By LK Toohey, MS, CCLS, Forest Guide
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11 Mar, 2022
Spending significant time in nature has been linked to better overall physical and mental health, in addition to children having better academic performance. In all of our River’s Edge programs, children are moving their bodies and testing limits as they play. The natural materials provided allow for creativity and expression, in addition to the development of physical strengths. Throughout the winter, we have been taking many hikes and ventures to see what we could find in the forest and what changes may have occurred in the colder weather. There is rarely a dull moment as children begin to notice frozen water along the creek, frost covering the ground, many nut shells surrounding the trees, and more. As children become more experienced in the forest, we observe them beginning to notice natural elements on their own and showing them to us as guides, rather than us being always the first to point a discovery out.