We began with a gorgeous map turtle crossing the road as all the kids were arriving and parents were trying to park and say hello. (No photo, I’m afraid, but be sure to look them up!)
Next up was a lovely and fairly friendly ribbon snake, a type of harmless garter who only wanted to be left alone to hunt bugs, thank you very much.
Our group is comprised of former summer explorers, former school year explorers, and a few brand new explorers. It is a wonderful group of curious and intrepid learners. L, in particular, I have already realized is closely observing many details the rest of us miss.
On Monday we focused on learning and selecting landmarks and recognizing poison ivy. On Thursday we began learning about compass usage and also practiced watching where we put our hands and feet, especially when forced off trail by a large, controlled fire! The West Michigan Land Conservancy is once again conducting prescribed burns to select areas of the preserve in order to improve soil conditions and promote certain native plant species.
We are hoping they will refrain from burning our main log-walking area but I fear it will be gone by next week.
G and I tried a quick sketch of this pretty bug. E and I think it eats mosquitoes.
In this photo you can clearly see the differences between poison ivy (left) and Virginia creeper, (right.)We reached the Vine Playground!
Learning about wintergreen
B and E made it higher than I ever thought they would!Using gravity to help us run down hill and momentum carries us partway up the next. It’s physics!We had quite the frog catching expedition at the other swamp!Blue flags!A beautiful Blandings turtle!
It was so good to see everyone dressed just perfectly for the chilly, fall afternoon yesterday. Nevertheless, getting a boot full of swamp water on a 40 degree day is quite different from an 80 degree, June day. I notice the kids nearly always have a hard time with this the first time it happens but they tend to toughen up and take it well if it happens again. In fact, I heard one of the first grade boys echo my own words when he slipped and ended up with a wet foot, “Well… it happens.” Yes, it does. Very philosophical!
I was smiling because I had just had a short conversation with some girls as we were wondering if anyone had fallen in yet. G. had smiled and said, dryly, “Someone always falls in!” I pondered aloud what we would do if one of these days no one did. I jokingly concluded that we would simply have to push someone in! The girls laughed and we went on our way, balancing on mossy logs through the cold water.
C. was wondering what the tube under the path was for and I showed her how it allows water to flow under instead of over when the water rises. We found 3 places where the water had gone over and through, eroding the soil and collapsing the path. S. used a stick to pole vault herself over these narrow waterways. It was a perfect situation for observing the power of water and how it can affect soil where tree roots do not hold it in place.
As I reflect on our conversations and observations I am always pleased to notice ways that the kids just naturally engage in mathematical and scientific thinking. For another example, on our way to Grandfather Oak someone noticed a portion of a dead tree that was held up off the ground by another tree in which it was trapped toward the top. I encouraged everyone to stop and try to use clues nearby to piece together what might have happened to cause what they were seeing. I wish I could relay the entire complex of conversation that went on for the next 10 minutes or so. They grasped onto my question and I began hearing them take turns telling each other and me what they noticed such as, “Look! I think this chunk of tree trunk on the ground matches up right here with the part of the tree that’s still hanging up.” and, “This end of that chunk is smooth! Someone must have chopped it down somewhere!” and, “Here’s a stump. Maybe it came from this.” (Guiding question from me: “But is the size of that stump right? Is it the same size as the base of that tree?”) “No! It’s not. It’s too small… Here’s one! This one matches!” and, “I agree with C.” and, “I think that tree fell onto the other one first and then someone chopped it out of the way and then it fell apart over here…” etc. These are the kinds of conversations and investigations we have been trying to facilitate in our classrooms and here they are happening with almost no effort on my part after school in the woods. This one could have been extended in so many ways.
If kids conduct a scientific or mathematical inquiry about a tree that fell in the woods and no administrators are there to hear it and no tests are there to evaluate it, did it still, “make a sound??” Yes, and it was a beautiful sound. The valuable, memorable, happy sound of kids learning naturally.
T.
“Eew! Poop!” Nope. Not poop. Fungus! We don’t know what it’s called, but it didn’t feel as gross as it looked.H. balanced her way across the log.We wondered what might make a home in this cool tree.There was some debate about whether these were mushrooms or not. C. used his background knowledge of the mushrooms he has seen in the grocery store to declare that they did not look like mushrooms. This illustrates the point that the more experiences kids have, the more they use those experiences to learn new things. The kids really lend bright colors to these dark, November days!
No one could be bored with a woods and swamp to explore. Today (Tuesday) many of the kids had their new compasses and they practiced using them while also learning to read an old map on our new exploration.
Is it poison sumac?
Before heading out on our new discovery the kids wanted to go explore some more out past the Fairy Tree. A group decided to make a path between the Fairy Tree and the Boardwalk, (which was pretty easy because of the kids from the Thursday group who already did that the week prior…) They came back triumphant and announcing that they are, “real men and women,” because they made it all that way! I contemplated having a discussion about what they think it means to be a, “real man,” or, “real woman,” but I could tell they were just being silly and so I laughed with them and said nothing other than reflecting that I could tell they were proud of themselves. Unfortunately, (or fortunately, depending on your point of view,) I found what I think is poison sumac out in the area near the boardwalk where the kids have started making the new path. We will be avoiding that and learning to identify it asap!
Possibly poison sumac? Poison sumac differs from the staghorn sumac that we often see growing in meadows in our area. Poison sumac sometimes has white berries. It can grow into a large bush and is described as growing in swampy areas. We did have two students who developed a rash the week before and it does say in the 1978 nature trail book from Lakes that there was poison sumac out near the old boardwalk which is where I found this. I am waiting on positive identification from a forester friend.
The new path: a map, an old oak, and a mossy wetland
Several of us blew our whistles to call everyone to us so that we could follow the old map to a new location. I had copies made of the 1978 map of the Lakes Nature Trail so anyone who wanted to follow along on it as we walked was able to do so. Most of the kids were excited to do so. Our first stop was at Grandfather Oak. We noted how old he looks and gave him a hug. The kids noticed that an animal has or had a den at the base of Grandfather Oak. Someone asked what kind of animal it was so I asked what kind it could be. This is a good way to determine what kids already know about their local wildlife. My guess was a woodchuck, but nobody was home at the moment so we didn’t find out for sure.
The new woods is both a woods and a wetland at the same time. It reminds me a bit of one of the planets on the old Star Wars movies, but I don’t know which one. It is beautiful and decorated with mossy logs, clear water with a leafy floor, and weathered stumps that look like fairy castles.
Dead tree trunk and a bird’s nest
M. came upon a dead tree trunk barely balancing on its last leg and he wanted to push it down, (because it’s fun for kids to do stuff like that!) but I was so glad he asked first. I was explaining how dead trees provide food and shelter for birds and bugs, and then someone noticed a bird nest up in one of the cavities of the trunk! I am sure it will fall down on its own at some point soon, but we were glad to leave it alone for now in case it lasts until spring. This spontaneous mini lesson on how dead trees are beneficial turned into another mini lesson about how birds do not live in nests except to raise their young! C. (4th grader) was very curious about this and he said that he never knew that because books seem to always show birds in their nests so he assumed that’s where they go at night when they go to sleep. He thought about it and asked me where they do sleep if they don’t sleep in nests? I love that he was thinking about it and wondering.
Authentic compass usage + a handy thermometer
C. (5th grader) and I had a great conversation/lesson about directions. She thought her compass wasn’t working properly because it was pointing the direction she was sure was east. Once we established that it was, in fact, north, she was baffled by how her sense of direction was turned around. This happened again when it was time to walk back and she felt strongly that we should walk in a different direction. I explained about our sense of direction and how it will improve with practice just like any other skill. I assured her that I still get turned around in my head sometimes and that is why knowing how and when to use a compass is really helpful.
The sun started to set when it was time to go and we could see it shining brightly through the trees to the… “Who knows in what direction the sun sets?” This was met with a chorus of ALL of the directions shouted out at me. Finally I got them quiet enough to confirm WEST and have everyone check their compasses.
This photo captures him after he had already walked, balancing carefully, along the log and fallen in. He didn’t give up but stood up and climbed back onto the log with a branch for additional support. His feet were wet and cold but the smile never left his face.
We headed back, trying to be extra quiet and respectful as we skirted the edge of a property owner’s lawn. I have permission from that particular landowner, but will need to get permission from some others now that we are exploring farther afield.
The temperature had dropped by that time and some of us checked our thermometers on the back of the compasses. It had only dropped by 3 degrees (a quick math problem done by a 2nd grader as we walked,) but without the sun it felt really cold! Those who had slipped and had boots full of water were starting to get pretty chilly by then. It may be time for thick socks or multiple layers!
It was a wonderful afternoon of my favorite kind of teaching and learning!
On Thursday we explored a new trail, a log-climbing “don’t touch the ground,” obstacle course, and a different swamp area. But before we even set out and before all of our explorers had arrived, a lovely, green, praying mantis and a garter snake were discovered in the tiny meadow area at the entrance. The praying mantis was passed from hand to hand and then into an observation container where it was given grass to help it camouflage itself and a small insect for it to eat. We freed it before beginning our hike. I asked, “What can we know about what the praying mantis needs from what we see around the area it was living? How does it protect itself? What does it eat?” We can learn so much about living things simply by observing them.
As we practiced compass usage and reviewed the shape of oak, maple, and sassafras leaves, we noticed a really huge tree trunk and I wondered aloud how big around it was? Without a measuring tape, we made do with what we had… kids! How many kids does it take to wrap their arms around this tree? The answer was 2. L. and K. could just barely reach around to each other’s hands with the tree between them.
We noticed some new landmarks, flowers, a decomposing log, and some very cool mushrooms! We also found a clump of Indian Pipes (colorless wildflowers), a moth who wanted to be a leaf, and some jewel-weed, which is a remedy for poison ivy and nettle stings.
A couple of our experienced Woods & Wetlanders showed the other kids the log-walking course they had discovered back in June. The kids love practicing this routine from one end to the other, perfecting their balance and speed with each repetition. I am always amazed by how things like “simply” walking along a fallen tree can be beneficial in so many ways to the developing mind and body of a child. It is a time to test and evaluate themselves. With no suggestions or encouragement from an adult, kids will set themselves the task of making it from one end of a tilted log to the end of the whole course which includes at least 2 other logs at different heights. All in the name of fun they are improving their balance, eye-hand coordination, body-awareness, spatial abilities, creative problem-solving, perseverance, and so much more! There is climbing up, down, jumping and landing, navigating hurdles, grasping, and planning ahead. And without being told, they will do all of this countless times over again to improve their methods. Of course, none of this is on their minds. They are just having fun being kids!
From there we took a fresh trail to the other wetland where we discovered mostly mud! In June it was knee-deep water, but August brings drier weather, so there was knee-deep mud instead. Nevertheless, frogs of all kinds and sizes abound! They stalked and caught spring peepers, wood frogs, tree frogs, and green frogs.
We ventured back to the wetland from Wednesday so that our new group members could swing and climb on the “vine playground.” Several explorers tried fresh wintergreen leaves for the first time, while others collected a handful of it to bring home.
Next week we will visit the Climbing Tree and discover even more treasures!
Woods & Wetlands 