The Learning Loop - Trailmix Style...

Lifelong learning is the voluntary and continuous pursuit of knowledge that occurs over a lifetime.  We believe that parents can teach their children to become lifelong learners at a very young age using a model that we like to call the “learning loop”.

What is the Learning Loop, How does it Apply to Kids?

The term “learning loop” is used frequently in business and management to describe a model of adult organizational learning.  If you are familiar with the single and double loop organizational learning model…. well…. set it aside for just a moment.

Like many of the things we do at Trailmix, we have stolen customized this term and adapted it to mean something entirely different (and much more useful) for parents.

For our purposes, the “learning loop” describes a circular process that parents can use to leverage adventure and curiosity to develop lifelong learners.

The model is simple, here is how it works:

Step number 1:  Create an Outdoor Adventure

The first step in the learning loop lies with the parent.  Your job is to set the stage by creating an opportunity for adventure.  We like to use nature and outdoor recreation as a backdrop for our adventures because of the endless opportunities that hiking, bug catching, bird watching, and geocaching can offer a family that likes a good tromp in the woods.

Step number 2:  Guide the Adventure into Curiosity

The next step involves giving your adventure a purpose.  Your job here is to guide the adventure into a topic that will fuel your child’s natural curiosity.  The easiest way to do this is to use the adventure to create a question or set a goal.  Any State and National Park interpretive display (or even a website before the adventure starts) can help you create the question or goal.

Here are a couple of examples: 

• Create an educational scavenger hunt
• Set a Goal
• Find a local list of birds
• Plant a Garden

Step number 3:  Convert the Adventure and Curiosity into Learning

The third step in the process is to guide the combined adventure and curiosity into a moment of learning.  If you posed a question in step 2, than this step would be where you discover the answer, achieve the goal, etc.  For best results,  guide your child into discovering something new:  a concept, life lesson, or other knowledge.

Step number 4:  Tie it all Together, Repeat

The fourth and final step is the most important:  here you set the stage for the next adventure.  The first time we used this process, we went sequoia hunting in Yosemite National Park.  Since then we have hunted these big trees as far north as Placer County and several other points in between.   The trick is to use the momentum of adventure, curiosity, and learning to repeat the cycle as often as possible.  When you use a learning adventure as a stage to another more challenging learning adventure, you have completed the loop.

As long as you keep it fun, you are on track and the results are guaranteed  = )

Image via Wikipedia

Bug catching enthusiasts are going to get a kick out of this trick.  Use the instructions below to build a contraption for kids that lets them peer into ponds, puddles, and other murky waters to learn about plants and critters that make their home in the mud. Scroll down for a list of common freshwater insects, plants, and animals that kids can identify.

This underwater science adventure comes from the book Camp Out! by Lynn Brunelle (flip to page 208-209).  If you enjoy outdoor adventuring with kids under 12, this book is a must have because it covers camping and all kinds of other outdoor activities with children…  But I digress, onto the bug peeping.

Safety First:
Don’t let kids use this device off of docks, near lakes, water deeper than a few inches, or the ocean.  Age and skill appropriate adult supervision is required for all of our outdoor adventures.

Construct Your Pond Peeper Device:
Step #1:  Place some Saran wrap or other plastic paper on a flat surface, such as a table.

Step #2:  Use a can opener to remove both ends of a can so that you are left with a tube.  Center the can onto the Saran wrap.

Step #3:  Pull the plastic wrap up around the sides of the can and secure it with a rubber bands.  Make sure that the plastic wrap is pulled tight across the bottom of the can and attached tightly.

Put on a pair of boots and find a shallow pond or puddle to begin investigating.

Submerge the pond peeper about half way into the water, look down through the top, and stay still.  Before long, if you are lucky,  you will get to see a bit of unusual wildlife:

Whirligig:

Mosquito Larvae

Backswimmer

Dragonfly Larvae

Tadpole

Water Boatman

Crayfish

Caddisfly Larvae

Diving Beetle

Water Strider

Mayfly Larvae

If your insect anglers have already captured roly-polies, chased ladybugs, and incarcerated daddy long-legs it’s time to tackle some more exotic game.  Look no further than the adult green lacewing.

We like to think of the green lacewing as the smallmouth bass of backyard bug catching.  They aren’t as intimidating as the wolf spider,  as fast as the dragonfly, or exotic as the preying mantis but they are no slouch and some people (like your humble authors) love them – exactly for that reason.

Where to Find a Green Lacewing
Patient bug catchers will find the lacewing in the evening near trees where aphids are present.  Why?  Because they are active night flyers and because the adults (pictured) like to lay their eggs near a reliable food supply….  Yep….  Bet you didn’t see that coming.  This cute little fellow’s children (not so cute) are predators and aphids are on the menu.

While adult lacewing eat pollen, nectar, and aphid honeydew, lacewing larvae feed on many common garden pests including aphids, leafhoppers, and the eggs and young caterpillars of many moths.

So, if  you (oh yes, we know that parents love this as much as kids) want to find a green lacewing, get yourself a bug jug and look where you might find its favorite foods:  gardens, fruit trees, meadows and forest edges where aphids and caterpillars make their home.

How to Identify a Green Lacewing
Now that you know where to look, this is what you are looking for….

Green Lacewings are small insects, about a half inch long.  They have teardrop shaped wings that are mostly transparent except for an inner weave of “lace”.  Another attribute your kids will love – many have very large golden/copper eyes.

Other cool attributes of the lacewing:  it can evade bats in flight, often escapes spider webs by cutting the silk before the spider notices, and some adult species have been known emit an offensive chemical smell from a gland in their thorax when threatened.  I have never experienced this, but it is probably worth mentioning to be gentle with these little fellows.

Between the striking eyes, beautiful lace wings, Top Gun style bat evasion, Harry Houdini spiderweb escape skills, and secret caterpillar eating life this insect makes a prize catch for any backyard safari enthusiast.

Alright, so now you caught one…. What next?  Before setting your little critter free, why not post a photo over on our facebook page or in the comments below with your “fishing story”?  In case you didn’t notice, we love that kind of stuff here…

Related articles

• lacewing weather (rebeccainthewoods.wordpress.com)
• 101 Ideas: A guide to good bugs (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Fun Friday: Backyard Bug Hunt (goexplorenature.blogspot.com)
• Yuck, it’s got so many legs! (trailmix.net)

The Trailmix.Net Great Gear Giveaway is a program where you can win cool kids outdoor gear and educational toys for free each month.  Anyone can participate, no purchase is necessary to win.

Program Summary

Each month we are going to select a sample of some of the best stock in our inventory and give it away to a randomly selected sweepstakes participant.  Save your receipt!!  If you shopped online or in our Old Sacramento Store you are automatically eligible to win.  We will announce the prizes and winners on our facebook wall and in our email newsletter.  You have seven days from the announcement to contact us to claim your prize.

Winner Selected Randomly

The winner of each monthly prize will be selected randomly from a pool of entries.  An “entry” can come in the form of an  online receipt, an Old Sacramento Store receipt, a Rock of the Month Club monthly payment, or a manual entry (no purchase is necessary).  Each entry has an equal chance of winning.  There is no limit to the number of times that you can enter.  Drawings occur after the close of business (5:30 PM  PST) on the last day of the month.

Prize Announcement

Prizes are announced in three forums:  The Trailmix.Net Facebook Page, the Trailmix.Net Twitter page, and the Trailmix.Net email newsletter.  When announcing the prize, we will post an entry number.  If you were automatically entered into the sweepstakes, the entry number will be your unique receipt number.  If you entered the sweepstakes manually and your entry is randomly selected, we will post the entry number that you were assigned (See the “Manual Entry” section below for description of how to manually obtain an entry number).

How To Redeem Your Prize

If your winning entry number is posted in one of the three forums (facebook, twitter, newsletter), you can redeem your prize by contacting Trailmix.Net.  You must contact Trailmix.Net, Inc. before the close of business (5:30 PM PST) of the seventh day from the announcement to arrange a review of your receipt or manual entry information for confirmation.  In the event that nobody claims the sweepstakes prize, the sweepstakes will close for that month without a winner.  Prizes must be claimed by an adult over 18 years of age.

Manual Entry – No Purchase Necessary

No purchase is necessary to enter The Trailmix.Net Great Gear Giveaway.  To enter manually, send a hand-written 3×5 note card with your name, address, telephone number, date of entry, and email address as well as a single self addressed stamped envelope (SASE) to:

Trailmix.Net, Inc. Great Gear Giveaway Administrator
116B I Street
Sacramento, CA  95814

Entries must arrive before close of business (5:30 PM  PST) on the last day of the month.  We will reply to you with a sweepstakes entry number.  Limit one entry per envelope.

Eligibility:

The Trailmix.Net Great Gear Giveaway Sweepstakes is open only to legal residents of 50 United States or the District of Columbia who are 18 years of age or older.  The Trailmix.Net Great Gear Giveaway is subject to all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations and is void where prohibited by law.

Agreement to Official Rules:

By participating in any of the Trailmix.Net Great Gear Giveaway Sweepstakes, entrant fully and unconditionally agrees to and accepts these Official Rules and the decisions of the Administrator (Trailmix.Net, Inc.), which are final and binding in all matters related to the Trailmix.Net Great Gear Giveaway Sweepstakes.  Any changes to the rules governing the Trailmix.Net Great Gear Giveaway Sweepstakes will be posted on this page.  Rules are subject to change at any time.

When you look up in the sky on a nice day, what do you see?  Birds, clouds, sky….. and bugs.  Lots and lots of bugs.  In fact you won’t believe how many bugs are flying around above us right now.  This animated cartoon produced by NPR tells the story in language and images that even young children will understand.

Seasoned bug catchers know that the rainbow trout of the backyard bug watching expedition are the colorful fliers:  the dragonfly and damselfly.

If you are lucky enough to live near a shallow freshwater pond, dragonflies and damselflies can be abundant.  Both are capable of putting on an acrobatic airshow, come in a variety of colors, and are fierce  predators that will eat flies, mosquitoes, and other small insects.

But how do you tell the two apart?  Here are three ways to teach kids how to tell a dragonfly from a damselfly.

How to tell a dragonfly from a damselfly while in flight
When in flight, dragonflies are easy to spot.  Large in size, stocky, quick, and sometimes loud, an adult dragonfly will usually travel in a single direction with purpose.  Damselflies, on the other hand, are dainty.  Where the dragonfly seems to move powerfully with a clear destination in mind, the damselfly will flutter and move in a way that seems aimless.

How to tell a dragonfly from a damselfly while perched
When at rest, the easiest way to differentiate a damselfly from a dragonfly is to look closely at their wings.  Dragonfly wings will protrude from their bodies in a way that resembles an “airplane”.  They lack the “hinges” that allow them to fold their wings back against their bodies.  Damselflies, on the other hand, pull their wings along their backs so that they are parallel to their body.

How to tell a dragonfly from a damselfly by morphology (shape and size)
A third way to differentiate a dragonfly from a damselfly is to look deep into its eyes…  Really.   Dragonflies eyes are larger, are much closer together, and almost touching.  Here’s an example:

Damselflies have two distinct eye lobes that are positioned on each side of the head.

So that’s all there is to it.  Want to learn more about dragonflies and damselflies? 

Pick up a copy of Cynthia Berger’s Dragonflies Wild Guide.  This 124 page guide book covers everything from dragonfly behavior to attracting dragonflies to your backyard.  Full color illustrations make identification easy.

Or, click here to see our whole bug catching section.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Damselflies in the morning sun (telegraph.co.uk)
• Dragonfly Photo: Dragonfly Visitor (creationontheblade.blogspot.com)
• Dragonflies invade Jersey Shore, help combat greenhead flies (nj.com)

Bug catching with kids is one major theme in the Trailmix.Net Old Sacramento Store.  Why?  Because catching a bug is a simple way for a parent to blend adventure with education.

Mission Accomplished! Photo Credit: Grantuhard via Flickr

We call it the “backyard safari” and have all kinds of bug catching tools, containers, nets, and gear for young entomologists.  But if you live in Northern California, there are ample opportunities to take your hobby to the next level.

The San Francisco Chronicle recently listed five places to explore the mysterious world of insects:

To some, insects are the creepiest, scariest, most spine-tingling things on earth. To others, they are beautiful and captivating. Here are five places to explore the mysterious world of insects, arachnids and anything else that has more legs than it should.

via 5 Places: Bugging out.

Incidentally, at the time of this writing, we are scheduled to host the Bohart Museum of Entomology at one of our in-store workshops where we invite experts to help parents tap into the educational potential of state parks, national parks, and other public lands.

Join us!  Click here to see what is coming up….

This video was created using an Uncle Milton Mega View Microscope and a single drop of pond water.

If there is a single idea that Trailmix.Net stands for, it’s this:  Children (and their parents) need adventure.

That’s why we created Educational Expeditions, our free e-book.  First published on the Trailmix.Net blog in 2006, the Educational Expedition has been tested, revised, and simplified.  It’s a three step process for planning outdoor adventures with kids by helping parents tap into the educational potential of backyards, state parks, national parks, and other public lands.

Download your free copy today, and feel free to share it with friends.  When you use it, please consider sending us an note.  Whether you have text, photos, or just scratched a map on the back of a napkin at Denny’s, we don’t mind.  It’s the adventure and results, not the format , that matter and we would love to hear about it.

Is your child the type that is constantly [Tag]catching bugs[/Tag] in the backyard?  Put that skill to good use this summer by entering him or her into the first annual Trailmix.Net “Catch and Release Wild Bugs” [Tag]bug catching[/Tag] contest.

Parents can enter our backyard bug derby by snapping a photo of their child with their big game: ladybugs, roly-polies, butterflies, beetles, or whatever weird bug you can find.  E-mail your photos to admin (at) Trailmix.net with your return mailing address.  All participants will automatically win one of our pocket magnifiers and be entered into a drawing to win a free copy of the National Audubon Society’s Field Guide to Insects and Spiders.  We’ll cover all of the shipping and handling charges, you just need to shoot a great photo.  The contest runs from August 1^st to September 30^th at which time the drawing will occur.

Your photos will be posted in our store in Old Sacramento where visitors will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite.  As photos begin to trickle in, we’ll showcase some of the best ones on our blog and in our newsletter.

Of course, if a bug derby and [Tag]photo contest[/Tag] sounds like fun and you need bug jugs, field guides, critter cabins, or other backyard safari gear, be sure to drop by [Tag]Trailmix.Net[/Tag] (on-line or in our Old Sacramento store) to see what we have in stock.

The tiny details that go at the bottom:

-Due to shipping constraints, entries can only be accepted from the US and Canada
-By participating in this contest, you agree that you are the rightful owner of the photo and give permission to Trailmix.Net to post your photo in our store, on our blog, and in our newsletter.�
-By participating in this contest, you agree to the Trailmix.Net Terms of Use agreement.

It’s not exactly the same as fishing for mahseer in the Himalayas, but a backyard bug safari is different only in scale.

When we started stocking the Trailmix.Net Store with science and nature toys we didn’t expect our bug jugs to become one of the most popular items. Maybe it’s because Take a Child Outside Week is right around the corner or maybe its just because creatures with more than four legs are strange and interesting….

Whatever the reason, when it comes to outdoor activities with kids, catching bugs in the garden is great sport.

After an enthusiastic and detailed description of a roly-poly playground safari by one of our customers (Thanks Kyla!), we decided to get into the action. One Uncle Milton Ladybug Playground, a raisin, and a drop of water later we were ready to roll film…

One of the coolest things about starting an  Expedition Toy and Game Company is that you get to test the gear when it arrives.  Last week we received a shipment of  Uncle Milton MegaView 200X Digital Microscopes that feed live images directly to your television.  If you are generally unfamiliar with  educational toys, the MegaView is kind of like the Cadillac Escalade of children’s microscopes.  Stylish and powerful, we found the urge to open the box and take it for a spin to be irresistible.

The video below was made with only three drops of pond water.  Even in the middle of December, we were surprised at the level of activity that we found when the image appeared on the screen.   Little creatures danced and bounced and every once in a while something (relatively)  gigantic would wander into view.

Using a single video cable, it was easy to assemble, connect to the television, and bring into focus.  We’re huge fans of Learning and Discovery television and undersea documentaries, but this was much more fun.