Bet you arrived today, looking forward to some tunnel building and sledding on Heron Hill. Instead, it was a surprise to discover that our hill had turned into Mount Heron over the weekend! Were you a daredevil who chose to slide down the mountain or did you help build a winter fort?
Rose, Sunflower, Hummingbird, and Owl practiced their match striking technique. Success or not at keeping the match lit for a longer time? Why would this be important if you were lost in the woods at night and only had a match or two to get your fire going?
We all missed Tamarack today as she is still feeling under the weather. Chickadee (Gail) joined us for the morning and she got to see how well everyone knows what the different trail blaze symbols mean. Did you need to look at your guide sheet in order to draw the correct symbols on Busy Beaver’s hiking Trail map?
Being safe when you are hiking is always important, no matter the season. We each worked with a partner to sort through a list of items that could go in a backpack? Which 7 items did you choose? Which did you think was the most important to bring and why? Most of us agreed that items that help us stay warm if we had to spend the night outside in the winter would be the best choice.
Who’s been sneaking around Mystery Forest since we were there last week? Before we started our hike, we brainstormed for animals that stay here during winter. Do you remember what that’s called? (overwintering) We all agreed that there are many places for these animals to seek shelter from the cold. Which animals left us some evidence today?
During wander time, some of you set up stores and were even daring enough to try to sell your friends ‘ice cream’! There were also some natural swings to try out as well as some whittling going on. We made sure to pack the deep snow down for the Turtles by making lots of tracks. Do you think animals can identify our footprints?
Before we left the forest, you were asked to become a winter animal and find a good place to overwinter so you would also be safe from predators. Who were you and where did you shelter? Everyone did a great job of being still and quiet, but Owl was the only one we couldn’t find!
Has Jack Frost been nipping at your nose lately? We played a tag game called “Frostbite’ to help us remember its stages. Can you explain how to play the game to someone at home? Check to see if they can name 3 things people can do to avoid getting frostbite.
‘Nature, our family’ is the theme for the poetry project. Grey Squirrel shared many examples of nature poems with us - poems that rhymed, shape poems, poems that told a story, poems that made us feel like the animal (field mouse) in the poem. Which poem was your favourite and why?
Coyote came out this afternoon and taught us how songs can also be poems. We loved filling the hall with music and song. Coyote and Beaver shared poems they are working on and asked for feedback - what we liked, what we thought should be changes. How did you make out with the poem you worked on today? Did you find places where you could make it even better? Take some time this weekend to share your poem or poems with someone at home. Ask them if they have any feedback for you. Add to it or find 'juicier' words to make your poem musical.
Our day ended with a lot of whittling and some sanding as we began to transform our pieces of wood into snow snakes. Were you able to start shaping the head of the snake? If you have time at home, try sketching out a few snow snake designs in pencil in your notebooks so that you’ll be ready when the time comes to decorate your snow snake. Remember, only use pencil in notebooks.
When you look back on today, everything we did was inspired by our closeness with nature or things we’ve learned together about the natural world. All things are connected, just like we are in this Heron family. Have a great weekend and have a wonderful birthday, Firefly!
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