowing for free play explorations and use of found objects in safe ways.

The garden is always an source of excitement for the teachers and children. We work together to plant seeds tying in the ideas of the nutrients helping the seeds become food for us to eat. We keep close track on the changes that the plants experience from seed to bud to plant to flower to fruit to decay. The garden is also a wonderful place to include the children in planning, drawing, writing, and dreaming as we select which seeds to plant, art to enhance, labels for the plants, and other stories that pop up as they observe and have conversations with each other.