Our morning started with a choice of sliding, tracking down a partner, or practicing our ability to start a fire using matches. How many matches did it take you to ignite the newspaper? The next step will be to learn how to start a fire using materials from nature. Where do you think you could find dry tinder at this time of year?
Hot apple cider was waiting for us as we had our morning snack and considered what we love the most on this Valentine’s Day. Some of you said you loved your parents or your pet. Others said you loved summer and that you can’t wait for those beach days again. Raccoon told us how much he loves his friends, and we were surprised that he has friends in other provinces and countries.
Have you ever asked yourself, “Where and how are insects and animals waiting or sheltering when the weather turns cold?” We’ve already found evidence of some of the winter dens made by animals who live in Harrington but what about the insects? We were amazed to find out about galls! See if you can explain to someone at home what a gall is and what can be found inside.
We enjoyed finding and using knives to open up galls that had already been raided.
We also liked the challenge of hiking to find some Goldenrod plants along the stream near Sunrise Hill. Most of us were amazed at how much deeper the snow was than last week! Tell someone at home what you did when you found a stalk with a gall on and why.
We had a quick review of different trail blaze symbols and which ones we would see if we were hiking to Sunrise Hill. If you would like to get more practice using your winter hiking skills, maybe you can convince your family to go for a hike at Wildwood this weekend. They have many different trails which are marked with blazes, especially the spur symbol. You will also discover incredible animal tracks and deer beds as you travel through the woods. Of course it’s impossible to be close to Sunrise Hill without finding time for a little sliding. Which worked better today - crazy carpets or sleds? We had lots of new sledding partners today. Who did you slide with and how did it go?
During our library visit, Grey Squirrel read us some nature poetry to help us get ready for the poetry project we are participating in along with the St.Marys Poetry circle. We heard poems that rhyme, shape poems, and poems that tell a story. Which one was your favourite? When we listed the different things we love about nature, which one was your favourite? Grey Squirrel also gifted us with a Valentine ‘present’ for the birds. What was it and where did you put yours? It will be interesting to see what those seed hearts look like next week. Any predictions?
We were lucky to meet student teacher from Western University. Her nature name is Oriole (Sheena) and she absolutely loves the incredible nests these birds build. She helped us all afternoon and even told us about playing the snow snake game at her school. Oriole has to head back to university but will be back in April completing her field placement at nature school! We can’t wait to see her again.
We were so inspired by the poems we heard, that we just had to start getting our own poems down in our nature notebooks. What did you choose to write about? During our sharing circle, each of you was able to take our breath away with your choice of beautiful words or the way you painted a picture in our minds. Can you remember what made your poem so special?
There was much excitement about our new whittling project! Tell your family what you’ve started to work on and how you want to decorate it. Many of the First Nations people in Canada, including the Haudenosaunee who lived in our area use this object to participate in competitions against other villages or communities even today. Which Heron do you think will be able to slide their snow snake the farthest?
It was a day of discovering and learning about the many gifts that winter gives us each day - snow or shine, cold or bitterly cold! We agreed that we can’t get enough of the ‘white stuff’ and just how thankful we are for the incredible opportunities we have as Coyote Nature school children to experience the joy that snow gives us. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!
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