The long hot summer days have arrived and we have abandoned the classroom!There is so much to see and learn outdoors! On one of the early summer days(before Winter pushed himself back in)we took tables and chairs outside and the children took their work outdoors! I was delighted we did because rain and cold weather returned until early June.The children are very happy playing together in the garden and Tadhg has resumed his snail hunt!We visit the “secret garden”(my parents) and they delight in the beautiful early summer flowers.We take our birds on a bird walk and play the “silence game” and try to identify the garden birds by their song.The swallows are nesting in the stables so we can watch them fly in and out, though I dont think the chicks have hatched yet..However,the garden was a very noisy place until last week as we had a starling nest in the school roof.They provided much entertainment as they fed their young but now the fledglings have flown. Our peas,beans,spinach,radish,cabbage,beetroot,lettuce and potatoes are being looked after,weeded and watered by a very enthusiastic bunch of gardeners.The children love looking after the plants and enjoy working with the earth and observing all the little creatures that they respect so much.
The weeks are flying by and we are already in our 4th week of the last term! I have shared my adventures from Yellowknife with the children who were enthralled with the stories. I also brought back little models of the seal with her fur and Inuit Mother and Baby to add to the N.American basket.I have added some beautifully illustrated books to our library about life “up there.”The children never tire of hearing these stories.It has been so cold and it seems as if Winter is very reluctant to let Spring in!The little garden birds are busy..singing despite the winds and rain and blue tits have made their nest in the nest box.We are not sure if the hen has laid her eggs yet but we are waiting patiently .. observing quietly!The swallows have arrived back to their nests in the stables and the house martins are under the eaves. The seeds we planted in March have germinated but it is much to cold to transplant to our raised beds in the veg garden. However,we did transplant the tomatoes to bigger pots and each child brought home 2 plants each.Mums and Dads can look forward to nice,sweet,juicy tomatoes in late August if the little plants are minded well.The leaves on the blackcurrant bushes are growing bigger day by day.I find that the blackcurrant bush literally grows before our eyes and as the children pass it daily on their way to school,it tells us Spring is here even if the weather doesn t.The blossom is on the cherry tree and hopefully the bees will pollinate despite the cold weather.Meanwhile,we wait for REAL Spring.One day last week,the sun shone and it was warm!!I seized the moment and brought the tables and chairs outside..school and work in the garden..what fun and the children worked so hard!!
All too soon our holiday is drawing to an end and we leave Yellowknife to morrow.Yellowknife started out as a collection of tiny log cabins in the mid 1930s after gold was found here.Two massive gold finds produced 2 very active gold mines and it attracted prospectors from all over Canada.It is situated on Great Slave lake and was named after the Dene 1st Nation Aboriginals. To day people from all over the world live here.We have never been in a place so remote and so beautiful ,right in the middle of the wilderness.There are 4 official languages here and this is home to Inuit and Metis as well as Dene Aboriginals.First Nation peoples have kept their old traditions of trapping and hunting and mothers carry their babies very snugly in their parka hoods! We have had the time of our lives,every day action packed and we will be so sad to leave it all. We have been given a taste of a way of life that will definitely entice us back….we loved and lived every precious second up here…we made some wonderful new friends…we went dog sledding,ice fishing(Emily caught a pike and within minutes it had frozen solid)…we went on the ice road at 1am,-25 to view the amazing Northern Lights ….we went to a film festival in the stunning ice castle …we skidooed through the wilderness over frozen lakes and portages to Pauls winter camp(wow) and did and saw more than we ever dreamed.Sadly,we l say goodbye,the hardest part but we l be back!
We arrived in Yellowknife,N.West Territories, Canada nearly 2 weeks ago to a completely white world with glorious blue skies and day temp varying between -5 and -15 degrees.Our time here has been action packed ..every day a new adventure and we’ve been introduced to a whole new world!
The ice road starts here and leads up to the mines,we travelled on it to view the Northern Lights!Lakes are frozen and look so lovely surrounded by taiga forest.We spent a couple of fabulous days travelling out on the snow mobile to ice fish and picnic on the lake. Imagine lighting a fire on the ice and then sitting on the snow enjoying a cup of tea!The snow is a great place to see animal tracks and we’ve seen coyote, otter, lynx, ptarmigan, squirrel, rabbit, snowshoe hare and best of all WOLF!
The squirrels have just woken up after their long winter sleep and are so active. We’ve seen beaver lodges but the beavers are still underneath the frozen lake snug in their lodge and wont come up for another month when the snow and ice will begin to melt. The musk rat also has a little house under the frozen ice and he seems to be a cute little fellow unlike our European ratty!In fact it is quite difficult to spot animals at this time of year as it is so cold.
Within the next month,the summer visitors will arrive..the geese on their way to the Arctic is said to be a spectacular sight!We hiked to see a frozen waterfall and saw a bald eagle…the first sign of spring!We also saw bison,standing in deep snow at the side of the road.That was a wonderful sight,the biggest land mammal in N.America!The whiskey jack and raven are the only birds one sees all the time!I saw the whiskey jack peeling bark of a branch of the silver birch so nesting must be about to start!
One of our best days were spent mushing with the sled dogs…we just loved it and such fun!We have met and spent time with some wonderful people and last night we stayed in a log cabin on the lake.Paul and Emily have given us the holiday of a lifetime and I have great stories to share with my little Montessori class.
Even though it is still quite cold the children are eager and longing to spend time outdoors.They seem to have an inner urge,like all the little animals and plants in our natural environment ,to run and enjoy the joys of Spring.It is wonderful to see them play and enjoy their made up games in the garden,making their own rules and regulations.School work has progressed so well at this stage and we look forward to inviting Mums and Dads in to observe next term. Project work on the continents is a big favourite and we all learned a great deal from each other while finding out about the animals of Asia…amazing projects about Bactrian camels, Indian elephants,komodo dragons,peacocks,pandas Bengal tigers and orangutans!Tadhg also did a wonderful project on a Chinese child..We have now moved to Australia and have been reading some lovely stories about kangaroos,dingoes, wallabies and even Tasmanian Devil..much fun ahead..!Easter holidays and I am off to Yellowknife, N.Terretories, Canada !I hope to see some interesting wildlife and will have much to share with the children when I get back!
The last few weeks have allowed us to put on coats and wellies and enjoy fresh air and walks to visit the lambs and note the signs of Spring and new life all around us.Every walk is an adventure and there is always something exciting to see. On our way to the field we examined the bark and buds on some common trees and I explained to the children that everything is waking up after the long winter sleep. We looked at the buds of Ash, Sycamore and Beech and had a little game where I would point to the tree and they would give me the name. In fact our walks often turn into montessori “3 Period lesson”and these little ones absorb and observe everything.We look for ferns and early Spring wild flowers and on each walk there s something new to note.They are like little scientists, so curious and respectful to all life!One cold wintery day last week we made soup from root veg and this tied in with a lesson on green plants using the suns energy to make food and we get this energy when we eat our veg! The soup was brought home and enjoyed by all.Project work on animals from each continent is a great favourite and we moved to Asia from N. America
About Me
Mary Clyne
BSc., HDip. Ed,
National Diploma in Humanities in Montessori Education
Auburn Cottage, Strandhill Road, Strandhill, Co. Sligo.
086 1036207
accredited Where I am
