We have had a couple great weeks together! On March 9th, we decided to enjoy the spring weather by hiking farther than usual–where Robbins’ Creek meets the Boardman River.

We have had a rockin’ couple of weeks spent together at the Nature Center!

We have had so much fun the past two Mondays! The spring-ish weather seems to avoid us when we are together, but we do not let the cold and clouds stop us from exploring.

By the frog boardwalk, we noticed a set of prints that looked almost like mini human hands. At first glance, we thought they might belong to a raccoon, but after researching a bit further, they could be opossum tracks–notice how they are placed one after another rather than side by side.

We learned that some animals live in a special world beneath the snow–one full of tunnels and burrows and that the snow acts like a blanket to keep the animals warm. We discovered that some small animals can be beneath our feet, under the snow, as we play on top!

We also listened to the book About Birds: A Guide for Children by Cathryn Sill. It taught us all about characteristics of birds, including what they look like and where and how they live. It showed a neat picture of different types of bird beaks and sources of food, which led right into our activity outside at the pavilion.

We learned some new facts about trees:

• Maple trees are shaped like eggs

• Beech trees keep their tan leaves over winter

• Birch trees form the letter V with their trunks

• Syrup is made from sugar maple sap

• Hemlocks and other evergreen trees have cones like pine trees

We learned how to be real nature detectives by using clues to identify animals around us–even if we cannot see them during class. They leave behind tracks, scat (poop!), feathers and fur, and even pieces of food.

To start our afternoon, we brainstormed the things we would want if we had to survive a night in the wilderness–tents or shelter, fire-making materials, warm clothes and boots, a first aid kit, a compass and map, food, and water.

On our walk, we tiptoed over the patches of ice. It reminded us of the game The Floor Is Lava! We asked questions like, “How does ice form?” and “How does it melt?” Our friends helped answer these questions for us as we made our way to the Playscape.

We learned that some animals live in a special world beneath the snow–one full of tunnels and burrows. The snow acts like a blanket to keep the animals warm. When the top layer of snow begins to melt, we can sometimes see these subnivean (“below the snow”) tunnels!

Trees have the most growth in spring and early summer, which forms a light-colored ring. As growth slows in late summer and fall, a thinner, dark ring is produced. We can identify these varying years of growth by looking at cross sections of trees. Starting from either the center circle to the bark, or vice versa, we count either the light or dark rings.

To see how [blubber] works, we tried a little experiment. We put vegetable shortening between two plastic baggies and put our hand inside like a glove. Then, we stuck that hand in a bowl of freezing cold water, but it did not feel cold! The vegetable shortening acted like a layer of fat, insulating our hand.

We enjoyed one final adventure together this fall…or should I say winter? Everyone was so excited to play in the snow today! We began the afternoon with snowball fights and snowmen building. We formed groups and challenged each other to roll the biggest snowball. If it had not been snowing the entire time, we probably would have run out of snow.

Our day began with the question “where do animals live in the winter?” Ms. Paige read the book, Over and Under the Snow by Kate Messner, which showed us the secret winter world of animals.

We started our morning with questions like “Where does snow come from?” and “Is it good for plants and animals?” We listened to the book, Snow is Falling by Franklyn M. Branley, which helped answer those questions.

Today we learned about macroinvertebrates! Macros are aquatic organisms that are large enough to see without a microscope (“macro”) and have no backbone (“invertebrate”). They are often insects in their nymph and larval stages, clams, worms, crayfish, and snails.

We started the morning by touring the Nature Center and learning about different birds. We noticed that the snowy owl has big, yellow eyes and the loon has small, red eyes. Their eyes are different because they search for different types of food! Owls hunt at night, often looking for mice in fields, but loons dive underwater looking for fish. The red of the loons' eyes help them see underwater.

We noted that the weather is starting to get colder, night comes earlier, and soon it will be snowing! This means that some of our animals need to leave, or migrate, from the area or go into a deep sleep-like state, called hibernation. From the story we listened to, we learned that it is not just bears that hibernate, but snakes, chipmunks, bats, and even frogs and turtles. So, we decided to check on our frog and turtle friends that we saw at the Frog Boardwalk last week.

To start our afternoon, Ms. Paige asked the question, “What does it mean to be a predator and prey?” We talked about predators’ adaptations, like strong hunting skills, sharp teeth and claws, speed, size, etc. that help them capture their food, prey. Prey are often smaller, sneaky, and camouflaged to blend into their environments, but sometimes they can be larger animals–even predators themselves.