Daily Dose of Nature for Educators

Some History on Women's Equity

2017-11-12T17:37:00.001-08:00

Check out this video on women's equity, it's quick, snappy, and full of interesting factoids: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NfBnPzpptc

This really made me think about truly how long women have been struggling with crap. I had a pretty clear picture already of how long women have been dealing with the assumption that their life should only be about child-rearing and serving their husband. What was new to me here, however, was the extent at which purposeful, vindictive laws were made to keep women from having power since FOREVER. I found it pretty amazing the wild and crafty ways women since the beginning of time have found ways to get around these misogynistic laws, like the chariot races and Victoria Woodhall (she couldn't vote but ran for president, whah?! How backwards is that?). It saddens me that women in Saudia Arabia still can't drive and have to depend on the males in their family to get around. Nowadays, driving can truly be a lifeline and it can be near impossible to gain access to life's essentials without out (unless you live in a walkable urban area). What is it about women that some men felt the need to suppress and manipulate into subservience?

What I found inspiring about this video was how much it revelaed to me about the SUCCESSES women have had in gaining rights and power in some countries so early on in world history. For instance, women have had the right to own land since 1892 in New Zealand. It makes any country that didn't adopt this until much later look pretty prehistoric. I also didn't know about the first female elected to lead a country in 1960 in Sri Lanka. And to think what females were dealing with in the U.S. at that time! I'd like to learn more about Sri Lankan society and what special qualities they had to make them more open to this idea lightyears ahead of other countries. I also found it sad the note about Hillary Clinton, how she could change history in a "few short months..." Oh, how I wish that could have led to a happy ending!

2017-10-02T10:15:00.001-07:00

For my inquiry project, I am focusing on Moon Myths and realities. I interviewed a 7th grade girl, whose name coincidentally means "moon." Here are some questions I asked her and also a few I added based on her responses. Go through these questions yourself and put in your "two cents" about what you'd like to learn about the moon, too!

Do you ever look at the moon? What does it look like to you? Have you ever heard about the man on the moon? What other stories or folktales have you heard about the moon? What do you think happens with the moon? Why do celestial bodies spin on their axis? Does the moon have an orbit? Why are planets round? Is there anything you think would be cool to learn about the moon?

One thing that came out of the interview is how much people focus on the pattern of the moon. I guess I always just look at the size, whether its waxing or waning and don’t focus too much on the holes. My interviewee made reference to the holes a few times, so I know that is a point of interest I should cover in my project.

I would also like to spend sometime researching folktales and myths from around the world that include the moon. There was also a hoax that the New York Times published in the 1920’s where people believed furry batmen lived on the moon and apparently there was a campaign to raise money for the furry batmen. It is definitely odd and intriguing, perfect YA material for a lesson. It could talk about politics and social concerns, about the ability of a crowd to be swayed, that you can’t always believe what you read, etc.

My interviewee hasn’t really covered much astronomy yet in school, so it seems natural that her responses may be based on more what is perceived by an on-looker. My interviewee stated that she knew the Earth rotated but the moon did not. The moon actually does rotate on its axis, but it gives the appearance it does not because it is orbiting at the same pace. “The moon orbits the Earth once every 27.322 days. It also takes approximately 27 days for the moon to rotate once on its axis. As a result, the moon does not seem to be spinning but appears to observers from Earth to be keeping almost perfectly still. Scientists call this synchronous rotation 28, 2014” (Space.com, 2017) I also thought it was interesting her reason for why it doesn’t rotate, she didn’t really know why and I could tell her in her response that she was not confident in her reasoning, but she came up with one anyway. “The Earth does rotate but the Moon does not rotate. Why would it rotate? The earth has all these continents and countries.” So, there is some lack of understanding as to why celestial bodies rotate. To my knowledge it is related to gravity. There also has been introspection about the shape of the moon, which is actually a slightly squished circle, more oval-like. Most people think it's round. But my interviewee raised a good point, why is it round? Why not a square? My thought is that it has something to do with the gravitational pull as well. I will have to research this myself, too.

This project also brings me to the point that I think this is also it’s common for a lot of YA’s, especially girls, to feel that way in science class as the discussions get dominated by a few “know-it-alls” and the teachers, as a result, may assume everyone “gets it” and not allow extra time for others to process and learn. There are less women in science, specifically astronomy and engineering, and I do think there’s something to how they start out in middle school. In one of my other courses last year, I did a research paper on female students in science. Here is a few excerpts discussing this:

"Besides the discord between academic skills and their application to the real world, women, as a whole, are less likely to go into certain sciences, which often have higher salaries. Only 12% of computer science graduates are females. This doesn’t hold true, however for biology and chemistry, which has about half of its graduates as females (Usnews, 2014)."

"What influences a woman to pick her chosen major and career field? Girls historically have steered away from science degrees, while their male counterparts dominate the industry. (Usnews, 2014)."

"Is there anything we do in early childhood classrooms that affirm the histories we have told and limitations we put on women? There are some specific actions that encourage boys to explore math and science, but not girls. For instance, boys receive more math and science-related toys than do girls. (NEA, 2016) By the 3rd grade, 51% of boys have used a microscope in class—just 37% of girls have. (NEA, 2016) A recent study found that 71% of male teachers are more likely to attribute boys’ success in technology to talent, while dismissing girls’ success as luck or diligence. (NEA, 2016) Children’s science programs feature three times as many male characters as female characters and twice as many male scientists as female scientists. (NEA, 2016)"

Resources

National Education Association (NEA). (2016). Learning While Female. Retrieved from: http://www.nea.org/tools/15863.html

UsNews. (2014). Getting Girls to Study Stem. Retrieved from: http://www.usnews.com/news/stem-solutions/articles/2014/05/05/getting-girls-to-study-stem-its-about-more-than-just-making-science-cool

Japanese Internment Camp Histories of our Students

2017-05-01T14:34:00.002-07:00

Our students will come from a variety of cultural and social backgrounds that may or may not be apparent to the teacher at first glance. As a teacher, it is important to be aware of the cultural and social backgrounds of your students so you can present content in a sensitive way to the culture. This would be apparent in a history class, but what if you have a Math or Science class? It's just as important to be respectful and aware of students' cultural histories in these classes because it affects the classroom dynamic and in some cases, affects their performance (for example, Native Americans experienced trauma in residential boarding schools and this affects their sense of trust in the school system today and ability to perform with nearly a century of abuse by the U.S. government.)

Below is a video I watched about Japanese Internment camps. In college, one of my Chinese friends was badgered in a restaurant by a older Caucasian man who said snarled at her and called her a derogatory term for Korean. She corrected him but we left the restaurant anyways. The man was assigning his own personal anger to my friend who had nothing to do with his situation. I could see how these sorts of tensions could play out in a classroom in a similar way. A student can overhear a parent or grandparent making racial remarks and that transfers into the classroom in a dramatic and negative way, both latent and sometimes more obvious.

Personally, I had visited the Pearl Harbor Memorial in Hawaii and had heard stories from my Grandpa about being a pilot in WWII. I only heard one side of how the Japanese military attacked an killed U.S. soldiers. We did briefly review the Japanese Internment camps in high school history class, but there was still a lot I did not know. This video highlights some of the aspects pretty well:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTV-WNNouws

What strikes me in this video is the pictures with the small children eating at the tables inside the camp. How would you even take care of a family through all of this when you have no sense of home or safety? The images of the family standing next to the smashed store windows of their business saying, "NO JAPS WANTED" is startling. I also noticed the sign outside the internment camp, the "War Reeducation Center." Anytime you attach "Re" to "Education," it can't be good. After this video was over, another video followed was a video with U.S. Propaganda about the reason the Japanese internment camps were started.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OiPldKsM5w&t=103s

The government official in the video ways that the west coast of California was deemed a potential war zone with 1/3 aliens and 2/3 Japanese citizens. The official stated this was potentially dangerous to allow Japanese forces to invade us so they were moved. This is eerily similar to today's statements from our administration as to why we can't allow Muslims into our country as legal immigrants.

I should also point out, that I would not have ever seen either of these videos if it weren't for YouTube. The historical content that we have available here is incredible! So, as an educator, I am grateful for YouTube, despite my previous position of being annoyed by it.

It's important, no matter what subject we teach, to be aware of the political and social environment we are teaching in. Tensions may be hidden or very apparent, so it is important as a teacher that we listen, stay neutral, and do our best to remove the political and cultural barriers that may impede our students' learning in our classrooms.

YouTube as a Teaching Tool

2017-04-26T12:01:00.001-07:00

Let me first day that I'm the type of person that rolls my eyes at the mention of YouTube for kids. I've used plenty a YouTube videos to learn about a.home maintenance project, but I think of the endless hours of cartoons kids watch on their parent's phones and how these often have a hidden inappropriate joke embedded in the middle of the video by an older child. However, I know it's important to stay with the times for the sake of our student's engagement, so I want into watching the following videos created by a teacher for his classroom:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYG_f-y8-BY

This video appeared to be the teacher's first YouTube attempt and he was a tad more novice. It was filmed in his home and the quality of the video was poor. It was more like a lecture he would give in class. He was upbeat and had a nice disposition, but there was no reason this could not have been executed in class otherwise. I could see it would be useful to have so students could review for a test or watch over and over again as needed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evo5sgWIBTA
The longer video on the 10 Amendements was extremely well done. The teacher had obviously been inspired to engage students. Fun props, high quality crisp video image, pneumonia devices, hand symbols, and varied tone, all made this a video impossible not to watch, listen, and learn. Even the teacher's hairdo was more fun and his jokes were well-placed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epuwfzEJ4PU
This was a 30 second video on the amendments and this time the teacher added a bold backdrop. This stepped it up a notch and the brief time period was sure to work for even the shortest of short attention span.

I think all of these videos were useful for reinforcing content and exam review. I will definitely consider doing my own videos to support what I do inside the classroom and for students to access outside of school.

Sink and float Natural water play

2014-10-30T18:32:00.001-07:00

Fill a bin with water, seashells, pebbles, leaves, flowers ,etc. to explore sinking and floating. Give kids some aquarium nets and measuring cups. enjoy!

Cool off with paint on a hot summer day!

2014-08-06T23:00:00.001-07:00

This is a fun activity to do on hot summer day to cool off or to do during the winter when learning about ice and temperature. The pictures below were during winter. In the summer, you can take this outside on the sidewalk, too, for added fun!

Simply fill an ice cube tray with water and add food coloring.

To paint, pop out colored ice cubes and place in paint palettes. Have fun painting and watch them melt!

Fun in a sandbox...without the sand!

2014-08-06T22:58:00.001-07:00

Kids love the sensory experience of sand, but did you ever try the same scooping activity with birdseed? Selecting small seed will be less of a choking hazard and most kids that put it in their mouth will spit it out. You can use the "birdseed scooping" in conjunction with a lesson about nests, eggs, and/or birds.

Sprouting Activities with Kids

2014-03-12T00:15:00.001-07:00

'Tis the Season for Growing! Spring is finally almost here. This is a great older book full of fun sprouting ideas to get kids thinking about how plants grow.

I found this treasure at my local library.

Has a great up close photo showing a sprouting seed. Check out that cotyledon & radicle!

Bean Sprout Activity! They grow within a week.

A watercress terrarium, but this can be done with grass or winter rye seed easily.

Sprouting veggies! This child used these as trees, cute!

You CAN sprout grasses in your home or classroom window.
Winter rye is a no fail grass to use and super fast.

Natural Treasure Pouches

2013-09-02T21:47:00.005-07:00

Does your child love collecting found objects on their walks or hikes? Do you need something to get even the most reluctant child into nature? Try these fun little pouches. Kids can use them to collect all those special treasures they find on their walks. The best part is, they are no-sew, so kids can do them!

Begin with a small rectangle piece of cloth.

You can start with any size cloth. I have used here a piece measuring approximately 4 x 6 inches.

Fold cloth in half and glue sides together.

I placed a sheet of wax paper underneath. Be sure to fold "dull-side out" (your patterned side will be facing each other on the inside). The stick pins are optional here and you may not want to use these with kids, it just gives the fabric some extra steadiness while you work.

Rub fabric glue on the two sides using a q-tip or paintbrush. Be sure to get some glue in between the patterned sides, otherwise it won't stick. You don't need to glue the bottom, since you just folded it in half. The top will be the opening of your sack, so be sure to leave that glue free.

Place another sheet of wax paper and press firmly on the glued edges.

Place a heavy book on top and leave for 15-30 minutes.

Remove and flip pouch inside out. Fill with treasures as desired.

I included some acorns here that painted and rolled in glitter, for added fun.

The "treasures" found here can be used for a treasure hunt game in which you hide these items inside a basket of autumn leaves. The painted/glittered acorns are particularly fun to include in this game!

Finished natural treasure pouch!

Celebrate the Harvest Season with crafts using seeds and corn husks!

2013-09-02T21:29:00.002-07:00

I gathered these wonderful fall-themed activities from programs at the Garfield Park Conservatory.

Seed Quilts

All you need is cardboard, tacky glue, and seeds from your pantry for this one!

Begin with squares of cardboard.

I cut my cardboard squares approximately 5 x 5 inches. Cut as many squares as you would like to make in your "quilt." If you are doing this for a class project, you should cut one for every student.

Squeeze the glue, then place the seeds in a desired design.

Finished "Seed Quilt."

The last step would be to glue your finished seed quilt squares on a larger piece of cardboard, so your "quilt" can stand together.

Corn Husk Crowns

Begin by tearing corn husks into tiny strips. All ages love doing this. For a picture of corn husks and the strips, see my corn husk dolls pictures below.

Tie an elastic cord around an empty picture frame. You can use a piece of cardboard instead. The frame/cardboard should at least be a foot wide.

Children can tie the corn husks using a simple knot all the way around the cord.

All ages love wearing the crowns!

Corn Husk Dolls

This is a good craft for the older child. It does take some patience. The pictures have been flipped upside down due to a formatting error in the computer, my apologies.

Begin with 4 corn husks.

Tear one corn husk into strips.

Take two corn husks and bunch together.
Secure with a corn husk strip (double knot).

Flip the corn husk over the end and secure
below the "tail," forming a head.

Separate the "flaps" and insert the final corn husk.

Tie off the "waist." You should cut the arms down to a
desired size and cut off any extra ends of the strands.

Tie off the "wrists."

Tie off the "ankles," if pants are desired. This step
can be skipped if a "skirt" is desired instead.

Autumn Harvest Magnets

2013-09-02T21:13:00.001-07:00

This is a great activity to not only celebrate the fall harvest, but to recycle! I gathered this activity from the Garfield Park Conservatory and modified it a bit.

Your supplies.

What you will need to make this project: an old seed catalog or magazine with plentiful fall-themed pictures, clear packing tape, glue stick, strong glue, magnets, old postcards.

You may wish to use laminating paper instead. It works just as well. But I do suggest the hand laminating film (also used for book covers), the heated lamination film would be a bit too heavy I think.

Select photos from the catalog and glue to the postcard.

Cut out the pictures and lay them face down on clear packing tape.

Place a second sheet of tape on the backside to "seal" the pictures.

Glue on magnets. Make sure you use a strong glue.

Regular Elmer's won't work here. Use a strong glue such as Aileen's Tacky glue.

Finished product! Now hang on your fridge to dress up your kitchen for fall.

Save some seed...a great fall activity!

2013-08-28T22:43:00.002-07:00

In autumn, you can find a flower with seed inside just about anywhere. Sunflowers and marigolds are especially easy ones. You will need to look for a dead or dying flower. Then, you can pull the seeds out from the center. Then, make your own seed packet to store them in. I discovered this useful activity at the Garfield Park Conservatory.

If your marigolds look like this, they are ready for seed saving!

What you will need: 8.5 x 11 computer paper, stapler, writing utensil.

Fold one third into the center of the paper.

Fold remaining third inside over the first flap.

Fold in half.

Remove mature seeds from seed pod (this is a dead marigold flower here).

Staple one side, making an envelope with a solid bottom.
Place seeds inside.

Fold over top edge and staple shut.

Label. Finished!

Spread some seed with SEED BOMBS!

2013-08-28T22:33:00.002-07:00

If you haven't heard of seed bombs, you are missing out on a wonderful wonderful thing! Apparently, seed bombs have been around since the beginning of human civilization, but I first learned of these magical creations from South Side Seed Bombs. Check out this site, the woman that runs this business is just as wonderful as these little bombs! http://southsideseedbomb.com/

What is a seed bomb exactly you may ask? They are an ingenious invention created to help plant seeds in a very easy way and keep predators (aka squirrels, birds, mice and other creatures) from eating your seeds before they could sprout into the plants you need. They are also an easy way to disperse seed, just throw and grow!

Seed bombs provide the solution in that they provide the protection the seeds need from predators.

What will you need?

compost (or soil)
seeds of choice (go native!)
natural clay (from craft store pottery section)
paper plate

This activity works great for all ages-you can't go wrong with mud!

What you need to get started.

1. Start with a spoonful of compost (or soil if you don't have compost) and a ball of red clay. Pick out your seeds. This is a great way to disperse native seeds in a prairie.

Smoosh. Mix it all together.

2. Mix the clay, seeds, and compost together. This part is especially fun for kids.

Roll into a ball.

3. Roll back into a ball, let dry.

Last step.

4. Throw in desired location (in ground or a pot). Great way to lay down seeds for the fall to sprout in the following spring.

Hibernation & Winter Animal Dens

2013-08-28T10:36:00.002-07:00

Where do animals go in the winter? I posted a link earlier to my blog with information about animal hibernation and overwintering (See May 5 post). Not all animals hibernate, but ALL animals do make some preparations for winter. A fun activity that helps get kids thinking about this concept is to have kids make "mini-winter dens" for an animal of their choice.

A winter shelter for a beaver. Notice the "food."

Beavers do not hibernate, but they do prepare for the winter by collecting food and, of course, they will need a place to store that food and shelter from the elements when they are not out gathering food. In this structure, I included "samaras and twigs" as the food for the beaver. In reality, beavers actually eat branches from trees, preferring aspen, cottonwood, willow, and dogwood. They will also eat plant tubers, roots, shoots, and a variety of herbaceous plants (source: www.landscouncil.org/beaversolution/fact_on_beavers.asp).

The beaver is hidden from predators inside its den.

How the supply set up looks for this activity.

Playing with Wind

2013-08-28T10:13:00.002-07:00

With the change of seasons comes windy days. Whether it be fall or spring, wind is a great natural part of our world to focus a lesson or activity with your kids.

Wind Wands

These little ones are having a blast here with some homemade wind wands. Using slurpee straws, we taped ribbons (at least three different strands) to the top of the straw with some decorative duct tape. Just another use for that funky duct tape you find at the craft store now a days! So, now you have an excuse to go buy it. Regular tape won't be strong enough to hold it.

Just add wind & run!

Or, stand still and see what happens.

Scarf Clothesline

Another great way to play with wind, hang a clothesline and let your kids hang up play scarves or pieces of fabric.

What you need: clothespins, scarves and/or fabric, rope


Just hang the line, put up a few scarves and see what happens.

We used only smaller play scarves here, but you can use large fabric pieces or old bedsheets.

I did this activity with a group of 8-10 year old girls one week. I just sat back and relaxed while I watched the little girls pretend they were hanging up their clothes, then took them down to get dressed to go to church. Then they returned and took down the "tablecloth" and set up lunch. This continued through several versions of social outings, it was really incredible play at work!

It's funny how much they love to play "house" with this. Now if only we could get them to help with the real laundry....

Walking Sticks

2013-08-27T14:37:00.001-07:00

This is a fun project to do to get kids excited about going on a hike. I acquired this idea from programs at the Garfield Park Conservatory. Start with a stick that comes up to your child's shoulder. Use a variety of items, such as ribbon, fabric, pipecleaners, beads, leather cording, and even a compass or magnifying glass.

Decorated by an 8 year old for a toddler to use. The cloth bag is a pouch
to hold natural treasures that may be found on a hike.

The walking stick I have pictured here is pretty simple, as it was created by a child. But, you can get very elaborate with this project!

She's ready for a hike!

Mini Teepees/Mini Forts

2013-08-27T14:29:00.002-07:00

Building structures out of sticks is perhaps one of my most exciting childhood memories. I remember we would vacation near a forest and my mom would take us out to the woods to build teepees. She would bring twine and a sheet and the magic would begin!

This is a similar activity you can do on a much smaller scale in your backyard. I am not sure if it is politically correct to use the word "teepee." You could call them mini-forts instead. I did do a google search about using the word "teepee," but nothing in particular about the name being disparaging. If anyone can think of a better name that is respectful to Native Americans, please tell me. .. I think the kind of play that could accompany it could be disparaging if kids are taught to "run around the teepee as an Indian" and patting their mouth while yelling "whoo whoo!" I think if we discuss this with kids that they are what we, as humans, used as our homes before we had houses and that Native Americans used these in the Great Plains, it is fair to call it a "teepee."

Begin with bundling sticks (cut 10-12 inches long) and tie together with a string.

Stand up the sticks and spread apart. This is best to do
on the grass, mulch, or soil.

Wrap a piece of fabric and secure with a string. Enjoy some
creative play, maybe make a village?

Sunflower Bird Feeders

2013-08-27T14:05:00.000-07:00

Check out this fun and SUPER EASY activity to make a bird feeder out a sunflower!

Who doesn't love a cheery sunflower?

It makes me incredibly sad when I see them do this!

At some point, after the bees have visited it in their nectar frenzy, the sunflower becomes too heavy to support itself and flops over. So, what to do? When life hands you lemons, make a bird feeder!

This is a closeup of the head of the sunflower that flopped over.

Look closely underneath the little yellow blooms, recognize anything? Yes, seeds! The same ones we eat in from the store! We love to eat them and so do birds. Have you ever purchased a bag of sunflower seeds for birds? It is close to $15 for a small bag they tear through in a week.

A sunflower bird feeder

Simply cut the sunflower head off at the base of the stem then tie a string. You can't actually see the string I used but I just tied it onto the sunflower stem and then made a loop to hang it on a hook. You could get very, very fancy here, but I went for the quick and dirty route. Be sure to hang it near a window so your kids can watch the birds visit easily. It may take the birds a few days to find it, fyi, so don't be discouraged if they do not visit right away. The other bright side to cutting this sunflower head off is that you are "freeing some space up" for the plant. If you look in my second picture you can see another sunflower bloom behind this big, heavy one, just beginning to poke its pretty little head out.

Homemade Binoculars for Tots

2013-08-27T13:34:00.002-07:00

Kids love binoculars, but real ones can be too bulky and cumbersome for them. These are a great "training tool" to use before the real thing! I like to call these "Nature Spotters" and I originally learned this project from the Peggy Noteabart Nature Museum in Chicago. www.naturemuseum.org

1. String 2 toilet paper rolls on a long piece of yarn.

2. Bring the ends of the yarn together.

3. Tie a knot at the end and pull tight. The two tubes will come towards
each other side by side as you do this.

4. Finish your knot and you have a pair of Nature Spotters!

These are a great way to "focus in" on small details or animals out in nature. Sometimes, all the green can be overwhelming to a child. Peering through these help kids "hone in" on an object far away such as a birds' nest or an animal.

Leaf Clothesline-Display beautiful autumn colors!

2013-08-22T06:19:00.001-07:00

There are countless possibilities to get creative with autumn leaves. Their colors just beg for it! This is an activity you can do anytime of year where there are leaves present, but it is particularly pretty in autumn.

Many ages can work together on this project.

Begin with finding two trees (or poles) to hang a rope from. I used a clothesline from a dollar store in this pictures. It was a dollar...you can't beat that! I did a couple simple knots. Make sure the rope is taunt enough so you don't create a tripping hazard.

Next, just hang the leaves and clip on with clothespins! We had a problem with the clothespins being to heavy for the leaves, so you need to use larger leaves or clip several together. This is another reason to make sure the rope is taunt, it will keep the leaves from flipping.

This can be done inside as well as a mini clothesline.. Just find a wallspace to hang it, especially if you have corkboard.

How to identify animal tracks

2013-07-31T21:16:00.001-07:00

There is nothing quite as mysterious in a forest as finding animal tracks. What was there before you and what was the animal doing? Here is great PDF to help you identify animal tracks. This is a great way to spark some curiosity in even the most reluctant minds!

http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/wildlifemapping/handouts/animal-tracks.pdf

Another link describing in great detail all the signs that indicate an animal has passed through an area.

https://www.princeton.edu/~oa/nature/tracking.shtml

Frame Some Art by Nature

2013-07-07T10:38:00.001-07:00

Make a work of art from natural materials! These empty frames are simply placed on cement, then the kids fill them in with their designs. No glue or mess, but they won't last forever...you will need to "live in the moment" and enjoy them. The works of art can be taken apart when done and re-used again and again. Great recycling!

Where do animals go in the winter?

2013-05-05T21:39:00.001-07:00

Part of what makes spring fun is seeing all of our favorite animals return to the forest and our neighborhood. I found a great website that explains hibernation, migration, and winter survival techniques of local animals:

http://www.exploringnature.org/db/detail.php?dbID=5&detID=2280

It is clearly written and very well done with pictures, too!

Getting Your Child Ready for Springtime Mud

2013-04-27T22:06:00.000-07:00

The Midwest was flooded this past week with water absolutely everywhere. A few days later, I had nearly forgotten about all the rain until I went to visit our favorite nearby forest preserve and found our usual trail under 2 feet of water!

Luckily, I had predicted that there would be mud...just not knee-height wading water, and packed our rain gear. I purchased a Tuffo Muddy Buddy suit for my toddler so she could really get into the environment and not worry about getting dirty, chilly, or wet. Tuffo Muddy Buddy Waterproof Coveralls (Google Affiliate Ad)

I'll have to say I felt pretty silly buying it at first, but I really believe in playing outside in all types of weather, so I thought I should put my money where my mouth is a properly gear my tot up. The suite is around $30.

I also bought a pair of just plain rainpaints by IPlay, which we keep in my purse for impromptu fountain visits, strolls on muddy paths, or crawling in damp areas. The Muddy Buddy Tuffo suit I usually take on planned outings. I really like these rain paints as they are very light, comfy, and breathable. Not at all like the vinyl ones I had and hated growing up. I've only had them a month, and I've already washed them 5 times. They are a great investment for explorative play! I Play. Solid Waterproof Rain Pants - Toddler (Google Affiliate Ad)

We also got a pair of kids' golashes at the thrift store for $2. The Tuffo Suit has bunched elastic at the ankles so I was able to seal her feet in. Below, she is up to her knees in rainwater and not a single sock got wet!

Tuffo Muddy Buddy Suit Size 18 months on a 17 month old

Toddlers love mud!

My toddler absolutely loved stepping on the new, slippery surface. She enjoyed the muddy surfaces just as much as the flooded surfaces. It seems like it would be a nightmare to do laundry afterwards, but it wasn't. I only had to rinse off her suit. The rest of the clothes were untouched by mud.

Quiet Nature Time Everyday for Mental Health

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Try this with your child whenever you can, even if you have a toddler or baby! Find a quiet place to sit or lay down. We use garden kneeling pads, it simulates "storytime" at the library and signals to the child that it is time to "do something." Wear a watch.

Have your child close their eyes, take a deep breath and exhale. Tell them that you will be closing your eyes and listening to the world around you for a set a amount of time (I start with 30 seconds for the first time regardless of age, and aim to build up to one minute with toddlers.) Now, listen to the sounds around you. Make sure you do this with them, too! After the designated time is up, you can talk about what they heard. At first they will probably say "people talking, cars beeping, or music playing." With practice and time, they will learn to drown these artificial noises out to hear the more natural noises, such as the leaves blowing in the wind or birds chirping.

Another version, if you are in a forest or other natural place is to do nature observations. This can even be in your yard or local park early in the morning when it is quiet. Find a spot to lay or sit. Lay for at least 5 minutes and watch the same area. After time passes, children may see changes in the setting, including birds flying, insects crawling and trees swaying. This is particularly therapeutic for eyes that have been trained too much on tv and phone screens.

Find a serene, natural view for observation, whether it be in a forest preserve or local park.

The sky provides great opportunity for observation. Nothing can seem more mystical or get a pair of eyes lost better than a grand set of tree limbs.

And who doesn't love cloud gazing one imagining what shapes the clouds could be!?

Even the smallest eyes can benefit from some quiet time with their parent watching the natural world. You may think, "oh, my toddler will never sit still!" Give it a little time and set an example, and they will be more likely to follow your lead!

The grass in your backyard may just seem like a jungle if you look closely enough at ground level.

Bare patches amongst a grassy area can provide some very interesting observation if you look closely. A variety of weeds usually inhabitant these sorts of spaces, bringing with it lots of bugs and flowers, too!