Winter is definitely in the air! A beautiful sunny but chilly morning greeted the Turtles as they gathered at Sunrise Hill! Animals continue to get ready for the cold winter weather. Some will migrate to warmer places, some will stay and will need to stay safe while they search for food. What animal were you in our camouflage game? Who are your predators? It was certainly difficult to find anyone. Making yourself small? Blending in? Staying very quiet? Check!
Wait! We have a mystery to solve. What will we be learning about today? Dragonfly hid clues everywhere to give us some hints. The clues were found in record time and Snapping Turtle and Catfish guessed that we were going to explore the lives of bats! What clue gave you the best hint? Tree holes; Birth of a pup; Eats insects; Flies at night; A conversation began about mammals and what makes a bat a mammal? What is a mammal? Are humans mammals? Maybe you can play a mystery animal game at home with your family?
We walked past Silver Maple and settled close to the picnic tables on Butterfly Hill to learn more about bats. Were you surprised that there are only 8 species of bats in Ontario? What kind of bat did you have to find with your group when you participated in the Bat Matching Scavenger Hunt? Were your bats on trees or in the grass? Dragonfly explained that all the bat photos were hidden in places where bats like to roost or rest. We found a lover of bats during snack time when suddenly Beaver sang a song about bats for us, describing some of their habits. Could you maybe teach the whole group that song next week, Beaver?
What will we find in Cedar Hideaway? Well, we were certainly eager to find out as we headed over with our bug containers and nets. Do you think bats would like some of the bugs and fish we found? Thanks for giving the little fish back to the water, Pileated Woodpecker! Cardinal also had to return another treasure back to the river…a big crayfish! I wonder if a bat would want to bite into that? What do you think happened to his one claw? Why was it so much smaller than the other one?
Back at the library, the inquiry continued! Before helping us make a bat puppet, Grey Squirrel read a book called Stellaluna about a bat that grew up in a bird family. Until he met another bat, he never thought he was different, even though he did things in different ways. He was loved, the most important thing! It would be pretty boring if we were all the same. How is a bird the same as a bat?
During our lunch break, Catfish asked to look through his nature journal. Way to lead by example, Catfish! As soon as lunch was finished, everyone was drawing or writing about something they learned about bats. Looking forward to sharing these entries again next week! What a great forest you drew, Hawk!
How did you like learning about echolocation? Do you remember what that word means? In our Bat Moth game, the blindfolded bat had to look for the moths by saying BAT and by listening to the moth saying MOTH over and over again. Was it hard for the bats to catch the moths? Great job, swaying trees, keeping the bats and moths in the forest circle!
Meet me there! And off ran the Turtles to our beloved Mystery Forest! What’s for dinner? Well, the dried mealworms given to us by Dragonfly will hopefully feed a hungry bat if they visit our tree friends. Do you think the extra pumpkins we broke apart will help feed the squirrels, birds and other forest creatures? Can't wait to check on them next week! Happy Trails! Dragonfly, Cardinal and Ladybug
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