Snow, mud and water

What fun we had at Nature Discovery today. We had a little bit of snow, just enough to make snow angels! We also had fun throwing ice and snow into Lake Henry and timing how long it took to melt. The boys had fun playing rugby in the mud, they discovered a pine cone made a great ball. Lastly there was lots of fun to be had in and around the mud puddles. Mia went fishing and even caught something! We love winter!

The Gnuffs Fort

15th June 2011

Lucy's Story:

"We are making a fort for the Nature Discovery people.   We made it with leaves and stuff.  My Dad helped by getting the leaves and he made a door. We were eating morning tea in it. We decorated it with flowers and pine needles."

This will be another magical place to visit at Nature Discovery.

Another great day

What fun we had at Nature Discovery today. The jumping rocks became a speed boat and then a pirate ship to sail the seven sea's. Using a big stick and a tree branch with leaves on it we managed to design and build a sail for our boat. The surprise discovery was a little skink that was found under one of the rocks. After looking at it we returned it to it's home so that it would be safe. Once we had finished sailing the seven sea's it was time to go bush bashing though the long grass. We found another wee spot that was great to play in. Back to the shed for lunch and to toast marshmallows, Chris made sure that his was extra crunchy, nice and black on the outside and runny in the middle, just the way Tracey likes it.

Lovely Mud at Nature Discovery in Fiordland

Today we had special visitors, Kim, Christine and Zair from Mairtown Kindergarten in Whangarei. We had fun showing all around the park where we have Nature Discovery. We walked a long way today, we showed them the pines, the singing log, the climbing trees, the jumping rocks, the Gnuff house and the beautiful views of the mountains at the top of the track. There was just so much to show them.

After lunch we found some big mud puddles and as you can see Jack, Charlie and Chris had so much fun in them -thank goodness for our special Nature Discovery clothing that kept us dry!

Exploring and Swinging

We were very lucky today at Nature Discovery. Martha's Dad made us a swing and rope bridge down in the pines. Lucy was one of the first to try the swing out she said "I really liked it."

It was also a day for searching, exploring and making discoveries. Martha and Georgia went on a spider hunt and ended up finding nests as well.

Martha said "We found them in a big dirt pile on a piece of wood." Georgia said "It was a good find and a good day."

It was Arthur's last day with us before he heads on holiday so as a wee surprise Dad called in for a visit with Arthur's dog Patch. Patch really enjoyed his time with us and the all children loved patting him.

Fiordland style treasure hunt

Today we were on the scavenge for natural resources for our insect house. The children are building this at Kindergarten. We went down in to the wilding pines to see what we could find and what a treasure trove this turned out to be. We found lots of rotting branches, pine cones and moss covered bark. While we were collecting we found many different bugs, the weta, huhu grub and black beetle were the favourites.

Nature's trampoline in Fiordland

The area where the children explore beside the Gnuff house, the trees have been thinned and there are many logs lying on the ground. James found that if you sat on one of them it bounced like a trampoline. It was even better when there were more children on it and even better still when an adult helped bounce it. But they got very tired legs especially when there were many children to bounce! It was fun.