Two weeks ago was extra special! Due to an awesome thunderstorm, we stayed inside for the entire class. We began by sitting in a circle and talking about why rain is important. Even though thunderstorms can be loud and a bit spooky, they help our plants and trees grow. Plants get thirsty just like us, so we decided that this rain was needed. We also talked about how the weather is changing now that spring is here–hopefully the snow has gone away and warmer weather will be here to stay. With the extra rain and sunshine, our grass, flowers, and trees will start to show their colors soon! Before snack, we used our hands and feet to make the sounds of a rainstorm. As a group, we started by tapping our hands on our legs for a rain, and then began stomping our feet on the floor for thunder, and clapped our hands for lightning. As our storm began to soften, we went back to tapping our hands on our legs and rubbing our hands together for wind, just like we would have heard if we were outside. Ms. Paige and Ms. Rachel then turned off the lights inside the nature center and handed each of us our very own lantern to explore the animals inside. We also colored pictures, listened to stories, and investigated furs, skulls, and rubber scat!
Last week felt like summer and we took advantage of it! We quickly ate our snack and headed down to the frog boardwalk in search of our amphibian and reptile friends. To our surprise, we found many frogs and tiny tadpoles!! We talked about the life cycle of frogs: egg, tadpoles with tails, tadpoles with back legs, froglets with tails and all four legs, and adult frogs. Some of us even caught a glimpse of one of the painted turtles before it swam beneath the boardwalk. We patiently sat and waited for it to return, but we did not see it again. We decided that we must look like giants to these little critters, which means they might be afraid of us. When we are in their home, we must be respectful. This means we are calm, gentle, and quiet on the boardwalk. We followed these directions so well! On our hike back, we were feeling the heat, so we stopped every once in a while to cool off in the shade. What a lovely surprise to have summer weather in April!
