In a Childs Path Farm Preschool
We care when you're not there
At In a Child’s Path we embrace the philosophy that children learn excellent lessons by playing outside. The article “Why Playing Outdoors Makes Children Smarter” by Stacey Loscalzo in Portland Family tells highlights the reasons we love outdoor play, including: It’s multi-sensory, stimulates creativity, is open-ended, promotes problem solving, and it’s fun!
Read more from the Loscalzo’s article!
In case you haven’t heard, we love pirates at our school. We search for pirates, we search for their treasures, and we sing about them! Here’s our favorite pirate song. We love it because it uses so many great skills: counting, rhyming, and repetition, and to top it all off, a nice reference to a real-world event–going to kindergarten!
When I was one I sucked my thumb on the day I went to sea
I jumped aboard the Pirate ship and the captain said to me
You go this way and that way
Forward and backward on the day I went to sea
When I was two I tripped on my shoe on the day I went to sea
I jumped aboard the Pirate ship and the captain said to me
You go this way and that way
Forward and backward on the day I went to sea
When I was three I skinned my knee on the day I went to sea
I jumped aboard the Pirate ship and the captain said to me
You go this way and that way
Forward and backward on the day I went to sea
When I was four I shut the door on the day I went to sea
I jumped aboard the Pirate ship and the captain said to me
You go this way and that way
Forward and backward on the day I went to sea
When I was five
(YELL) I went to kindergarten!!!!!!!!!
When Richard Louv wrote Last Child in the Woods, he never knew that it would create a movement focused on natural learning. In The Nature Principle: Reconnecting with Nature in a Virtual Age, Louv examines the challenges faced by adults who also suffer from nature deficit disorder. He believes that if adults reconnect with nature, it could be the answer to many of their physical and emotional ailments.
In an interview with Ames Tribune, Louv answers five questions about the effects of nature deficit disorder. He recommends a number of habits that adults can embrace to cultivate an appreciation for nature and natural resource preservation:
At our school, we love to sing Uncle Jesse. It’s a great song to sing around the circle to get the kids energy up before we run around in outdoor play.
Here comes Uncle Jesse
Riding down the lane
With his horse and buggy
And he knows just what to say
He’s hollering (child’s name),
Come on down (child’s name),
Come on down (child’s name),
Touch your head (child’s name),
Jump really high (child’s name)
Sit down (child’s name)
Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder is a book that will change the way you think about the relationship between education and nature. In it, Richard Louv talks about how direct exposure to the natural environment is necessary for healthy development in children and for the physical and emotional health of both children and adults.
At In a Child’s Path, we fully embrace the philosophy that healthy kids learn outside. At our farm preschool, children interact with animals, play in the fields, plant gardens, and taste the food they grow.
In our forest school, children really embrace the outdoors by tromping through the woods and interacting with the naturally occurring flora and fauna. We build forest out of the sticks we find on the ground. We catch frogs in our pond and watch the development of frog eggs in the streams. We jump in the rain puddles and thoroughly enjoy every inch of our forested campus.
If you’d like to learn more about how our children need nature to grow, grab a copy of The Last Child in the Woods.
We love to sing Five Little Skunks. It’s a fun song that highlights counting down from 5 to one.
Five little skunks went out with me
on a picnic one fine day.
We were looking for a shady spot
to eat and a nice little place to play.
But, when I saw people running
and I looked around,
I was quite surprised to see
There were only four little skunks
walking along with me. One. Two. Three.
Four
Four little skunks went out with me
on a picnic one fine day.
We were looking for a shady spot
to eat and a nice little place to play.
But, when I saw people running
and I looked around,
I was quite surprised to see
There were only three little skunks
walking along with me. One. Two. Three.
Oh
Three little skunks went out with me
on a picnic one fine day.
We were looking for a shady spot to eat
and a nice little place to play.
But, when I saw people running
and I looked around,
I was quite surprised to see
There were only two little skunks
walking along with me. One. Two. Oh. Oh.
Two little skunks went out with me
on a picnic one fine day.
We were looking for a shady spot
to eat and a nice little place to play.
But, when I saw people running
and I looked around,
I was quite surprised to see
There was only one little skunk
walking along with me. One. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh.
One little skunk went out with me
on a picnic one fine day.
We were looking for a shady spot
to eat and a nice little place to play.
But, when I saw people running
and I looked around,
I was quite surprised to see
There were no more little skunks
walking along with me.
There were no more little skunks
walking along with me.
Well, now the people were gone
and the park was empty.
It was quite a sight to see.
The five little skunks they had disappeared.
There was no one left but me.
But, then I heard a funny noise
And when I looked around,
much to my surprise
Five little skunks were standing there
right before my very eyes!
One. Two. Three. Four
Five little skunks went out with me
on a picnic one fine day.
We were looking for a shady spot
to eat and a nice little place to play.
Well, we found a shady spot
and we all sat down underneath
a big old tree.
And we had a picnic that day
five little skunks and me!
And we had a picnic that day
—five little skunks and me!
“The most important thing to remember about discipline for young children is that it needs to be kind, tender and humane. And so often it is not. Why are adults so afraid of being kind when disciplining? I think there are lots of reasons: one reason stems from how we were disciplined as children. In a tense moment we often go back to how we were raised even if we resented how we were treated. Fear, also, keeps us from being kind and tender because we are so afraid that our child will become a rude, hurtful, out of control adult. Sometimes we just don’t know a better way.”
Our Muscovy Duck has been laying and sitting on eggs for a while now. She’s sat on them three times and never hatched any before. But it looks like three times the charm! We are lucky to have six, yep six!, new Muscovy ducklings. They were born overnight on Monday and they are adorable!
They are happily living under a heating light in the chicken coop next to the driveway. Take a look when you bring the kids to school!
Five Little Ducks is a great Spring song we love to sing at In a Child’s Path.
Five little ducks
Went out one day
Over the hill and far away
Mother duck said
“Quack, quack, quack, quack.”
But only four little ducks came back.
Four little ducks
Went out one day
Over the hill and far away
Mother duck said
“Quack, quack, quack, quack.”
But only three little ducks came back.
Three little ducks
Went out one day
Over the hill and far away
Mother duck said
“Quack, quack, quack, quack.”
But only two little ducks came back.
Two little ducks
Went out one day
Over the hill and far away
Mother duck said
“Quack, quack, quack, quack.”
But only one little duck came back.
One little duck
Went out one day
Over the hill and far away
Mother duck said
“Quack, quack, quack, quack.”
But none of the five little ducks came back.
Sad mother duck
Went out one day
Over the hill and far away
The sad mother duck said
“Quack, quack, quack.”
And all of the five little ducks came back.
As we head into Spring, we like to sing lots of songs about the sun. Oh, Mr. Sun is a favorite. Sing it with your children.
Oh Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun,
Hiding behind a tree
These little children are asking you
To please come out so we can play with you.
Oh Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun,
Please shine down on,
please shine down on,
Please shine down on me.