Hello one and all, welcome back to the best nature program of all! Grab your binoculars, lace up your boots and come along for a wild animal adventure.
We started off the chilly morning learning about camouflage and the different ways that wild critters use their colors and patterns to hide in nature. The book we read was called Secrets of Animal Camouflage by Carron Brown and Wesley Robins, it showed how animals like white tailed deer, arctic foxes and owls use their fur and feathers to blend into their environments—it was really cool! Of course, we had to flip over a few logs and rocks before getting started with our day. Not much insect activity this early in the morning!
We sang a wonderful round of our Good Morning song, we are learning how to follow along with our poster to know when to sing certain words! We grabbed our bags and headed to the pavilion where animals pelts and skulls were ready to greet us. We explored all of the furs and found that we especially loved the beaver and the black bear. Looking at teeth and skulls, we learned that animals with big, sharp teeth at the front are usually meat eaters who we call carnivores. We also learned that animals with molars more like our teeth, such as a deer, are plant eaters that we call herbivores. Animals like bears and raccoons have both types of teeth, they are omnivores and eat both plants and animals!
We learned that beavers have special claws they use to groom themselves and spread their waterproofing oil all over. We got to investigate squirrel toes and learned about how animals like mink used to make up the clothes humans wore! We talked about why deer have white tails and how it helps them communicate, we observed fingers and toes similar to our own on raccoons and even learned about how foxes fur changes color from summer to winter. All of this learning made us hungry, so we washed our paws and dug right in! Our friend Mr. Joe came out to measure some things in the pavilion and we got to be awesome helpers by holding his measuring tape—it was so cool!
We played in the sun, excavating rocks and investigating soil as we waited to begin our hike. Soon, it was time to hit the trails! We made our way down a big set of steps and wound our way through the tall grasses along the river. One of our friends noted that it looked like we were in a savanna with all of the tall grass and sand! We got to see new plants and growing trees, found deer trails, a bedding area and one little deer track! We crossed two creeks and observed the water draining into the river. We stopped and took a mindful moment to listen and watch the flowing water as it sparkled in the morning sun.
The destination of today’s hike is a very special spot that is almost ready for the world to see! We got to be the first kids ever to go on our brand new boardwalk with railings built just for young people like us. We watched the leaves swirl in the water before noticing a big hill of dirt that looked perfect for digging! We set up shop and began to dig, using magnifying glasses and shovels to get a better look. As always, the end of class comes way too soon. We packed up our gear and took a new trail to get back, this one was filled with leaves that made us jump we glee! We kicked them and crunched through them before picking up handfuls and throwing them high into the sky! We climbed up 67 steps and rested before finally arriving at the pavilion. With bugs on the brain, we got straight to work flipping logs and rocks as we waited for our families. We found so many crawling critters and our families even got to see them, too!
We want to thank you for another amazing week in the lives of your Knee High Naturalists! We look forward to seeing you next Monday to learn about terrific trees and perfect pumpkins.
