This fall, oak trees produced a bumper crop of acorns. So, the Kindergarten class went on an acorn hunt. Along the way, the children looked, played and discovered. They filled bags with acorn discoveries. Each time a child found an interesting acorn he or she came running over to exclaim, “look at this one!” in delight. The children also wondered, “Why are the acorns dropping?” and “Why are acorns under trees that are not oak trees?”
After our class collected acorns, we shelled and ground the nuts. Then we leached out the tannins. Our class dried the flour and baked acorn muffins. The resulting dark brown muffins were a tasty nutty-crunchy snack. Squirrels and blue jays eat acorns. Some acorns grow into mighty trees. Who knew our class could do so much with acorns? In the process, we were reminded that the simplest things may provide us with the greatest pleasures and treasures.
