Hike #1

We went on our first hike of the year today! We had great weather for it--it was a beautiful sunny morning, a bit on the cool side. Everyone dressed in layers (like they were told!) and peeled the layers off as they got warmed up from the hike and as the sun warmed the day.

Before the hike, we sent an email suggesting the following:

• Dress in layers. It'll be cool starting out, but hopefully, we'll warm up once we get walking and it's nice to be able to take some layers off.
• Wear sturdy shoes--sneakers or hiking shoes/boots.
• Wear a hat and mitts/gloves.
• Bring a small backpack/day pack--to carry things you need and to hold clothing you may take off.
• Bring a water bottle filled with water.
• We'll provide a snack (the GORP we made on Tuesday night). You might want to augment it with an apple or banana.

We're planning to earn the Hike Nova Scotia hiking challenge crest this year, so this was our first hike of many. We brought the GORP we made at enrollment, and also gave them baggies containing their hike log book and a pencil, a small notepad in case they want to take notes on anything, and some supplies to make a small hat craft at home after the hike.

We knew there were lots of oak trees at this park and we'd be able to find acorns. So we gave the girls googly eyes and a safety pin, to create a little acorn man. It was almost too late in the year to find the acorns--most were buried under all the leaves--but on our way out, we found a good spot and everyone ended up with an acorn to take home.

While on the hike, we took a picture of the girls and talked to them about how the woods look in the fall. We will come back to this park in the winter and in the spring to do the same things. (Beyond You: Learn About Our Environment #1)

The girls had a great time on the hike. We had time at the end, so we stopped in a field and played Blob Tag and Stormy Seas.

On the way out, we tried to get the girls to sing. We tried Sippin' Cider, Great Green Globs (everyone has a different version of this song!), and some other silly ones, but the girls wouldn't join in until we did Everywhere We Go. This really piqued their interest and we sang it over again about four times!

Then we all filled in our log books and it was time for the parents to pick them up! We were out for about two hours and it was such a fun time. It's always nice to get out of the meeting place and do fun things and give the girls a chance to just socialize with each other.