What beautiful weather we have had this week, in the words of our favorite character and book Pete the Cat, “The sun is shining. The sky is bright. The birds are singing. We’re feeling alright.” We have had a great time exploring the outdoors this week and taking in all this nice weather, we have ventured beyond our outdoor space and have gone on a couple walks around the neighborhood. It has been great walking practice for our smaller friends and it is nice to see our community. We have even tagged along with some Sandstone friends on their walks. Along the way the children have pointed out some magpies and blue jays flying around and sitting in the trees, they have collected many pine cones and spruce cones, and they have found that they really enjoy sliding on the ice on the sidewalk. The children were finding it very funny to try and balance on the ice, when one child would slip, the other children would copy that child and lay their own bodies on the ground and laugh. The children were trying many different techniques to not fall, once they found that worked the best, they started spreading their legs almost in a split and standing that way. “Studies show that nature helps to mediate stress (Wells & Evans, 2003), helps children develop a sense of season (natural cycles), gives children a sense of themselves as nurturers, and provides connection to something timeless and larger than themselves.” (Bohling-Phillippi, 2006, pp.49-51).