Have you ever been around someone many times but not introduced yourself? Once you share your names and say hello, you begin to notice them in new situations and feel that warm connection. Nature is like that! It’s all a blur as you walk along, but once you’re properly introduced to a plant or tree you just can't walk past without saying 'hi there'. You start to introduce them to others, look for them in different places, and you begin to CARE about them! Nature literacy is like this. The more you know, the better caretaker you become. Today we were getting to know flowers that are out now, and by default why bees and butterflies love and need them too.
Check in about some of the flowers your child met today. Did they smell? Were they on a tree or plant stem? Where did they live? Our flower scavenger hunt will help guide some review of their names. We’ll see them, or a new version of them, next week. The cycle continues…
Connection through our senses is a biggie for us. We started our day with a barefoot walk. Why? Talk about what it felt like to be led while blindfolded. For some this takes courage. Taking away our dominant sense of sight supes up our other senses. Try this at home for a sensory awakening.
We had a master crafts person lead us in creating something to add to our barefoot trail. What did we create? Talk about the steps we followed to make these amazing stepping stones? What kind of leaves did we use? Could you make them at home? A special thanks to Junco (Linda) with the help of big Raccoon for bringing the supplies and leading this creative lesson.
Guess who is back at the farm? Have they laid any eggs yet?
The spring session is flying by just like those twirling Tree Swallows. Ask about our experience using a recorded call. What did this pair do and why did they worry that we were so near?
At lunch, the story of "A Wolf called Wander" continued. The chapter we read was called Fight. What does your child remember from this story?
There was lots of activity for Wander Time in the woods by Raspberry Hill and Crayfish Catch. There was a group catching creatures living in the water. There was some creative play with burdock leaves. You will have to ask your child about how to make a face out of a burdock leaf. Also today was a good day to find snails. The snails were being taken care of by our friends Cardinal and Bunny. Ask your child how they like to spend their free time?
Pollination is an an important part of the life of a flower. Without pollination we wouldn't have seeds or fruit. The focus of the journal time was on three words that begin with the letter 'P'. Can your child remember all three words and how they are important for the plant? The three words were: Petal, Pollen and Pistil.
We finished up at Pine Haven playing a pollination game. Thanks to Acorn for suggesting we have a predator in the game, it really kept people moving. There were also flowers with pollen balls and of course pollinators who ran from flower to flower to spread the pollen.
Moments & Memories
So much more to meet and greet next week along the trail.
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