Welcome to Week 3 of Wild Cub Weekly!
“Children are born with a sense of wonder and an affinity for nature. Properly cultivated, these values can mature into ecological literacy, and eventually into sustainable patterns of living.” ~Zenobia Barlow
I hope you all stayed dry during that big rain storm - I am really bummed it's not snow!
This week we will talk about discovering prints, markings, and signs, whether that be from animals or plants. How does nature leave its mark to let others know they were there? Maybe it's that they drop their leaves, or make foot prints in the snow/ice/mud, or if they had eaten bark and left teeth marks on a branch. Wander and wonder through the woods. Can you find traces that were left behind by the woods and everything that inhabits it? What kind of marks do you leave behind?
On January 18th, it is National Winnie the Pooh day!
Celebrate by going exploring like Christopher Robin
and his animal pals did. Do you see any tracks in the snow/ice (or mud)?
In late January or early February
the Hopi Indians (based out of Northern Arizona)
celebrate the Powamu Festival, also called the Bean Planting Festival.
In the tradition, their ancestors come down from the caves
to bring good luck to the coming growing season.
Reminder- Later in the month, January 28th,
will be another Full Moon, or Wolf Moon.
This is when our moon is fully illuminated,
this helps animals move around and communicate at night!
Photo: Stream off Bear-Paw trails in - Strafford, NH via Mohawk Trail
"Sit Spot" Prompt
The photo above is evidence an animal has visited! Our best guess was a porcupine!
When at your Sit Spot or going for a walk in the woods, did you see any evidence of animals? Winter is a great time to look for prints in the snow! (Hopefully we still have some after all this rain...) You might find scat (animal poop), tracks, nibbles on a branch, feathers, fur, etc. Right near this chewed limb, above, we also found some tufts of fur with blood, and some scat.
Draw or write about what you might find! Can you make a guess of what kind of animal it could be? Was there more than one? What do you think they were doing? Once you have observed and recorded your findings, are you able to use your evidence to research them in a book or the internet? Please share!
This week we are making our own paint brushed and stamps using natural material.
- An assortment of natural plant material (leaves, mushrooms, bark, flowers, shells, etc.)
- Glue, tape or string
Nova, Seren and I first went for a walk. We looked for things that could possibly make a top of a paint brush, or something that might make a cool print like a stamp. Seren said "I'm going to make mine out of pine needles." As we looked around on the ground, we couldn't find any. We realized it was all leaves, so we then decided to look up to see if we could spot any pine trees. We saw a couple! So we went to the base of the pine trees where there was plenty of needles. It was a good lesson!
Once we gathered all of our natural materials, we then went back inside to grab the rest of our supplies. We broke the sticks up to about 6 inches in length, and experimented taping and tying on different materials. The paintings came out beautiful and the mushrooms worked great as stamps!
I wonder how your project will go!
Parents - This promotes independent thinking, creativity, and a sense of place. During this activity they will work on their fine-motor skills and get them outside, again!
As we explore this beautiful world, it is extremely important to know the story of human impact on the land. Many environmental scientist can use their knowledge and tell you what may have happened in the past from "reading" the rocks, plants and the soil, but there are also the stories from the first people who walked this land. The Bear-Paw region exists within N’dakinna, the traditional ancestral homeland of the Abenaki, Pennacook and Wabanaki Peoples both past and present. We acknowledge and honor with gratitude the land and waterways, and the people who have stewarded N’dakinna throughout the generations.
-Grace Bailey, Education Consultant