On the Monday morning of a new week in nature kindergarten, I looked out of my window after hearing the familiar screech of the killdeer. Every spring, we have a few nesting pairs around the school so their appearance is not unusual. However, seeing 16 of them hanging right outside of my classroom might have been a sign that this was not going to be a normal week.
With nearly five inches of rain and a wide array of temperatures, it certainly wasn't normal at all.
We took advantage of the wild weather to work on some engineering activities inside. The class decided that as part of our wants and needs unit, we will build a "squirrel castle" filled with acorns. We spent some time working on some designs with a variety of materials.
We also hiked through the "dead zone" that we will plant with around 30 species of native Wisconsin plants next week.
In that hike, we also found hickory nuts far away from hickory trees which led to an impromptu investigation. We discussed how they got here and what that means for animal. The class decided it was the squirrels responsible for this pile of nuts. This only enhanced their interest in their squirrel castle designs.
This week, we also got our new trail camera. As part of the Snapshot Wisconsin program, we received a trail camera about three years back. After thousands of thousand pictures, the captures started getting fuzzy. Upon reporting this to the team, a new camera soon arrived. I look forward to checking our new pictures and sharing them with the class.
Of course, with the rain comes puddles so we made sure to enjoy them.
We also searched for more fungus and played.
We were also fortunate enough to have a second visit from the Touch of the Wild trailer from Wisconsin's Outdoor Heritage Education Center. We investigated specific artifacts and related it to how these animals used their bodies to satisfy their needs. We discussed and debated the following questions before exploring on our own.
What need does a turtle shell satisfy?
Why is hair/fur important at different times of the year?
Why is the neck of a male turkey red?
How does a goose use their beak?
What can claws do?
How do fins help fish get what they need?
Why are coyote ears so big?
How does this type of beak help a crane?
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