Timberwolf Trail - Trail Camera Captures - April 2019 Edition

Enjoy the latest set of trail camera captures.

Snow squirrel

Can you find the Flicker?

Fly time

Our state bird. . .and a sign of spring

Deer Party

The Sussex Lion is back :)

Timberwolf Trail - Week 31 - 2018-19 Edition

It was  a  busy week in nature kindergarten. After a generous donation of birdboxes was provided for our trail, we had to hike around and look for the new additions,

We ended up back at our grass class and while we prepared to complete a birding session, we noticed grass shoots sprouting up in our butterfly garden. Could spring be here to stay?

While we birded, we noticed some activity around some of the birdboxes. When we investigated, we found some wonderfully constructed nests but no eggs. . . .yet.

The kids love (as do I) seeing other classes out on the trail.

We spent a few Math times working on comparing lengths and practicing measurement with non-standard measuring tools. We took sticks and "predicted" how many sticks it would take to go from our oak tree classroom to the grass class. It took 154.

We also spent some extra time outside during our literacy block, spending time writing and practicing our guided reading with Mother Nature.

When inside, we made insects and read about them with various non-fiction resources.

We continued our study of measurement by re-measuring the distance between two of our outdoor spaces. Using standard tools, it took 68 meter sticks.

We also reviewed number sentences, using sticks to create our answers.

We also kept busy sweeping for insects,

continuing our woodchipping of the trail,

and birding. We added the cardinal, goose, swallow, and bluebird this week.

I also coordinate a special Baseball Day. With generous donations and volunteering from our families, we read baseball books, created personalized pennants, enjoyed a tailgate lunch, completed baseball card math,

played nature baseball catch with pine cones and sticks,

and practiced the polka, a seventh inning staple at Brewers games.

Of course, as we do with every trip outside, we checked for ticks. No matter how hard we look,

they always find a way.

Citizen Science - Wetland Monitoring Session 2

Our wetland monitoring for the Waukesha County Park's program Wild in Waukesha continues and we have wrapped up our second session., With the weather warming and trap placement changing, we had some new captures Enjoy the pictures!

Wood Frog

Digger Crayfish

Mama crayfish with babies

Creepy and cute at the same time

Chorus Frog

More wood frogs

Citizen Science - Wetland Monitoring Session 1

Trap time!

When I saw that our county parks system was kicking off a citizen science program and looking for people interested in helping out in the area's amazing parks and natural lands, I knew this was the PERFECT opportunity for my family. Plus, I could use it to help my classroom. I am excited to share my family's adventures as we will be helping with wetland monitoring, nestbox watching, and reptile identification.

We have had a blast and even though the adventure is just starting, we are looking forward to sharing our discoveries along the way. Here are some highlights from our first session of wetland monitoring.

Digger Crayfish. . .notice the recent hatchlings hanging on

Juvenile crayfish my daughter named Snippy . Guess why :)

Embry with Snippy in happier times

Families that monitor together stay together

Catch and release

Big Poppa

Mama crayfish with eggs

Green Frog Tadpole

How many species do you see?

Resident Ducks

The video might be pretty quiet, but the frogs that reside here certainly aren't.

Session 1 Totals

18 Crayfish, 1 tadpole, 85 snails, and even more macroinvertebrates