Rooted Discovery

10/14/2026

Today's Wednesday Adventure theme?

Whimsical Magic 🍁🪄

Our adventure took us to Wildcat Bluff, where we explored the woods, found a "fairy house", worked collaboratively to build a structure, had a snack and read a book inside the structure, then created magic fairy wands. We read The Story of the Wind Children by Sibylle von Olfers and watched the leaves dance in the wind. (If you've not read this series, it's precious! Written and illustrated in 1910, it's as whimsical as it comes!)

Afterwards, we explored the creek, climbed fallen logs, had leaf races, and searched for fossils.

10/14/2026

Can you spot the little wood frog? 👀🐸

Also:
Grubs
Earthworms
Millipedes and a centipede (may not be pictured but one did crawl out!)

All under one (!!) log.

10/11/2026

Two. Pictures.

That's all I had time for this evening. 🎃

We had kids running around screaming.
Laughter.
Cuddles by the campfire.
Star gazing.

Kids went through the spooky corn crib 10+ times. It was so fun!

Huge thank you to everyone who came out to support our event, whether by attending or donating your time or supplies. We appreciate every one of you.

Thank you for helping send kids to camp next summer!

The Happel Family 👻

10/09/2026

A dry, warm week meant time for sand castles and moat construction. Planting native plants for pollinators and installing a dragon to protect them. Baking birthday cakes with lots of "candles" (craft sticks! So versatile!) Practicing some fine motor skills by peeling oranges for our snack. Barefoot picnics. Memory games and reading books. Learning about how moths use the moon for navigation (we are very into the moon cycles and talk about them daily!) Leaf boats. Slime molds. Watching a female grasshopper lay her eggs by drilling her abdomen into the ground. Learning about how jumping spiders create drag lines like miniature bungee jumpers (they are all over our play area!) and identifying a tiny zebra jumping spider.

Plus, lots of singing (Blowing in the Wind by Stephanie Leavell is a favorite! Don't forget your scarf to dance with!) and imaginative story telling.

There's just something about an emergent curriculum outdoors that makes learning (and teaching!) magical 💫

10/07/2026

10/07/2026

Freaks for the creek this week! 🍁

After the library and a picnic:

Leaf boat design and racing
Rock hounding
Skipping rocks
Watching fallen leaves
And just plain enjoying the sunshine, birdsong, and cool water 💦

No visit to Morgan Creek is complete without some time on the playground!

3 of 4 sleeping and the remaining kiddo reading her library book on the way back made for a quiet ride.

Fresh air heals!

10/02/2026

We called today Worm Day 🪱

Also Squishy Day.
Mud Day.
DWD (Dirty/Wet Day).
Laundry Day 😅

We were also able to sneak in spontaneous sorting by color, then rearranging in rainbow order, "bus rides" on the rope bridge over the mucky ground, the "how fast can I run without falling down in the mud" game (before rain suits were on, of course!) and for our older learners ready for a challenge, some encoding and decoding words while his buds looked on in awe. (And grabbed a whiteboard to practice the letters they knew shortly afterward!)

Big Skelley also got handshakes, and we found wolf's milk slime mold growing near our "hideout tree". When we popped them, pink slime burst out! We learned this is sometimes called "Bubblegum of the Woods" but is not edible!

09/30/2026

Wednesdays are our favorite! 🍂🌧️

Wickiup Hill exploration included reading the book Acorn Was a Little Wild by Jen Arena, learning about oak trees and how they grow, acorn hunting, and creating an acorn necklace using the cap of fallen acorns thanks to our homeschool friends who joined us today.

Also? Play, and lots of it. Animal tracking. Rolling down the hill. Testing out our gear. And puddles.

09/26/2026

Psst.

Want to drink hot apple c***r around the campfire? Maybe play Ghost in the Graveyard afterwards?

We do, too!

Join us for our Second Annual Halloween Spooktacular event.

It's the most wonderful time of the year! 🍂🎃🕸️

Register here:
https://form.jotform.com/252566192640055