Wednesday, January 17, 2018

Timberwolf Trail - Week 19 - 2017-18 Edition - Retzer Visit #3 - Tracking


The weather outside might still be frightful, but the nature inside and out is delightful. Today, our nature kindergarten team enjoyed another trip to one of our favorite places: the Retzer Nature Center.


We started our visit with dome background information on animals in winter with a reading of Over and Under in the Snow by Kate Messner. We also investigated varieties of snowshoes and discussed the different styles of tracks left by different groups of animals. Diagonal walkers. Bounders. Waddlers.


But talking about aspects of nature is not nearly as much fun as experiencing them. We tried on some snowshoes,



investigated many animal artifacts,


practiced leaping and bounding, and created animal tracking posters.




We have may snuck in some silliness as well.


Then it was time for some tracking in the outdoors. We visited a number of different habitats including prairies, pond, and stream to see what we could find.



We found a lot, though a special find was a gnarly looking tree with a cavity and nut cache, most likely  a dream winter home for a squirrel.



After finishing our naturalist hike and enjoying lunch, we trekked up to the vista and then back down to our self-proclaimed natural play area to wrap up another wonderful visit to the Retzer Nature Center.




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