Good afternoon to you and you, this beautiful weather makes us feel renewed! Welcome back to another wonderous winter week in the life of a Knee High Naturalist.
Happy greetings filled the air as we rejoiced on one more day together here! Snow still covering the ground, friends explored all around. We discovered a hibernation station for a slug, roly poly and a other cute bugs! As more friends arrived, we began to feel more revived. Plans were made and details discussed, soon there was a snow spider looking at us! It wasn’t long before our numbers were ten, it was time for our day to begin. We cleaned up our toys and slid on our backpacks, making lots of noise as we followed each other’s tracks.
The pavilion warm and cozy today, we sat down and settled in to be whisked away. Ms. Miranda took us to the land of subnivean zones, where animals make sweet little snow homes. Beneath our feet is a whole other world where mice, moles and voles live in holes throughout the snow. Enchanted and delighted, soon we were excited to do some subnivean sleuthing of our own! After discussing our day and when we would play, we washed our hands and opened our pavilion cafe. After snack was devoured, friends set out to find a snow hill to conquer. Giant snow diamonds and meteors were dug out, requiring all hands on deck to help out! A snow person was made and lots of silly snow games were played. As the sun began to shine, some us reclined to enjoy the warm, peaceful time. After filling up on delicious snacks and snow, it was time for us to go. We grabbed our mittens, hats and cones and set out to find some animal homes!
As we slipped into our detectives roles, we began to discover animal tracks and holes! A White-tailed deer crossed our path here, a squirrel bounding through the brush there—signs of animal life were everywhere! Missing our beautiful Boardman River, we ventured to the overlook to observe it in the winter. Having fun throwing snowballs down the hill, we realized we still hadn’t had our fill. With a unanimous decision, we turned back and headed to the Fox Den trail with precision. Before we began our descent, we had lots of friends request to ascend! Of course, a few rocks had to be climbed before we carefully made our way down the steps in a single file line. Before we even made it to the river, we discovered icy, old dog tracks that seemed to shimmer!
Once at the landing, we decided the roaring river was outstanding. We observed and we listened, watching the cold water glisten. Downriver was calling our names so we hiked down the trail to see what animal sign remained. It wasn’t long before our attention was pulled away, there was so much fresh snow just waiting for us to play! Hats came off and jackets were unzipped as we enjoyed our warm and play filled trip. Unicorns were prancing through the open snowfields and pterodactyls soared over us with excited squeals. We romped and rolled over the snow holes and hills, friends were covered head to toe in white snowy quills. Time slipped away from us today, soon it was time to end our play! We trekked along the river and back up the steps, still buzzing with excitement for what’s to come next. Our bags were packed and winter accessories collected, we toddled back to our magical pine forest. Our adults were excited to see us today, we’re sad that there’s only one more day!
Thank you all for another sensational and snow filled week in the life of your Knee High Naturalists! We can’t believe our time together is almost up and can’t express our gratitude enough. We look forward to celebrating your children’s growth and achievements next week, thank you again for allowing us to foster the childhood mystique!
