A week of unseasonably cold weather didn't stop nature kindergarten. In fact, it didn't really even slow us down.
We spent plenty of time exploring and reorganizing our mouse houses.
However, a highlight was our bitterly cold but beautiful visit from our friends from Retzer Nature Center. We enjoyed a hike around Charger Woods as we witnessed winter in action.
We searched for tracks,
discussed decomposition,
identified various habitats,
found fungi,
learned about winter adaptations,
and enjoyed learning about, discussing and exploring the forest ecosystem.
The class was especially enthused about the kindness rocks placed around the trail.
In fact, our ecosystem investigation quickly transformed into a "find the rock" exhibition.
We just love Charger Woods and our Retzer friends!
Back at Woodside on a near subzero day, we happened to be working in our classroom when we noticed a domestic cat doing some hunting and prowling near the trail entrance. From the warmth of the classroom, we watched, predicted, and discussed what we saw. Of course, we then had to go look for kitty tracks.
In our investigations, we also fond a new burrow. We look forward to "capturing" the creator of this burrow with our trail camera very soon.
The chilly weather was warmed up with more natural play, new mouse house constructions with donated corn stalks, and new methods of smashing pumpkins.
Another week of amazing learning in the books!
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