Winter, 2023
At 8:30 am, children, educators, and some parents start gathering at our meeting point in Baabda Forest.
Today, Laila and George volunteer to be head of the snake, ready to lead the children to home base. We gather the children with our wolf call, and Laila and George ask if everyone is ready.
We set off into the forest singing, “Off we go through the woods, hand in hand through the land”.
On the way, the children still check the wild mulberry bushes for any ripe berries since it’s been an unseasonably warm winter. Nour and Mariam pick the red ones as they love them even when they are sour!
We arrive at our water break area and everyone has a sip of water. Nahla drops her bag and climbs up the oak tree that the children love to climb. Nahla is now able to reach the very top branches, bouncing joyfully to test her prowess.
The mushrooms are out after the rain and the children have radar eyes, naming them according to how they look: strawberry cookie mushroom (bleeding tooth), orange juice mushroom (orange waxcap) and orange pancake mushroom (boletus).
As we arrive at home base, we gather in our morning circle and sing songs to each season. We stomp our feet to the traditional dabkeh and say good morning to the forest and each other. Gustaw has started to join our circle instead of climbing up the hill and singing the songs quietly. We close with announcements and the activities of the day.
We share a snack together then transition to free play, each at their own pace. The children play in small groups, or sometimes all together, games such as What time is it Mr. Fox? or Hello, oh Uncle Troll. Some children engage in imaginary play, a group is playing family, another chases the monster and makes him mud food in appeasement.
During free play, we have art and crafts activities for those who wish to join. Our staple activities this year are weaving and whittling wood. Aiden whittles a wooden bird and Jude weaves a ninja star, “God’s eye”. Once a week we take an intentional nature walk and observe how the forest has changed, ask questions, and develop projects from children’s wonderings.
At noon, we gather together to listen to the oral stories of the month. Today, we are listening to the Palestinian folktale “The Old Lady and the Cat” in Arabic, and tomorrow to the Chinese folktale “Good Friends” in English.
At lunchtime, we sing blessings to the earth for providing our food and wish everyone sahtayn (good health). Today, Milya and Mariam are helping with washing hands.
After lunch, Joud and Nour nap on hammocks hanging between trees. For the rest, it’s quiet time: we read, write and draw in our journals. After quiet time there is a little more time to play while the educators pack up with some help from the children.
At 2:00 pm, we come together and sing a farewell song to the forest. Once a week, we end our day with a reflection circle, where we each share our thoughts on the day. We gather to leave and Laila and George lead us back to the entrance of the forest.