Moat Creek Beach Week 1

Thursday August 23, 2018
Waxing Gibbous Moon

Today was our first day of the new Forest Kindergarten program, and what a lovely day it was!  We began by hiking up one of the trails until we came to a little opening on the path.  There we had our morning circle, with a central theme of "hazards."  The children already seemed to know a great deal about many of the hazards, including poison (or guardian) oak, crumbling cliffs, and appropriate ways to play with sticks.

After circle was free play and then snack, followed by further exploration of the trail we were on.  The trail over looked the ocean, where we could view the calm movement of waves, occasionally see seals playing, and some mysterious ocean rings.  The kiddo's were delighted to see Turkey Vultures soaring by us along the cliff.  One even landed on a fence post, giving us an amazing view of the size and beauty of this amazing bird!  On the trail the children
found a cool den under a pine tree, and stopped to explore and discover what was inside.  F. and C. also discovered that above the den, the pine tree made a fun nest!  Because high tide was at 11am and the tide pools would be inaccessible, we decided to turn around.  When the kiddo's needed a break from walking, we stopped at an opening on the trail with beautiful ocean views, where I told them a story.  Once rested, we resumed our trek and made it to our next destination; Moat Creek Beach.  Once at the beach we played, explored, and did a scavenger hunt together.  The kids were delighted to find feathers, shells, stones, and drift wood.  We talked about not taking too many treasures from the ocean, and to always say thank you.  Now all back together, we had closing circle, said goodbye and thank you to the beach, and everyone blew a big kiss to the ocean!