AVALON’S CHIPMUNKS

Chipmunks are cute little rodents that love to scurry about collecting food, digging burrows and making us say awwww.  In class today we learned about these creatures and how they survive.  We watched  a short and entertaining video of chipmunks trying to stuff huge amounts of nuts into their cheek pouches.  These preschool kids loved it and laughed as they watched the persistent little chipmunk stuff their face.

I thought it would be fun for us to become little chipmunks ourselves so I made little pouches for the kids to wear around their necks and we set out to collect some nuts.  Before we went into the woods we discovered some of the local burrows of the resident chipmunks that hang around the barn.

Clover pointing out the chipmunk burrow!

 

 

Once we set out for our nut search it was important to get these little chipmunks to act and think like the chipmunk would.  We had to walk looking down for those nuts.  It took a while but they were successful.  Some of them even collected leaves for their beds!  Such beautiful and amazing kids.

It was a super day to be out in the woods, with the air so fresh and the multicolored leaves surrounding us!  Ahhhhhh   What a treat for the senses.

Here are the little chipmunks:

 

 

When all was said and done and our time was up in the woods, we returned back to the barn with our pouches filled.  I suggested to the parents that they do an experiment with the nuts.  Take them home and place them outside then check back the next day to see if they were still there.  Simple but fun!

I promise we left enough nuts out there for the real chipmunks and squirrels to collect for their winter feast!!

Get out and go nuts!

Sue

LET EM’ LOOSE

If you were to give a child a ball of yarn in the woods what do you think they would do with it?  Well, yesterday I had the honor of standing back and watching.

Today I thought we would take it outdoors and the product was a half an hour of weaving and bobbing and trying not to get stuck in the web that they were creating.  They all took the web weaving very seriously.  I outlined the web with a strand of yarn to get them started then tied each child’s ball of yarn to the frame of the web, then set them free!!!! They took it further than the five trees we started with .  Pretty soon the web was expanding and expanding and expanding.  They were so very busy thinking of where they could go to next.  Needless to say these 5 year olds were very careful to not tie down their friends in the web. If someone got stuck they would help each other.  It was fabulous.

What a fun day!!  As we were getting ready to pack it in the sun was setting and one of the kids said to me, “look at the sunset!”  Yes!!  look at it … what a beautify streak of pinky purple, couldn’t ask for a better ending to the day!

So give your kid a ball of yarn and let them get started!!!

with love, Misses Aunt Sue (as some of the kids call me!)

PARENTAL JOY IN THE WOODS

We finished our lesson on spiders and headed into the woods.  The weather was lovely and the time was right for a stroll.  Our preschool kids and parents wandered through the woods looking for spider webs.  They were lucky enough to have keen eyes and spot a few small spiders in their webs.  Teeny tiny things!  One of the moms found a daddy long legs  (which is actually not a spider) .  Clover let it crawl all over her jacket.  It seemed to really love her and did not want to let go.  The kids gathered around the parents stood back.  hahahah!  (well some of them)

It was a great hike but the best part of the whole hike was when we approached this fallen tree.  The kids were drawn to it like a magnet!  Their need to climb was almost instinctual.  So amazing.  With their parents help they climbed, crawled and sat upon the tree.  I just had to stand back and watch the parents do what was needed for their kids.  I was very proud of them.  Of the parents that is!!!  They were not imposing their adult scare tactics, which we as parents are so good at….. “be careful, that’s too high, you might get hurt!!”  I didn’t hear or feel the fear, instead what I saw was this:

 

Pure fun!!!  It was hard to tear them away from the tree but we had to head back!!!!  I loved spending this valuable time in the woods with these families.  I truly feel like I have the best job in the world.  Keep up the good work parents and climb away!!!  It ‘s great for you and your kids!

Peace,

Sue

FLAMING GOOD!

Raging wildfires, flames licking the delicate branches of new trees, wildlife scurrying. It burns with intensity… but did you know that fire is a necessary part of forest ecology?   Tess Copa, from the Department of Environmental Conservation, shared her knowledge of fire ecology and her experiences fighting wildfires.

Her  presentation was an opportunity to awaken a respect for fire and how, if handled properly it can do what it is intended to do.  She demonstrated the fire triangle and how  all three parts of the triangle need to be present for it to burn,  oxygen, fuel and heat.

The kids learned the when a forest fire burns, it is not always a bad thing, especially if it is controllable.  It allows the forest to rejuvenate.  Tess talked about the fires in the Long Island Pine Barrens, which occurred before these kids were born… (yikes) .  They also learned about something called prescribed burns.  The firefighters carefully prepare areas to be burned by digging trenches around the area to be burned and is set by the fire fighters and maintained by them.

It was a great opportunity for the kids to learn about this job and how anyone can become a wildfire fire fighter if they train and pass the test.  Tess explained that all sorts of people are wildfire firefighters, accountants, engineers, teacher… the list goes on.

Tess ended the presentation with a game where the kids took turns being the fire fighter, the fire and the trees.  The fire and the fire fighter had to capture as many trees as they could simultaneously, ending hopefully with the firefighter winning!!!

It is important to teach children to respect fire.  If they grow up with this knowledge then they can pass it on to other kids, parents and hopefully their children. We’ll be a better and safer world for it.

We are grateful to Tess for sharing her knowledge and experiences with us.  We are now wiser.

Thanks Tess!!!

Tess, the fire, the firefighter and the trees! Best day in the woods!

 

 

 

SPARKLES AND SHADOWS

Howdy all!! Today was a super fantastic day where the topic was apples… yes apples.  We read one of my old favorites by Dr Seuss, “Ten Apples on Top.”  I loved how engaged the kids were as we watched these silly animals balance apples on their heads!!  There’s just something about reading a book to a child… they will stop and listen and enjoy. So magical.

Anyway, we did our apple tasting and checked out the seeds, also known as pips.  If the child did not want to eat the apple I encouraged them to touch, smell or put their tongue on the apple.  Little steps of exploration .. ….

As you may have noticed the title of today’s blog is Sparkles and Shadows.  I prefer to write about what struck me as the best moments of our time together. Today it was our hike!

We walked and ran down the wildflower field trails.  Surrounded by walls of brown flowers that once were yellow, brown and purple. I looked up into the sky and realized how amazingly blue it was.  I decided it was a great time to lay right down on the ground and look up at the sky. I asked what the clouds made of and someone said, “stuffing.”  So precious!  All the kids joined me as we looked up into the endless sky.  Wonderful.  It was only a short moment but oh so amazing to be human… then thump! One of the kids decided to sit right down on my belly!!  So funny.  In the meantime all the parents were standing there watching.  Why oh why didn’t they get on the ground with us??? (I’m sure some of them wanted to !!)

As we picked off the seeds that were stuck to my shirt we continued our short journey to an apple tree that had only a few apples on it. Last year it was abundant with apples and many were on the ground.  Oh well so much for that lesson.

But the best part was yet to come… sparkle and shadows!

As we were getting ready to leave there was this amazing rock lit by the sun!  It sparkled like crazy!  The kids ran to it and climbed all over it inspecting the inlayed jewels.  How magical.  One of the girls said, “It’s like they threw sparkles on it!”  So wonderful

 

Before we left the sparkly rock I noticed my shadow and began to try to run away from it.  Then I challenged the kids by saying, “don’t step on my shadow!”  They laughed and chased my shadow.  The sun went behind the clouds and the shadow faded… some of them realized why it went away.  Not bad for preschoolers!  The parents traced some of their children’s shadows and we left them there to lay in the bright warm sun!  The tracings that is, not the kids!!!

It was a great Fall day in Avalon.  Love being outside with the kids and their parents!

Get outside, there’s so much to explore!

Sue

CLIMB A MOUNTAIN

 

 

Well we might not have the anything close to the Himalayas here on Long Island but somehow kids always find something to climb.

Part of my Inspirations class of 4th -6th graders is to show them how inspired people choose different life paths than the norm.   There is more than just going to the mall, watching tv, video games, or social media out there and that a person can make a difference.

Today’s topic was about climbing Mount Everest.  An amazing feat that must be respected.  From all my readings about this amazing place, I have developed the utmost respect for the men, women or children who choses to put themselves basically through hell to get to the top of the earth.  It is inspiring and daunting.  I know that personally I do not have a climb of that magnitude within me, but I can live vicariously through all the stories of the people who have summited or attempted to summit this monster of a mountain.

Basically all of the kids knew what the tallest mountain in the world was, less knew where it was and even fewer knew how tall it is.  But that is okay because the information is out there if they are interested.  I chose to show them a video on You-Tube , “Mount Everest, The Whole Journey”  While Rob does not summit and plans to go just above base camp 3 he certainly gives the kids a great impression of what climbing Everest is like.   I think they were amazed and surprised by what he had to go through.  It’s worth a watch.

Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_ybcAWTLeE

For our hike I let the kids decide where we would go.  Teaching them that they MUST stop at every intersection and wait for the whole group.  Safety first.  Some kids are fast and have to get there first, others are strollers who like to look around and chat.  I must say the strollers do find the coolest stuff… like Grace who likes to find mushrooms and Finn who was able to find the bright red berries of the  jack in the pulpit flower.  It opens so many pathways for thought… are these things edible? do the animals eat them?  There is also the time to take a look under the logs for insects.  Although they were sparse this time Kenzie managed to find a millipede.

Good stuff.  These kids love, love, love being in the woods… that means sooooo much.

Get those kids outside!!!!

ps:  I recommended the series of books by Gordon Korman:  Everest Series #1  “The Contest”   Everest Series #2 “The Climb” & Everest Series #3 “The Summit”    good read for kids!!!

 

EARTH MANNERS

Hi all!  Another great day with the Natural Patterns group of  1st – 3rd graders.  We talked about Earth Manners.  What is that you say?  Well the kids generated the following list after I read the story,  “Just a Dream” by Chris Van Allsburg.  About a boy who does not really care about the environment,  throws trash on the ground, doesn’t recycle and is just plain self involved.  It was a long story but this gang of kids were mesmerized by the boy’s adventure into dreamland…  not such a great dream of the future.  It’s worth a read and discussion.

So here is there list, written with the help of Emma:

 

I have to say I was very impressed.  Prior to the reading of the book each child prepared a leaf cutout by coloring their own design on it.   They attached strings to the leaves which will be tied to the  sticks they  collected . (Stay tuned for finished project in two weeks)

Today our hike was centered on finding one stick each for their earth manners piece.  Let’s just say it wasn’t easy to choose just one!!  We chatted about staying on the trail until we got to a great stick place where there was no poison ivy around.  The selection began.  It was fun to watch them wandering about trying to find a stick that was just right for their own project.  When it was time to head back I noticed that Emma and Rylie chose to take along a second large stick… actually it was a branch!!!  It was so funny watching them lug this with the intention of using it as our “class branch” (have to give Indigo the credit for naming it!) I love  when the kids bond together and make something for the “class.”  It means they are thinking of the group as a whole and are motivated to do something for their group.

It all comes from within them ~

 

Here they are with the “class stick”

 

Next class we will put the project all together, by painting the sticks from which we will  hang our leaves and manners.

I smile when I think of them.. eager kids just wanting to have fun.  It should be this way for all kids, at least for some of their day.. 🙂

Get them outside….  please

Peace

Through the eyes of a kid!

A sunflower is a perfect example of a natural pattern…from the root system to the intricate arrangement of the seeds.  This class of 1st – 3rd graders dissected this sunflower with gusto..  from roots to head they were all over it!

 

 
One of them found a stink bug and proceed to put it into the hole of the head of the flower (see the picture) When we cracked open the seed head they were hysterical to see the bug in there! Sorta like hide and seed with a stink bug!
 After they finished their seed picking they set to work on creating their own sunflower paintings!  I love how unique each painting is.  It shows that they are free to create and interpret how they would like.  That’s the best thing about being a kid, being allowed to paint a sunflower how you’d like without criticism!   So here they are for you to enjoy!

 

Enjoy your day and get outside!!

 

All IT TAKES IS ONE SEED

Well, were back to exploring the great outdoors at Avalon again!!

Our first day back was with the Sticks Stones and Stories preschoolers… moms/dads/grandmas/oma’s/ opa’s…  fabulous

Our super fun first exploration was something so big and beautiful it’s hard to believe that it all starts with one seed!

It’s the towering sunflower!!!

These flowers have spent their days growing in our great garden on the side of the barn, bathing in the delicious sunshine all summer.

As the petals begin to turn brown and the flowerets have been pollinated it is now time to explore this amazing flower!

Most children get to admire this  flower from afar.  But today we pulled it out of the ground … tearing the roots from the earth..   examining them. Next, using a hand saw,  cutting open the chunky stem to feel the moist insides where the water flows.  Touching the large rough leaves and playing with them ( Lilly made music with hers!)  Finally getting the head of the flower to examine the petals, all the mini flowers and the seeds!!!  Such an amazing sight to see how they grow … all neatly packed  in there.

Once we finished exploring outside we took the heads and brought them inside to take out the seeds.  Everyone  got to take their seeds home.  I wonder what they will do with them?  Eat them, feed them to the animals… plant them???  Such fun!

Finally a craft and a story to complete our first class together.  Great kids, great parent and grandparents.

Get outside!

peace, Sue

 

 

DON’T WORRY CAUSE EVERYTHING’S GONNA BE ALRIGHT

Day two of darkness hiking at Avalon!  We set out with our flashlights into the night… really it was only 5:00 when we started.  Once again the moon lit the sky … the rainbow rings surrounding it.

Sophia told me that she heard a story that all the snakes will come alive when the moon has that circle around it……  no snakes on this walk!

As we set out, with flashlights at the ready, we crossed the road as usual and headed into the woods.  It is amazing how dark it gets with just a few lights to lead the way.

Tonight I had two experiments in my pocket.  Simple as can be but fun.

I talked about our vision and our pupils and how in the dark we are basically color blind.  We turned out our lights and I took out two markers (pink and green).

I drew a line of each color on their hands and asked them to guess what color they were.  Most were close with their guess…. I had blues, reds, greens…..  The truth would be revealed when we went back to the barn.

The second experiment involved the good ole winter green lifesavers!  We sat on the leaves in a circle and crunched on these rings watching sparks pop in our mouths!  It certainly was a lot of laughs.

I think it was the first time any of them had done it!!!  Chemistry come to life!

Best part of the evening for me is when they all starting singing Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds”….. Don’t worry about a thing…. cause everything’s gonna be alright.

Those were the only words they knew and they sang it again and again…..   I think it was soothing to them as we were on our 35th minute of the hike!

Love these kids!!!!

Here’s the music if you want to play it at home   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uPZbIezChI