A Winter of Challenges

Think back to the last Wednesday of our Fall session. Do you remember all the snow that had fallen overnight, the blowing winds, the bitter temperatures, and poor road conditions? You may have even heard that none of the Chickadees were able to make it to Nature School that day! We all agree that it’s been a tough winter so far - especially for the creatures and plants who call Stoneridge Farm their home. Our guiding questions for today were “What are the biggest challenges for these creatures?” and “What do they do in order to stand up to Old Man Winter?”

We know that some of the challenges animals and birds face during the winter are the same ones we face. Take a look at the pictures below and talk about them with someone in your family. Which challenges are more of a problem for animals than humans?

We also saw many signs that animals and birds around the farm are surviving the harsh winter. Can you think of 5 ways they adapt to the colder temperatures?

We decided that we would help them even more by making 'Survival Buddies' for them. Which creatures do you think will visit the Survival Buddy you made?

Antman taught us how to make a safety whistle out of plant stalks. Thank you for such a cool project! Use the pictures below to explain the steps you had to take to make your whistle. If you put a stick in the end and move it up and down, you should even be able to play a tune on your new slide whistle.

Other highlights of our first day back at Nature School were...

One of the challenges that the Chickadees don't have is being able to have fun and enjoy each other's company! We were thrilled to welcome Frog to our group today! Thank you for all the ways you helped many of our younger Chickadees!