Advent Outing

Emmie's kindergarten class celebrated the beginning of Advent with an outing. In the afternoon, the teachers planned for the children to decorate a tree in the forest with food for the animals, so we met near the edge of the woods at a restaurant. Fortunately, it was not raining; however, the ground was muddy because it has been raining for the past week. The teachers, children, their parents, and even a family's dog, along with the wagon filled with tree decorations and drinks in tow started down the path to kick-off the event. 

We had walked about 75 yards when the group came to a halt as a rope was across the path. Apparently, very recently the city decided to start cutting down trees in the area as it was not marked off earlier in the week when the teachers came to select the perfect tree for this activity. After some discussion, the plan was to find a new tree to decorate. This now meant hiking through the forest, climbing over downed trees and through piles of wet leaves. After we made our way three quarters of the way around the restaurant grounds, a tree was found. As the children began decorating it, the dog began eating the carrots and apples, so the dog was quickly leashed as the food was intended for the forest animals.  When all of the animal food was dispersed, the children sang a few songs and we munched on cookies the parents carried out with them along with some of the hot orange juice to keep us warm. The girls played for a few minutes on the playground, before we concluded the activity.

In the evening, the girls were excited about starting their advent calendars and opening the first door. This fun task seemed to mark the official start of the countdown to Christmas for them.