Mysteries in the Woods

Right back into the swing of things! We’ve been doing some great detective work these past few days. Upon returning to the woods from break, we discovered MANY different signs of animals. One of the most exciting was a pile of large wood chips under some new holes in a fallen log. Who did this? we wondered.

The kids had many good ideas. Some said "wood chucks chuck wood so it was a wood chuck!" or "beavers like to eat wood," or "a deer made the hole with its antlers!" We set up some animal sorting activities around the question what animals make holes? and what animals eat wood? which solicited a lot of good thinking and conversation.

Many kids were convinced that beavers had made the hole, and so Kristine took a group on an expedition to find a beaver pond. Interestingly, they found a puddle that some kids were convinced was a beaver pond, and one scientific thinker even set up an experiment to see if beavers would come eat the log he left in the “pond".

Luckily, with the help of our resident expert naturalist Emily Hartz (our 6th grade teacher), we learned that woodpeckers love to make holes in trees while they peck for insects, and were likely responsible for the holes. However, the interest in beavers has remained. On Wednesday we made beaver tails out in the woods, and became beavers busily building dens and gathering wood. We'll see how long this interest lasts, but the play and learning has been great fun so far!

Thank you for sending all those dry clothes. We've been getting wet and muddy this week, but this is only the beginning!

Let’s hope the weather is good next Friday March 6th, 5:00 pm for our cookout in the woods. I’ll bring hot dogs, you bring a side dish or just yourselves.

Classroom Wish List:

Fabric for costume-making (anything fuzzy, or brown/natural colors, or felt)
Crafting feathers
A sheepskin (long shot, we know!)
More extra snacks (crackers, rice cakes, etc)

Who did this? What a fun mystery for preschoolers.

Here is a page from our Animals in Winter floor book, a tool we use to document learning, capture thinking, and help focus and direct play.

Searching for more evidence near the wood chips site.

Who else has been here? So many mysteries in the snow.

Meanwhile, there's a stream running through the playground - a whole different kind of exploration!

The sandbox isn't frozen any more.

After much discussion about what animals could have made the holes in the log, some kids were convinced it was a beaver. Kristine took a group on an expedition to see if there was a beaver pond nearby...

...and look what they found - a "pond"

Back at the classroom, our expert naturalist Emily helped us sort through some animals to figure out what could have made those holes.

And the consensus is...pileated woodpecker! Right when Emily was leaving the woods she heard one call, and then a different teacher saw one flying near the school.

Playing a new game called "Flood!" - ask your child how to play.

Ms. Wood took the class snowshoeing on Tuesday for gym class.

Everyone did great, and was exhausted by the end of the little hike!

Graphics practice at Wednesday circle - writing/drawing/coloring while lying down is great for developing core strength, arm strength, and fine motor control.