This is how we celebrate Earth Week at nature school, by taking care of the places we love around the pond. Ask your child about things they would like to do with their family to help the natural world. I'm sure these young minds have lots of great ideas.
Trees are an important for all living things. This morning, we notice a large broken branch near the hall. This tree can now provide us with a place to sit. So we moved the parts we could by working together as a team.
Trees are more than places to sit or to climb on. In the book, "This is the tree we planted", we saw that trees are homes for wildlife. Name 5 animals mentioned in the book. Do animals stay in the tree for all if their life?
Before leaving to plant our saplings, everyone took a few minutes to write down a positive thought, words of encouragement or to draw an inspiring picture to a growing tree on a scrap piece of newsprint. These thoughts were collected and kept private. When it came time to plant the trees, the pieces of paper were placed at the bottom of the hole to encourage the tree to grow.
What type of trees did we plant today? Tamarack (Bob) and Juniper(Butterfly) Are they coniferous or deciduous types of trees? Our teams of tree planters had to come up with a special spot to plant their tree. What else did we have to do? What was it like using a shovel or a trowel? A few people danced around the planted tree to help get rid of any aur pockets in the soil. Why is it important to get the air out?
At wander time in Cedar Hideaway creativity flowed. Making rafts and 'cruise ships' to float on the pond; camouflage game; making a fairy village; setting up a tarp with ropes and trap line were all part of this imaginary play. We had a great time under the shade of the cedar trees.
Grey Squirrel always offers us something unique. Today she shared a story about this little guy. What can you remember about why this bird is sitting so still? Who is it? (Northern Flicker)
What is unique about this program? Community! We are so fortunate to have a group that comes out to share their skills or just help us out. Thank you to Gail (Chickadee), Tim & Betty, Philip, Jeanette, and Harry (Hemlock) for taking an afternoon stroll with our kids to get this clean up job done. I know each added some humour and fun; a history lesson from Tim, artistic flare with Philip, and some creative dog poop pick-up with Harry. We loved having you with us and hope you come back soon!
What were some interesting objects you found around the pond today?
Thanks to Thames River Clean Up for supporting our work by giving the kids gloves and some cool items they can use at home. Hope to see you participating in this great community project tomorrow. Join in as TRCU celebrates 25 years.
We wish you all a happy Earth Day on Monday and hope your children lead you on another beautification project in your home community.
