Greetings and welcome back to our neat natural world through the eyes of our Knee High Naturalists!
For the first time ever, we began our day outside with Ms. Miranda, camouflaging little animals and insects beneath the pine trees and leaves. We had so much fun spending the whole class outdoors where we got to dance, sing and explore! We talked about how animals and insects adapt by using camouflage to hide from predators and blend into their environments—this helped train our eyes for today’s mission: A Super Spectacular and Scenic Scavenger Hunt along the river!
Good morning song sung and fun having sprung, hands were cleaned before we reconvened. During snack today, Ms. Aspen brought out a special Knee High sized bucket that we could throw our natural waste into like rockets! We learned about composting and soil, what soil is made of and where it comes from, we even learned that many of our friends compost at home—so cool! With mittens, hats and jackets in tow, we were finally ready to go.
Not even ten steps into our scavenger hunting journey, we found a squirmy wormy! We got to use whiteboard markers to check our cool finds off the list while friends gathered around to help assist. Excited, we began the trek to Rock Beach and learned about invasive species as we crouched down to investigate Spotted Knapweed. Beautiful red Sumac adorned the trail and we all learned how identify it based color and touch, not smell! Mushrooms were uncovered and lichen discovered as we engaged our five senses and the hike commenced.
We reached Rock Beach at last where the water flowed fast as we watched leaves drift past. Our fine and gross motor skills were put to the test as we picked up rocks we liked best and threw the rest! Some rocks made big splashes with loud, funny sounds while others made tiny little little plops with very few water drops. We climbed on downed trees and enjoyed the breeze, tossed sticks, twigs, leaves and weeds into the river to see where they might end up being delivered!
With smiles on our faces after seeing such cool places, it was time to hike back with slower paces. Our day ended right where it began, beneath pine trees, sitting on a bed of leaves as Ms. Miranda read us “Snack, Snooze, Skedaddle” by Laura Purdie Salas. As we waited to go home, we learned about animals who get ready for the winter alone.
Thank you all for another incredible week in the life of a Knee High Naturalist, we’re excited to continue our transition to meeting and starting our day outdoors without any floors! We look forward to seeing you next week to learn about spiders and bats, maybe even paint a pumpkin and make it it’s own hat!
