Mrs. Hecklau’s first grade students ventured outside for an “outdoor learning session” on December 17.
As a culminating activity to the book, “Night Tree,” by Eve Bunting, students decorated a tree with homemade edible ornaments for wild creatures to feast on. Students also sang songs and drank hot chocolate around a small fire. The fire was built by a student’s father, who is a volunteer firefighter.
The activity mirrors the tradition in “Night Tree,” which tells the story of a family’s annual Christmastime pilgrimage to decorate an evergreen tree with food for animals.
The “outdoor learning session” also coincided with the Winter Solstice, which this year, occurs on December 21. Students learned how the Winter Solstice is the day of the year with the shortest amount of daylight and longest amount of darkness, and when the Sun is at its lowest point in the sky.