Timberwolf Trail - Week 25 - 2016-17 Edition

Next week, the class will be planting trees that were obtained through a special program through Wisconsin's Department of Natural Resources that donates trees to 4th graders across the state. Being a former 4th grade teacher, I reached out to my colleagues and now, we will be working with 4th graders to add trees to our land.

In preparation of this collaborative event, we spent some time reviewing the parts of the tree and talking about what each part did to help the tee survive and thrive. We also talked about the needs every tree has, even creating a shirt, silly song about it.

"Sun , soil, space, water and air,
                              these are the things trees need everywhere."

We chanted this in the classroom and out the doors as we headed to the land to scout potential planting places.

On our way to our first stop near the inside tree, we found a rodent who had passed on to animal heaven. It wouldn't be our last encounter with the circle of life this day.

At the inside tree ( nd the three subsequent stops), we discussed if this location would be a good place to plant our trees. After debating the pros and cons of one area, we moved on to the next.

Our next stop was near one of our restoration  tarps. We then traveled to the "dead alive" tree for our third scouting stop.  Along the way, the circle of life re-emerged as we found the limb of a bunny right in the middle of the trail.

When we got to our fourth stop, we each picked out our own tree to "sing" our tree needs song to it. We then reviewed why talking, or singing, to trees is OK since it provides oxygen and carbon dioxide for both the tree and the talker or singer. While we were picking out our own tree, one of the students came across a dead raccoon. The circle of life was very busy today.

Nature isn't always pretty, and I am hoping we can visit our raccoon over the next few weeks and see the decomposition process in action. Before wrapping up, we went on a quick search for the "alien" we learned about last week: garlic mustard. I was giddy when the kids independently starting chanting "invasive species gotta go."

After all this tree talk, we needed a break with some natural play. The kids climbed trees, went to their "hideouts" and found fungi. A few also made "leprechaun traps" by creating holes that they  covered with leaves and grass.

Of course, before heading back inside for lunch, we tick checked.

Once we came back outside, we were ready to find our planting spot. With our own individual flag, we used our best judgment to pick a spot to plant our trees next week.  Maybe it will be a bit warmer then.