It’s that time again, sweet days of the sugar moon. The journey of sap to syrup flows with poetry, legend, science, math, construction and a lot of literacy. A perfect topic to get your child active in multi-disciplinary learning and critical thinking. See if your child would like to share our story Maple Moon and how first nations legends guide us towards possible ways maple syrup was discovered. You may want to lead with some questions.
*Who was the little boy in the story and how did he find out about sap?
*Did his parents believe him? How did he prove it?
*How did his mom’s anger lead to the sap turning the deer meat into a sweet feast?
Phillip (Badger) invited us over to his Mill House to tap some older Sugar Maples. What older tools did he share and how do they work to make a hole in the tree? What fun way did Badger show us how much syrup will be made from a jar of sap. Whose guess was the closest? Did the sap run today, why or why not? What kind of day/night will we need for our buckets to fill up quickly? (cold night, warm day). How much sap needs to be collected to make 1 jug (L) of maple syrup (40:1). Thanks to Badger for sharing his time, talents and trees with us!
Now, ask about the steps (procedure) in tapping a tree. Here is your guide.
measure the tree for number of taps
find the south facing side
drill a hole about 5cm deep
clean the hole with a stick
tap in the spile with a hammer
put on the rooftop
Next week, stay tuned for more of the science in turning watery sap into liquid gold.
Library today was filled with joyful learning. Mrs. Eastman shared a story about a family taking care of their sugar bush. See if you can get a retell. Then she turned our attention to Black History month. She shared about the underground railway and how quilt patterns were used to communicate secret messages. Ask to see your child’s quilt scavenger hunt and ask if they have a favourite design, why? Check in backpacks for a booklet of fun activities which link to the sap to syrup journey. Thank you so much Mrs. Eastman for always sending us home with extensions to our learning with you. We love our library visits!
The library offers a quieter space to have interesting conversations around the tiny table.
The Great Horned Owl saga continues with a more complex survival story. We warmed up with the Owl’s Nest sound activity to test our keen sense of hearing and identification skills. What prey are some owl favourites and which sound matched with each prey? Tricky question!
See if you can gather stories about our continued GHO game in the forest. What new and human-made dangers did we all need to watch out for? How many eggs did they manage to lay in the nest? Recall strategies to fend off predators.
Taking memory pictures is a way to slow down, look, and appreciate the simple beauty around us. Ice clung to every branch making the world sparkle.
Loose time is good for the soul. Look through these pictures for a window into some of your child's special moments. Have a chat about them.
Our memories of learning didn’t make it into our journals today. We were just too busy experiencing! Everyone now has some homework, to create a ‘free choice’ journal entry that links to learning at nature school. Come ready to share it next week. Most already have an idea of what they want to capture in their journal at home. We were certainly a happy group today!
You may have some tired owlets coming home, brains filled and cheeks red. Enjoy a lovely family weekend together. Happy trails until next time Forest Friends:)
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