THE CHARM AND PAIN OF THE WINTER

MEELESPEA GROUP WENT TO VISIT THE NATURE STUDY TRACK IN TÄDU.

THIS WINTER HAS BEEN AMAZING AND THE SNOW JUST KEEPS FALLING DOWN. INSTEAD OF NORMAL WINTERFUN (SLIDING DOWN FROM THE HILLS, BUILDING A SNOWMAN OR MAKING SNOWANGELS), MEELESPEA GROUP HAD A CHANCE TO GO TO THE NATURE STUDY TRACK IN TÄDU FOREST. 

THE AIM OF THE TRIP WAS TO DISCOVER HOW THE FOREST ANIMALS, BIRDS AND PLANTS SURVIVE THE HARD CONDITIONS IN WINTER. ALSO TO TRY TO HEAR THE WINTER SOUNDS OR FIND THE FOOTPRINTS OF THE ANIMALS IN THE SNOWY FOREST.

FIRST OUR LOVELY GUIDE TOLD US THE STORY ABOUT FAMOUS FIR TREE OF TÄDU, THAT USED TO GROW MORE THAN HUNDRED YEARS ON THE HUGE STONE.

WE SAW THE FOOTPRINTS OF FOREST ANIMALS.

WHAT THE ANIMALS EAT...                                        OR HOW THEY LOOK LIKE. 

WE EVEN TRIED SLEEPING LIKE DEERS

 (THEY NEVER SLEEP ON TOP OF THE SNOW, BUT CLEAN IT UNTIL THE GROUND)

WE EVEN MADE NEW LITTLE TREE FRIENDS, CLEANED THEM FROM THE SNOW AND GAVE NAMES TO THEM.

AND OF COURSE WE HAD ALOT OF FUN WHILE PLAYING BUNNY GAME OR WOLF STEPS.

BUT NOTHING IS BETTER THAN LITTLE PICNINC IN REAL WINTER WONDERLAND.

THANK YOU FOR HELPING TO CREATE THESE AMAZING MEMORIES!

Meet the winter wildlife🐺

Winter wildlife here in Estonia is very beautiful and worth to visit with children.

The forest is covered with snow flakes, which endlessly fall

on the tops of trees. Snow neatly decorates trees, dresses them in white fur coats.

What a wonderful snowy day to be in the forest.   

 

Little ones will love learning all about wintertime and animals in the forest while following our great guide.

   

    

We got to know different wild animals who live in Estonian forests.

We focused on the Estonian national animal The Wolf. We learned how wolves behave,

what they eat and what they look like.

It was a wonderful trip and the children liked it very much.

Pirita kindergarten staff Hiking with lanterns on 29.11.2021

"See - our Pirita as a learning environment. Pirita kindergarten staff hiking in Pirita area" on 29.11.2021

We wanted to know more about our part of the Tallinn - Pirita area. So we organized a hiking with lanterns. 

We had a guide who told us about how and when the Pirita part was built. Also about the life in Pirita monastery.

We hiked in the Pirita health tracks and enjoyed the lovely night nature views.

We had a little hot tea and cinnamon pastry brake.

Hiking continued with old Russian army building ruins and stories about the life there.

We discovered the old army base/ bomb shelter which was built inside a hill. It is abandoned, burned and feels like ghost house.

Then we climbed the hill that had the army building ruins inside.

Our lanterns hike ended in Pirita velodrome.

Alltogether it lasted for 2 and a half hours. We walked about 7 kilometers and heard many stories about our part of Tallinn. We also discovered new hiking tracks where we can take our children!

 A beautiful and educational evening with our lovely colleagues!

OUR FOREST - A trip to the forest

                               A wonderful day in our forest

A trip to the forest was held together with the Green Strandja Association in connection with the Our Forest activity. Тhe association provided a guide who taught the children how to know the forest and its signs, to set up a tent and to balance walking on a rope, about mountaineering, orienteering, ways of communication, survival, separate waste collection and most importantly - that each species is important, has its place and is part of the overall balance in nature.

Тhe children brought a sign teaching others how to protect the forest. This sign was made by the children, but in order to last longer we made it from a stronger material.

Our Forest - What is forest? Lets find out!

THEME: What is forest? Lets find out! (project)

CHILDREN AGE: 3-4 years

OBJECTIVES: The child knows what is forest. The child can mention some plants/trees/flowers and animals/birds/bugs that are in forest. Activity 1: The child learns about a drawing program in tablet and tries to use it. The child is brave and introduces his/hers drawing to others. Activity 2: The child is active and brave in the forest. The child puts gathered nature materials in the art work. The child looks at art work. The child is active to give opinion about the most exiting treasure that is worth exploring further. Activity 3: The child knows pine cone (where it grows, why some cones are open and some closed). The child finds pine cones from the forest and compares them (size, color,  openness). The child participates actively doing the experiments. The child makes flowers from the pine cones and makes Mother's Day cards from them.

TOOLS/MATERIALS: Activity 1: tablet, paper, pen, printer, clothespin to put pictures up. Activity 2: every child has own treasure collecting bowl, name sign, bag, vests, table, chairs, Y-shape branches, yarn. Activity 3: drawing or showing, pine cones, for the experiment: bowl with water, jar with hot water, empty jar, for arts: pine cones flowers, colors, brushes, hot glue, paper for the cards.

PREPARATIONS: Activity 1: charge tablet, download app "Paint for kids". Activity 2. find bowls for the treasures, make name signs, gather Y-shape branches from the forest, twine yarn on it different colors. Activity 3: find or draw pictures with pine tree, cones, seeds, branches. Print it out. Out ready on table bowl with water and empty jars. Cut pine flowers with tongs.

ACTIVITY:

Activity 1: Individual activity. so that the children don't copy each other they will go to teacher to draw with the tablet program one by one. Firstly the teachers explains the program opportunities: how to draw with finger and how to choose colors. Then teacher asks to draw a picture on theme "What is forest?". If necessary ask questions like what grows there? who lives there? and then the children is drawing. The teachers ask questions about the pictures, so she will be able to help the child during the presentation if necessary. When the drawing is ready the teachers saves it to the tablet. When all the children have made the drawings, the teacher prints them out. The drawings are put on the wall. The child goes to his/hers drawing and introduces it to the others. If necessary teacher helps. Afterward there is a discussion what is forest, what grows there and who lives there.

Activity 2: Hike to the forest. Teacher gives the treasure bowls for everybody. Each child has to collect what he/she thinks is exiting (plants, rocks, branches, cones, bark and so on). When they are ready then they have some free time to explore the forest. Back in kindergarten the activity continues with small groups outside under the roof area. The child picks one Y-shape branch with twine yarn. The teacher asks then to choose materials from his/hers treasure bowl to twine between the yarn (from bottom to top and from side to side). And ask for teachers help if needed. After everybody are ready they explored the art works together. Then they pick one treasure to investigate further in the next activity. They all decided for the pine cones.

Activity 3: Another hike to the forest. Teacher shows pictures from a pine tree and children have to find it in the forest. They compare it to other coniferous trees. Now teachers asks them to collect only pine cones for the next activity.

Inside the activity continues with experiments. They say that you can predict weather with the pine cones. So they tried it out. Some of the pine cones were put to the water (to hot and cold water), some pine cones were left to dry on the windowsill by sun and some went to the dryer. After the lunch break and little sleep, they explored what had happened to the cones. They found out that in the water the pine cones stayed closed, and the ones under the sun and dryer had opened. So if the pine cone is closed it means that it is wet weather. And when the pine cones are open then it is dry weather! 

Afterwards everybody made lovely pictures for the mothers from the pine cones. The teacher cut the cones to suitable peaces, the children colored them and glued them with hot glue on the base from plywood which was also colored. Behind it they glued lovely things that the child had said about her/his mother.

Our forest - LEARNING HIKE TO THE PIRITA RIVER VALLEY PROTECTED LANDSCAPTE

THEME: SPRING IN PIRITA RIVER VALLEY

CHILDREN AGE: 5-7 years

OBJECTIVES: The child learns about Pirita river valley flora species richness. The child knows how to collect nature materials to make Mothersday gift. The child can play movement games. The child enjoys being in nature. The child knows how to behave in picnic area and clean after themselves.

TOOLS: Bags to collect nature materials. Thermoses with herbal tea, drinking cups.

PREPARATIONS: Exploring the book "Weeds - troublesome and profitable" (pictures, plants names). Mapping the hikes journey. Discussion and exploring pictures of Pirita river and its shores. We agree on the rules of conduct applicable during the study visit.

ACTIVITY: We gather in front of the gate of the kindergarten. All children wear safety vests. Leaving the gate, turn left and walk in front of Pirita Economic Gymnasium, cross Kloostrimetsa Road and turn left onto Kalmuse Road. We reach the footpath and turn left. Let's find out which plants grow along the footpath. The children found  couch grass as the first plant (according to the picture in the book “Weeds troublesome and profitable”), followed by  ground elder - an early spring carrot substitute in all salads and soups, and Russian cabbage and common nettle. The river is on the right, there are rushes on the river bank and there are many mounds of mud.

We run up from the high sandy river bank, to the left is a beautiful, light purple flower field. Children pick every flower to decorate a Mother's Day gift. We reach up, look down, there is still ice and snow in the river valley. When discussing, we come to the knowledge that the valley is colder than the high forest on the shore. Let's start with the observation of trees and plants: pines, pine needles, pine cones, rowans, birches, bird cherry.

 All the mosses on the trees and the lichens on the fallen branches. Children collect decorative materials for a Mother's Day gift. There is a lot of strawberry and blueberry stalk.

We get to the health trail. Let's start with the movement games "Rear pair out", "Squirrels, deer and nuts", "Next to the Carrot Cave". We know that as we move forward, we will have a surprise. All the children are quiet, listening to the birds singing and looking for a surprise.

One of the children in our group has a birthday on the day of the hike. The child's mother is waiting for us under the river bend with a cake. A picnic and free running games begin.

At the end of the picnic, we clean the surroundings. We leave behind a clean river valley.