Tyke Hike #43 - UW-Waukesha Field Station & the Apple Harvest Festival

The first full day of Fall and it was nearly 90 degrees and sticky. That didn't stop seven humid hikers from enjoying UW-Waukesha's Field Station. Before the hike officially kicked off, our fearless hike leader went off trail and helped me collect prairie plant seeds for my school's restoration project. Once on the trail, she and her newest hiking buddy kept well ahead of the adults.

When these two happy hikers did allow the adults to catch up, it was to ask permission to play. Naturally, we agreed. We made shelters, played in the dirt, and even found the famous Halloween Tree.

The play continued with a closer look at Scuppernong Creek and some log balancing. We even stopped to find things along the trail. Whether it be walnuts, critter holes, and/or mushrooms, keeping our eyes open to the world around us was a key to discovery.

When you attend a kid-led hike, you must expect the unexpected. When our hike leaders went down a  path I had yet to venture on in my previous visits, I was excited to find a trail camera set up. Upon further inspection, this camera was part of the DNR's Snapshot Wisconsin program, the trail camera program I am fortunate enough to be a part of as well.

Embry was especially fond of the extra large milkweed pods she found.

After saying farewell to the guests form today's hike, we ventured over to the Wildlife in Need Center and found a litter of opossums getting fed. While these little guys may not grow up to be the cutest woodland mammal, they love eating tricks, so I love having them around.

Our next nature day stop was at the Retzer Nature Center's Apple Harvest Festival. Like the Ice Age Trail Alliance, I also am proud to be a volunteer at Retzer and enjoyed seeing so many guests enjoy this amazing place, even in unseasonably high temperatures.

Embry enjoyed making a rainbow butterfly,

creating a slinky snake,

fishing,

and launching frogs onto lily pads in a game called Leap Frog.

Taking a break from the games and crafts, she practiced her facial expressions while exploring the scarecrows.

After hearing her daddy and other guest readers share a variety of picture books, it was time for more games.

She played, apple ring toss,

won at Wildlife BINGO,

and finished off some cold apple cider and a caramel apple.

She even had enough energy to celebrate a wonderful day of nature with one final rock hop.

Timberwolf Trail - Week 3 - 2017-18 Edition

I absolutely love the fact that every time out in nature leads to new discoveries, new ideas, and new levels of excitement. This week, while we aimed to learn about the life cycle of the tree, we experienced so much more.

On our way out to the oak tree classroom, we encountered our first woolly bear of the season. We also quickly reviewed some of the prairie plants that adorn the trail. In an earlier hike this week, I pinpointed tow plants we see in abundance: showy goldenrod and Queen Anne's Lace. This proved a perfect way to introduce the idea of native and non-native plants, a  precursor to our look at invasives later in the year. I asked the children to find an example of each and let's just say they came up with their own way to showcase their findings.

We also took time to briefly introduce habitats by comparing what was different about being out in our prairie and under the canopy of the "hidden forest." This brief introduction was a great preview of next week as we learn about trees as habitats.

When we made it to the oak tree, we reviewed the differences between fiction and non-fiction books before reading a non-fiction selection on the life cycle of an oak tree. Combining auditory and kinesthetic learning styles, we connected the book's cycles with an action to help solidify the understanding.

We whispered SEED,

crouched and used a squeaky voice for SAPLING,

stood tall and proud for ADULT TREE,

shrunk a bit slowed our pace, and whimpered OLD AGE before

slowly lowering our bodies into the DECOMPOSING DIRT stage. We then talked about how a seed could find its way into that nutrient-rich dirt/soil to start the cycle all over again.

Reading and talking about the life cycles set us up nicely to search for each stage right in our own land. We found some seeds,

searched for saplings,

encountered adults,

located some old age trees, and

stumbled on decamping trees, both standing and already fallen.

After all that hard work, it was time for even more, this time in the form of natural play.

Using wood tools

Fungus anyone?

A happy tree

"Cleaning" the forest floor

While lining up after natural play, we found a critter hole and brainstormed what might be living there. And as is usually the case, once we found one, we found a million. Our hike back to the oak tree was peppered with children's declarations of their critter hole discoveries.

We experienced a lot, so we had to take the time to document it. We officially started our nature journals and I was very proud of their effort and creativity.

Our nature day ended as it usually does: with a good old fashioned tick check. We will see if the humidity of the last few days continues into next week.

Timberwolf Trail - Week 2 - 2017-18 Edition

You can learn a lot from five minutes of tree climbing. We kicked off another week on the trail discussing trees, observing trees, and yes, climbing them. A few minutes of observing kids around a climbing tree offers a plethora of information easily transferrable to the classroom.

Our focus this week was on parts of the tree. We want to learn about the parts of tree so we can better understand how we use them and why we need them. We sang a special Leaves, Branches, Trunks, & Roots song to the tune of Head Shoulders, Knees, & Toes and then found each part and discussed them.

We reviewed that discussion with a chant.

Leaves help the tree EAT.

Branches help the tree GROW.

The trunk helps the tree STAND.

Roots help the tree DRINK.

Hard work requires a break to play, so off we went to the rock pile and the hidden forest. In what tends to happen, play tends to turn into what others may consider work. Children were digging put the rock pile  and children were clearing the forest floor of logs and branches.

Play also tends to lead to new discoveries. Whether it be of the big variety or maybe a collection of nuts, time in nature always produces spontaneous activities that motivate, engage, and entertain the participants.

We then sought out a new part of our outdoor learning area, heading to the land we call the inside tree. Essentially whole practicing our climbing skills and tree construction skills, we also inspected a fallen tree with a hollowed out trunk we can go inside.

Through our play, our more structured activities and the spontaneity of the outdoor classroom, we connected tot he natural world and dug deeper into the world of trees. The digging continues next week.