Woods Explorations

Pine Run Park is right beside The Montessori School, providing opportunity for students to discover what lives in the creek, track the seasonal changes in Eastern Pennsylvania, test the water, find native plants, and feel confident in the local woodlot.

The creek is every changing. Each section of the creek is different than the other. In some places the water is just a trickle, and in other places you can watch the minnows swim, if you are lucky!

The bridge gives us one perspective of the creek. At another time, we will be directly beside that same creek looking up at the bridge. The walnuts falling from the tree are always a fascination to the students, as well as the honeysuckle beside the bridge. When the classroom lesson mentions ferns were around in the age of dinosaurs, we find the ferns by the bridge.

Pine Run Park has a woods loop that provides opportunity for exploration in all seasons. In the winter, we can see through the woods to the school building since the leaves are gone. In the spring, we find early spring flowers, and sometimes discover deer bones that were under the snow or leaves. In the fall, we focus on the seeds, migrating birds, and signs of animals preparing for winter.