Migrations, Frozen Insects and Other Fiddleheads Adventures

Hello everyone,

We had a fun week continuing to talk about animals in winter. On Monday we went to the forest, read Not a Buzz to be Found, and examined insect adaptations in winter. (Which are totally amazing btw! The woods are full of sleeping and frozen insects and eggs waiting for temps to rise.) On Tuesday we spent a lot more time inside than usual, reading Do Frogs Drink Hot Chocolate?, (about ways that animals physically adapt to the cold), followed by a brief foray out to experience the extremely frigid and frosty world. We kept getting fresh dustings of snow in the mornings this week, which allowed us to find some nice tracks. We have seen a lot of squirrel and rabbit activity both at school and in the woods, some little mice or rats that leave tiny prints and nice tail tracks, sometimes crow or turkey tracks, and also the very recognizable hoof prints of deer. On Tuesday we also read the beloved Ukrainian folk tale The Mitten, and acted out that silly story. Afterwards we sewed and decorated our own paper mittens.

On Wednesday we went back to the forest, where 29F degrees felt downright balmy after the previous day. We read Home at Last and learned about animal and insect migrations. On Thursday we read The Flight of the Snow Geese, and acted out a fun and engrossing migratory journey. We talked about the reason why many birds migrate south (to find available food), and why they head north again (to lay eggs). We migrated south together, flapping our wings and honking all the way around the property to the pond, which we pretended was the south. Then we had a big bird snack of seeds, nuts, fruit, berries and worms, (which were quite a lot like shredded cheese), and which we ate with clothespin beaks. After our bird snacks in our southern feeding grounds, we flapped and honked back north again for the summer. It was an epic journey! We went inside and used our coloring and cutting skills to make some beautiful, large paper feathers.

Here we are migrating and having our bird snacks.

For the next two weeks we will examine ice, frost, snow and winter weather.

There is no school on Monday for Martin Luther King Jr's birthday.I wish that we had more time to talk about MLK and his legacy at school. We will touch upon it, but our days go very fast, and we are usually quite occupied with our immediate experience in the world and with each other. Which is as it should be, but MLK deserves our attention as well. If you would like to check out an age appropriate online story, some songs and a craft about MLK and his legacy of love and goodwill to look at together at home on Monday, then please check out the learn at home lesson below:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/134YVGn0lm-xCtu8srmnIHUxWpObKWJh137fDDI_ht_4/edit?usp=sharing

Thank you to all who signed up for conferences! We look forward to seeing you soon. Also please keep in mind that re-enrollment info and deposits for the 2022-23 school year are due the day after conferences. I am happy to speak with any parents ahead of conferences that have questions or concerns about re-enrollment.

Have a lovely weekend and stay warm and safe. May you be happy, May you be healthy, May you be peaceful, May you be filled with joy.