Friday July 15th our crew of woodsy kids changed venues to the Sturgeon River Preserve. The children were encouraged to gather building supplies for our new fairy trail. The forest is a great place to forage for three dimensional art and this exercise encourages creativity, teamwork, and visioning. We supplied a few items to include in their fairy structures, fairies need friends after all! Some chose to team up and make an entire fairy fortress while others chose to make small scale huts, we even had a lemonade stand. A few assisted me in erecting a wall of woven sticks and moss between two trees. At the end of the session I encouraged everyone to sit on the boardwalk and reflect on the experience through nature journaling.

I grew up in northern Michigan swamps and hardwoods. Spending an entire day making forts and traversing bogs was a main staple of my childhood. I love to be in a position to offer similar experiences to the community. Forest School Fridays is the perfect vehicle for our organization to bring kids back to the original classroom.