Greening Sam and Avery

Day 294: our celebrations

We are hopefully going to make it outside tomorrow to explore a new area but we also have several errands that have to happen and a doctor's appointment. So today we celebrated Earth Day!

We started the day with a story time at the UW Geology Museum.

 
 
 
Then some exploring around campus.

 
 
 
 
 
Then we hit up an Open House event at the Aldo Leopold Nature Center. They had these great backpacks for families to pick up that had all kinds of good gear and activities in it.

 
Even puddles are fun with a net in hand!

 
Construction on the huge addition is not going as fast as they had planned so no tours in time for Earth Day. Bummer.

 
 
 
NO I do not tell my children to hug trees! They do that all on their own.

 
And it was great to see the wildflowers coming out with such force! Don't let the snow and cold temps fool you, it IS spring right now!

 
 
 
And even a few ferns.

 
We had a great indoor and outdoor day!

Hope you all have a great OUTDOOR Earth Day! Be sure while you are doing something to enjoy the Earth tomorrow you also do something to HELP the Earth tomorrow; pick up litter, donate to an environmental advocacy organization, plant a tree, join your local zoo, garden or nature center....so many ways to get involved, it is just critical that we all step up and do SOMETHING!

________________________________________________________________________________________

The Nitty Gritty!

While we were at the nature center today I found out that NatureNet is putting together Family Nature Clubs, much like those that are a part of the Children and Nature Network. I signed us up and am excited to see where this will go. It would be so fun to have local folks to hike, bike or just explore with.

If you are in the Madison area you should check it out.

Day 236: field trip - public program - wonder bugs

I failed. I hate when I am too tired, too impatient and too fed up with my kids to even enjoy a great outing.

There were songs, fun activities, parents to talk to and lots to learn.

But all I could focus on was how Avery was being too loud.

How Sam wouldn't stay with the group on the hike and was more interested in making snow angles and eating the snow.

Avery wouldn't stay put and kept running into the area of the room/building that was under construction.

It was all just too much for me today. Most days outings are the exact thing to snap me out of a funk, bring back my patience and rejuvenate my spirit but today I failed.

Sam and Avery still had a great time but I left the program feeling horrible and even more tired.

As moms do you ever have times where even your favorite activities can't seem to turn a bad day around?

_________________________________________________________________________________________

The Nitty Gritty!

This was the fourth Wonder Bugs program that we have attended at the Aldo Leopold Nature Center. They continue to surprise and amaze me!

To hear more about what we did today and get some great resources on owls visit the nature center's blog!  I believe the Wonder Bugs post should be up on their blog sometime tomorrow.

Thanks Tara for another great day. Hope you didn't notice too much how little energy or focus we all had!

Day 222: field trip - aldo leopold nature center

Too cold out to leave the house. NO motivation to even get out of my pajamas. BUT we had signed up for another preschool program at the nature center so we had a reason we HAD to leave the house. Yes, there were tears, whining, and crying. The girls were pretty crabby too.

But once we got there and started class we all had a great time and were glad we had left the house.

Today's lesson was all about birds.

Not sure what you are looking at (above or below)? Ms. Tara taught the kids about how birds have gizzards that help them to digest their food. So the kids got to make their own gizzards to see how they worked at crushing up the food. They mixed sand, small rocks, fruit pieces and seeds in their plastic bags and then rubbed them around.

They made binnoculars out of toilet paper tubes (you know me, I love anything out of toilet paper tubes!) to take outside with them to help them look for birds.

 

And then there was a bird themed snack! Love that these programs have snacks that fit with the theme, so smart.

Berries, worms and food that had been through the gizzard already (which was brown rice with coconut milk and fruit mixed in).

Even though we do a lot of birding at home, with activities, observations and books it is always good to learn about them in another setting. Sam loved the program and had a lot to tell her dad at the end of the day!

So glad we made it out of our pajamas today!

________________________________________________________________________________________
The Nitty Gritty!

One thing that I have not mentioned before that I am LOVING about the nature center's preschool programs is that they offer sleds to the parents! When we go outside for the hike portion they make sleds available to the parents for younger siblings or the preschoolers themselves incase they get tired and can't keep up. SO smart! Walking in the snow can be very difficult for little ones and this allows them to still be a part of the program.

 

Also wanted to mention that I am about to join in on a Green Mama Blog Hop! It is probably above this post already (if not check back in a few minutes! ha!). I am super excited to be a part of this and hope that you will join in or consider visiting some of the other green mamas. And did you see that I added Google Friend Connect. I know it is silly but I would love to have a few more "followers"!

Day 208: public program - aldo leopold nature center

Went to another Wonder Bugs program at the Aldo Leopold Nature Center today in Monona, WI.

These programs were designed, implemented and evaluated (gosh I sound like my graduate thesis!) by this amazing woman!

 
She plays the introductory song for the program on her guitar while the kids sing. So cute!

Anyway, today's program was on tracking. As you know I just did a birthday party on tracking and we have done a lot of tracking on our own, so I was curious how this would be different. What would Sam learn or be exposed to that she hadn't before? The program did not disappoint.

They started out just looking at track pictures, talking about what a track is and how they are made. BUT real animal mounts were used to show how feet are different. The kids could look at a real beaver foot compared to a duck foot to see how the tracks would be different. So cool.

After the introduction the kids were encouraged to explore the room where the instructor had made big posters of her own tracks showing different types of movement; jumping with two feet, walking feet close together, taking big steps, walking on hands and feet, etc. The kids were told to try and copy the tracks, make their feet step only where the tracks were. The idea may have been a little bit over some of the kids heads (Sam included) but they all really got into trying.

We all then bundled up and headed outside. The hike had a destination in mind, which is great for little ones, but she made stops for activities along the way, which is AWESOME!

One thing I love about certain nature centers is the idea that some things can be hands on. Of course there are mounts that can't be touched or certain things that are off limits to the public but then there are other things that can be used, manipulated and handled. Things that kids aren't accustomed to.

Sam got to make deer tracks today. With a REAL deer leg.

 
 
The kids were shown how to do it, got to see real deer tracks and then were handed the deer leg. It got passed around and used throughout the entire hike. Again I say AWESOME!

Another neat activity that the kids did along the hike was to try and figure out how a certain track was made. Our teacher had all the kids close their eyes and then she sat down in the snow, making a print with her body in the snow. She stood back up and told the kids to open their eyes. Then she asked leading questions about how the print was made. It was fun to watch the kids try to figure it out. Each family was then given the opportunity to try this out for ourselves. Sam went first and I closed my eyes. She sat down just like the teacher had done and then told me to open my eyes. She told me what she had done before I could guess but it was still a neat activity for her to experience.

We reached the pond on the grounds to look for fresh tracks and let the kids run around. Sam loves digging for the ice on frozen ponds so she really enjoyed herself.  We found some great tracks and then headed back inside.

There was a great snack, some books for the kids to look at and some other track activities that the kids could do when they were done with snack. Sam enjoyed what she was eating too much to do any other activities!

It was a great tracking program that combined indoor activities with a great outdoor experience.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

The Nitty Gritty!

We have done five public programs now and one thing that I have noticed is that there are two kinds of parents. Those that actively participate and those that stand at the back just being observers. But what is best for the children? What helps them to get the most out of the experience? Is it better to get involved, be active with them and encourage them or is it better for them to take the initiative and feel independent of their parent? 

I am  still trying to answer these questions. Unlike the Botanical Garden programs that we went to (here, here and here) the programs at the Aldo Leopold Nature Center give parents the opportunity to figure it out for their individual child. These programs are designed in a way that allows the parent to either be active or to obseve. I am still feeling it out with Sam. Sometimes she needs my guidance and sometimes she needs me to step back and let her be independent. With the program today it was very easy for me to be right there participating with Sam when I wanted to or when she needed me to. But the leader was also attentive enough with the kids that parents could play the role as observer at different points.

So what does all this mean?  My advice from two different perspectives -

For parents: Do not attend public education programs of any kind expecting that this will be a break, a rest from parenting. Go with the expectation of being involved, of learning and doing the activities with your child. Then as the program goes on read your child. You know their cues, their level of shyness and hesitation in new environments. Only you will understand when they need to be encouraged and when they need to be left alone. But always start out engergetic and active!

For educators: At the beginning of the program instruct parents to get involved. Remind them that some children need the reassurance of their parents before they will feel comfortable enough to participate. Encourage them to have fun and learn right along side their child. Design programs that make it possible for parents to be involved OR step aside. Be prepared to take charge of children that have parents playing observer but also be prepared to include in games or other activities those parents that are participating with their children. Be flexible!

Day 194: celebrating aldo's birthday

He would have been 124 today.  Sam and I got the opportunity to go to a birthday party for Aldo Leopold today. Okay, really it was just a part of the theme for the preschool public program that we went to today at the Aldo Leopold Nature Center (ALNC). Wonder Bugs is the series of preschool programs that the ALNC puts on each season and was created by a graduate student! I am jealous of what she has created, its popularity and success. The programs she has developed are amazing. I was super excited to get to see it first hand today.  

But maybe I am a bit biased because these programs are at the place I get to call "work" (I don't know if I can really call building fairy houses with 10 adorable little girls work!)!

So today's program was all about snow and Aldo. The program had a great mixture of inside time and outside time. Starting indoors with an introduction and meeting some animals (mounts), then heading out to do some experiments, exploring and playing in the snow, and then finally heading back inside for a snack and crafting fun.

Here are some of the parts that Sam loved.

The touch table that the nature center has where kids can touch anything they want.

 

Getting to see the skunk mount up close!

 

 
Collecting snow! The kids were asked to find different kinds of snow; new snow, old snow, soft snow, hard snow. Since it was currently snowing the new snow was easy to find. And Sam loved digging down to find the old snow/hard snow. Really I think she just liked picking it up and filling the bucket.

 

 
Finding rabbitt chewings. This was one of my favorite parts too. It is always amazing how much damage those cute little bunnies can do! Branches like these were all over the place.

 
A matching snowflakes game. The instructor had taped snowflake halves up all over the room and then there was a basket of the other halves. The kids had to pick out a half and then walk around to find the other half. They were different designs and sizes. They talked about how no two snowflakes are alike and were able to look at snowflakes up close outside under magnifying glasses so this activity acted as an inside follow up to that.

I loved this activity becase the idea of a matching game that was also kind of physical, walking around, hunting kind of game is really interesting to me. The possibilities of how to use this idea or expand on it are endless! A hunt to match leaf halves, animals, birds, etc. I can also see the halves being placed outside and it becoming a race for older kids! My brain is running wild with ideas!

 

And finally some cutting and glueing. Serisouly what two year old doesn't love to cut and glue!

 

But probably Sam's favorite part was the snack. Sorry no pictures, between helping Sam make/eat the snack and managing Avery I had no hands for the camera. The snack was a cottage cheese Aldo Leopold head! No, I am not kidding. We made the circle base of the head out of cottage cheese and then used raisin, craisins, almond slices and a few other seeds to make the ears, nose, eyes and mouth. Sam LOVED making the face and then really enjoyed eating it too. Then, because it was Aldo's birthday they all got homemade cupcakes too! Delicious.

It was a great preschool program! Thanks ALNC for a good morning.

________________________________________________________________________________________

The Nitty Gritty!

Because nothing is perfect....

Part of the introduction was reading a long excerpt by Aldo about January and snow. Though I always love reading/hearing his work it was WAY over the little kids head. They lost interest after just a few words. I know they wanted to connect the program to Aldo, the nature center and his birthday but I thought there might have been a more creative way or kid friendly way to show off his work.

I was also a bit bummed that the outside time seemed to go so fast. We barely got 20 feet away from the building! The kids did a lot of activities outside but I think it would have been nice to spread the activities out in different areas of the property and do a little hiking at the same time. But even with bringing us back in so quickly Sam and I didn't finish up our crafting and leave the nature center until 30 minutes after the program was over (and the program was 1 hour and 15 minutes long!)! So glad they are flexible and let us stick around so long to finish!!

It just goes to show that when you have outside time and activities included in a program for young kids you don't need much else! Just getting them ready to go outside in this kind of weather takes 10 minutes at least.

 

Day 152: our third public program

You may remember the program about sloths and/or the program about snakes.  Today we went to a public preschool environmental education program about frogs!  This was probably my favorite of the three. 

I won't repeat what I have said before about the format of the program.  Today I want to focus on the positives! 

They used frog sounds to introduce the kids to both local and more exoctic frogs. This was neat because kids this age don't really understand that the noise is more than just a ribit.  They were very surprised by how the different frogs sounded.

Lots of projects and activities today too.  We played memory with frog cards, placed frogs in size order, learned about the life cycle of the frog using numbered pictures, made a lillie pad out of construction paper and different colored tissue paper (to be the flower) and learned how to hop like a frog.  Whew, that was a lot! But it went by really quickly with each activity only holding Sam's attention for mere minutes. 

Then we headed once again into the conservatory and did a frog scavenger hunt.  Same idea as last program; there were pictures of frogs on little stakes "hidden" all over the place.  These frogs were not different colors however they each had a different shape on their back that made them distinguishable.

I noticed this time (our third program) that Sam knew the order.  She knew where to go and where to sit for the beginning story time. She knew how to flow from table to table doing activities.  And she knew where to grab the clipboard and marker from so that we could start our scavenger hunt.  She was comfortable and familiar. 

We will certainly sign up for more of these programs at the Olbrich Botanical Garden in the future, especially for ones that allow us to get outside and learn about topics more familiar and local.  But I am now also very curious to start seeking out other facilities that offer environmental education preschool programs to see how they compare.  What topics are most places discussing with this age? Do they all read books? Do crafts? How many actually take the kids outside versus just doing inside activities?  All questions I am anxious to answer!  And you can be sure that as I "research" all of this I will be passing along what I find out and learn.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

The Nitty Gritty!

If you are sticking around for this section tonight you are going to get to hear some of the negatives! I just can't NOT talk about what changes I would make to this program if I were doing it.

So here they come -

1. When they were doing the frog calls at the beginning it would have been really easy and super helpful to give the kids a visual as well.  Simply have pictures of each frog that we are listening to so that the kids (and parents) can become familiar with the frog and it sound.  Maybe this would enable some of the parents to recognize the frog as one they have seen before.  Comparisons of the sound and size of the frogs could also then be made.
2. Once the set of frogs was established with the sound and picture activity at the beginning I would have stuck with those specific frogs in ALL the pictures and activities.  There is no need for the kids to be looking at or playing memory with brightly colored exotic frogs.  They can look closely and tell the difference between a bullfrog, tree frog, spring peeper and American toad.
3. Along those same lines I would have once again stuck with those same frogs for the scavenger hunt as well. While I appreciated getting to practice shapes with Sam I think at a program where I am learning about frogs I would rather have had Sam practice telling the difference between certain frogs.  So pictures of actual frogs could have been placed on the stakes and then those same pictures used on the clipboard for them to find.  OR (and even better) they made some really model frogs and frog toys that could have been placed around the conservatory for the kids to find.  Just think it is so much neater to search for something 3D than just a picture on a stake.

Okay, that't it. So only three things. That's not bad! 

One other thing I wanted to mention about today.  While we were in the conservatory there was a class from the University of WI - Madison in there as well. They were also doing a scavenger hunt! HA! They had specific latin names of plants they had to find and then answer questions about the appearance of that plant.  Certainly more indepth but still a scavenger hunt! Thought it was so neat to see two very different age groups doing the same basic activity.

Day 145: olbrich botanical garden program

Mama May I giveaway still going on! Be sure to visit the first post about the review and giveaway to get your entries in!

We had our second program at the Olbrich Botanical Garden this morning.  You may remember we went last week and I wrote about the program on Day 138. Today was formatted exactly the same way so there is not as much to talk about (my critiques from the that day apply again to this one!). 

I did get a few more pictures of the activities though so why not share them right!

 

Magnifying viewers with snake skin in them.  This was a bit advanced for Sam.  She didn't really understand what she was looking at, but I thought it was cool!

 

This was a finishing the pattern activity that was also a bit advanced for her. We have just not worked on patterns before so she didn't really get the concept.  Besides their being snakes in the pictures there was no real connection or learning aspect about snakes with this activity.

This was a neat one. Some of the older kids that were there got to use the pipe cleaners to make the shapes (Sam tried a couple shapes) and then the younger kids that were there could just match the shapes that were already made to the shapes on the sheet.  There was an information card on this table talking about how snakes can twist and turn into different shapes.  

Sam loved this activity.  The informational card on this table talked about different patterns that snakes can have on their backs.  Then there were cards that the kids could use to either work on identifying shapes or play a memory game.  We played memory several times! 

There were two other activities that I did not get pictures of; painting wooden snakes that she got to bring home and then a playdough station for them to roll out playdough into snakes.

Then just like at the last program we did a scavenger hunt in the conservatory.  Instead of looking for plants and things that were in the conservatory they had set up stakes with snake pictures on them of different colors for the kids to find.  I wish they would have gone a step further and hung fake snakes up in the trees, on the ground or within the plants, but Sam loved looking for the snakes anyway.

Sam had a great time through the whole program. And by me reading all the information cards to her she learned a little bit about snakes!

________________________________________________________________________________________

The Nitty Gritty!

Some educators may think that I am being a kind of spy and should not be passing along (or stealing!) this facilities programs.  But this is exactly the kind of mentality that I think holds the education field back.  If one naturalist, one educator or one parent has a good idea that works great with kids that idea should be shared for everyone's benefit.  There is no way for the environmental education field or any education field to grow and improve if we aren't sharing what we learn.  There are some amazing schools and teachers with blogs out there that share their ideas, curriculums and lessons freely with the rest of the world.  This doesn't diminish what they are doing it only enhances the entire field.  I love finding ideas from other people, testing them out on my own kids and then adding to them or reinforcing that they were great ideas to begin with!  Do other educators feel this way? Do you share your tricks of the trade freely?  I can remember hearing from friends that are teachers that when they started a new job right out of college the previous teacher that they were replacing took all of their materials with them, forcing them to start from scratch.  Why is this?  Who does that benefit and don't these teachers feel at all guilty that they might be hurting the next group of students that take those classes?  Hope I am not being rude, I am not in the formal education field but I just don't understand this thinking. Would love to hear both sides of this argument and learn why some people share ideas and some choose not to.

Day 138: seeking professional help

Circa Toy giveaway is still going on! Get your entries in the numbers are still pretty low. TWO toys will be given away!!

 We went to our first (can't believe it took us THIS long!) nature themed public program today.  I don't know why I have been hesitant about going to one of these (probably out of jealousy that I am not the one teaching it!!) but I finally got us signed up and today was the first class. 

Way back on Day 20 we went to the Olbrich Botanical Gardens and I noticed that they did some education classes.  I looked into it and got us signed up for the first ones that weren't already full.  Right now they are rainforst themed so today was all about the sloth.  New animal for Sam but she jumped right in and loved it. 

I won't give you a whole play by play of the hour+ class but I will touch on a few of my favorite things.

The instructor started the program by showing the kids big color photos of different animals and asking them which animals they would see in Wisconsin or in their backyards and which animals are not in Wisconsin.  This was an introduction to where the sloth lives, the Rainforest, but I also thought it was just a really neat activity to help iron out the idea that some animals we see here and some live far away. 

After some story reading (she read "Slowly, slowly, slowly Said the Sloth" by Eric Carle which was very cute!) and circle time the kids were allowed to travel to different stations set up around the room to do crafts, games and other art projects that all had to do with sloths. This was great because there were some that were physical in nature, some that dealt with art, some with pictures, some with books, etc so that no matter what your child was into there would be something that interested them.  Sam wanted to do them all.

 

After this station time the kids were given a clipboard and marker with a laminated sheet that had a picture scavenger hunt on it. The pictures were of things they could find in the conservatory including a sloth! They had actually taken a stuffed sloth and placed it up in a tree.  You know me and scavenger hunts! Of course we loved this part.

 

Overall Sam had a great time and really enjoyed the program.  I was impressed with the organization and the amount of activities/materials that they had to go with the topic. 

It is always neat to see other educators in action, get tips and learn new things.  We will certainly be doing more public programs!

_________________________________________________________________________________________

The Nitty Gritty!

Preschool programs are certainly a challenge to lead as educators, especially because they are a hard group to control and they can be at such varying levels of interest and understanding.  So, again overall I think this was a great program but I did want to mention a few things that as both an educator and a parent I wish had been a bit different.

First off the theme.  I know children need to learn about far away places and the animals in the jungle might be a bit more exciting than some of the ones we have here but I think there is a great value and need for our children to have more knowledge and understanding of what is right in their own backyard.  I don't know what their topics are normally but I was a bit disappointed to see that the only preschool programs that they had right now dealt with topics that were non-natives.

I also wished there was an outdoor component.  The conservatory is beautiful and feels certainly like you are outside but the Olbrich grounds are so amazing and even this time of year there is so much to see that I wish the program had dealt more with what is going on actually at the garden.

Lastly (and this one is completely selfish and silly!) I wish there had been more opportunities for the kids to play with each other and be independent of the parents.  Most of the program (except for the very beginning) required me to be VERY hands-on with Sam. I had to instruct her on the projects, games and activities.  She and I did them all together.  She did not interact with the other kids at all.  I use public programs as opportunities for Sam to not only meet and interact with other kids but also for me to get to have adult conversations! When I have to be "on" the whole time there is very little chance of me being able to meet the other moms.

These suggestions are just from my perspective as both an educator and a mom.  New to Olbrich they most certainly might have lots of other more native topics that I am just not aware of.  I am anxious to go back and see more of what this facility and this educator has to offer!