Winter Wisdom

We learned that you can still enjoy the snow on a cold winter day but that it's best to dry your skin off right away!

This winter just keeps on giving - more snow plus more storms equals more shoveling. But what else is making this winter more challenging? More wind means more wind chill which makes the air temperature feel colder on the skin. On very windy winter days, it’s possible to experience frost nip if we have any bare skin. Hypothermia can be another winter concern if you find yourself stranded outside for a long period of time. The best way to protect ourselves from these dangers is to understand what they are and what we can do to avoid them.

What did you learn about the stages of frostbite when we played the game, ‘Jack Frost tag’? What are some of the things you could do if you or a friend started to have signs of frostnip?

We know about dressing for the cold in layers so that we don’t lose much of our body heat. We also learned that our head, hands, and feet lose heat the fastest. See if you can explain our “Mittens versus Gloves” experiment to your family. Which one keeps our hands the warmest and why? You can test this out at home by going outside with a mitten on one hand and a glove on the other. Let us know which one kept your hand warmer.

We enjoyed a heart-warming visit from Chipmunk (Alizon) and Painted Turtle (Sharon) who came to Coyote’s Cave (heated basement) to talk to us about poetry. We learned that having a good imagination and using lovely language are part of being a poet. How was our morning picture book, "Over in the Arctic" like a poem? Some of you began writing your own poems this afternoon. Can you remember any lines from your poem? Don't forget, if you have any more ideas for your poem this week, write them down and bring them with you next Friday.

Here are some of the other activities that we enjoyed today. Which ones were your favourites and why?

Part of being at nature school is all about the memories we make together. Please take a moment to share the interesting story Coyote told us today about the special visitor she spotted at one of our Survival Buddies on the weekend. Do you think this creature might visit your Survival Buddy next? Don't forget to look for tracks when you arrive next week!