Parks That Connect You to Nature Through All Your Senses | Conservation | Parks & Recreation Magazine

This article reminded me about how powerful it is to take time and pay attention to all your senses in nature.  Sometimes it is a personal choice or you are guided to rely on senses you don't usually use by activities such as a blindfold walk, however parks and outdoor spaces can entice you with plantings that smell wonderful or textures that make you want to touch near the trail.

This article  shows that certain elements of nature can make a big difference- especially when in high trafficked areas such as playgrounds.

http://www.parksandrecreation.org/2016/January/Parks-That-Connect-You-to-Nature-Through-All-Your-Senses/

As I was rereading the book Your Brain on Nature: The Science of Natures Influence on your Health, Happiness and Vitality by Eva M. Selhub MD and Alan Logan, Nd.  I came upon a quote by John Muir that starts off a chapter...although I can't find the authors say the Muir source referenced I am going to write it so I can find where it comes from...and because it reminds me to use my nose.

" The fragrance with which one is feasted in the woods is, like music, derived from a thousand untraceable sources..the whole air vibrates with myriad voices blended that we cannot analyze.  So also we breathe the fragrant violet, the rosiny pine and spicy fir, the rich, invigorating aroma of plushy bogs in which a thousand herbs are soaked. "

Thank you John Muir!

Toddler Tales and Trails Owls

We opened with a short owl activity where kids made owls and glued on feathers. Then we looked at stuffed owls that the Audubon has on display and we talked about their similarities and difference.  

Our stories were  Owl Moon by Jane Yolen and next we read Little Owl Lost by Chris Haughten. 

We listened to a silent owl wing.

We went on a walk noticing an owl vomitorium.  We also notice an eagles nest.  It was a beautiful Mt. Rainier Day so actually went over time and did a longer loop.  We played the game Owl and Mouse.  We also played another game where kids and adults had to touch a tree when it was "day" and run around pretend flying and hunting during the night. 

As a closing I asked children to talk with their adult about what was their favorite part of the day: the top activities were mystery bags and the hike.  In terms of nature the most engaging activities for kids was touching trees, discovering mole holes & for parents the owl vomiium and finding the new eagles nest (it was high up in the tree and not as meaningful to the little ones).

Toddler Tales and Trails December

After a brief opening activity of threading cereal on string for bird/ tree decorations we moved into
today's focus: How do we know it is nearly winter? We talked about signs such as colder temperatures, frost, and also noted what are birds and animals doing at this time of the year.

I read two books,  Frisky Brisky Hippity Hop  based on a poem by Alexina B. White with photos by Murray Head and the story of The Longest Night by Marion Dane Bauer.  Then we sang a couple of songs including Little Bird Come to my Window & Mr. Sun and headed out on a hike.

Hiking in December is wonderful because most of the leaves are off of the trees- so you can notice things that might not have stood out in the summertime.  Right away we noticed a special bird: A Red Bellied Sapsucker pecking in circles around a tree.  This led to instant engagement & we were off.  We looked around for signs of winter.  We noticed how most leaves had fallen- making a perfect brown blanket for the earth.  We used spoons to look under the leaf litter and found springtails, slugs, and a beetle. We also found pine cones which we then used to make bird seed feeders.

A little further along the trail the other naturalist noticed a bushtit nest!  She told the group about how small the bushtit is - and that at one time this nest probably held ten little birds! Then as we were doing a listening and looking activity an eagle flew overhead.  The naturalist guided us to a view point where we could see that the eagle was already building a nest.  It is huge!  While noticing something like a nest in the distance may be hard for the littlest ones- the adults were fascinated!

We played "squirrel tag" a game which mostly involves running around chasing one another and laughing.  The rules evolve for different ages.

All in all it was a wonderfully fun day!  I am already thinking of activities to do in January.  A few ideas: Owls & Eagles

Salt Dough Nature Activities

My newest simple activity with the kids is doing salt dough.  I have found various recipes online, but basically it is 1 cup salt, 1 cup flour and up to a cup of water.  So far this fall we have made model hummingbird nests in the boys' first grade class, which I did as an activity to go along with my last months hummingbird lesson.  We also made cookie cutter ornaments that the boys then painted and are using for decorations.  Finally, I just read about a family that makes leaf print salt dough leaves and then colors them in with colored pencil once they dry.  I was thinking that next Thanksgiving this would be a wonderful table decoration.

Hummingbirds

Hummingbirds

In honor of the Audubon’s Citizen Science Project Hummingbirds at Home I focused today's Toddler Trails and Tales on Hummingbirds.  We started the class making play dough nests about the size of a real hummingbird nest which they decorated with string, wool and two puffy balls for the eggs. We talked about how in reality hummingbirds use lichen, moss and spiderwebs to  make their nests.  Then I read some poetry from the book Hummingbird Nest: A journal of proems by Kristine O’COnnell George and Barry Moser.  Later I read the story About Hummingbirds: A Guide for Children.   

Our walk was looking for hummingbirds and with the help of the Audubon Director, Joey, we saw some!  Of course, for the littlest one a hummingbird can be hard to follow so after milling around the hummingbird garden we went to some leaves and played and sang in them.  Then we played some other games and hunted for more plants and birds, played squirrel tag and everyone went off on their way!

Fun addition to todays lesson: bubbles to show iridescent colors.  Bubble and the feathers of our hummingbirds both have a wonderful display of color when the light hits then just right. 

I had checked out some other great books on hummingbirds so perhaps we will revisit them in the spring during nesting time.  I particularly enjoyed reading the folk tales about hummingbirds in the book Hummingbirds Facts and Folklore from the Americas written by Jeanette Larson and Adrienne Yorinks as well as some of the facts and information in Hummingbirds by Melissa Gish.

Autumn Leaves

It is always a joy to get a specific compliment.  Today after teaching Toddler Tales and Trails a mother told me that she will come back and that she especially liked the activity with scarves.  Yeah! It is just a reninder that with 2 year olds- the simplest things bring joy.  I had just taught the song, “Autumn leaves are  falling down, falling down, falling down. Autumn leaves are falling down, red orange yellow and brown…” to the tune of London Bridges.  We then took out scarves and threw them in the air while singing. Smiles and community followed. 

The art of teaching is a dance.   It often is best to work on the simplest level.  Try to develop relationships.  Be playful.  Sing lots!

Here are the stories we read today: The Little Yellow Leaf by Carin Berger, Fall Leaves by Loretta Holland and a book in Haiku One Leaf Rides the Wind by Celeste Davidson Mannis with pictures y Susan Kathleen Hartung.

Toddler Tales and Trails October

Today's focus was: Who lives in the autumn forest and What do they Eat.  We started out with an activity where you glue cut out shapes on paper in the shape of birds.  For the preschool age kids this worked great, for the younger kids it was just an opportunity to chew on markers and paste down shapes.  It is hard to reach the developmental stage of each child, but I call it a success just giving kids access to art materials.  They will develop comfort at their own pace. The activity was also just a time when parents / caregivers could connect.  Then we began our session.

Since it was a rainy day we started with a song called “Pitter Patter, Pitter Patter, The Rain is Coming Down.  Then I shared a poem by Langston Hughes called April Rain Song although today I suggested we call it October Rain Song.  Then we read Bring on the Birds by Susan Stockdale.  Followed by singing Little Bird Come to my window…recalling the birds from the book.   Next we read Earl the Squirrel by Don Freeman and then acted out the Grey Squirrel Song before heading out on our nature hike where we looked for food in the autumn forest.

We found Douglas Fir Cones, lichen, and many insects during our bug hunt.

We played a game of “everybody’s it” but called it squirrel tag and when I said home you had to find a tree to rest on and be safe.

It was a lovely day in the rain.