Today we were so excited to see something had eaten breakfast on our geo-board. When we turned it over it was even more exciting. There were four salamanders hiding under there. At first they looked like worms until they walked on little legs. They scurried and paused. One hid and did not come back. The others wondered around and let us watch for a while. We were very careful to give them a big space bubble for safety. At the daycare we googled and found out they are called Red-backed Salamander. (Plethodon cinereus)
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Recently we found a manhole cover that sparked many questions. First question was "I think the Ninja Turtles live in there?" Then "how do we get in?" Quickly we began to discuss things like what is in there? Do you think it is safe? Are Ninja Turtles real? This inquiry inspired lots of discussion, questions and theories about where it goes and is it safe. We always came back to the safety question. We used the cover as an art project. We made crayon rubbings and paint prints both large and small. As we went on adventures in the area we found a bridge crossing a watery swam. Could there be water in the manhole? The children noticed a storm drain in front of the daycare. "Look Susanne there is water in there! Is it from the Ninja Turtles house?" I found two videos to show the children. First the inside of a sewer. We discussed where does the toilet water go when you flush? Then we watched the video and saw a dark wet (poopy-pee water) tunnel with rats and bugs. Eww! Yuck! The second video was about storm drains and how to keep them clean and why. Our next visit to the forest we searched for the storm drains and followed them to the lake. We saw where the water comes out and where the grass cuttings, sticks and garbage end up. Yuck! I took a photo of the opening of the drain pipe so we could see what we were standing on. We found it is gated and locked. "What if we were in there? How would Mommy get me out?" Maybe this is telling us to stay out. Do you think it would be a good choice to go in there? "No, it's a bad choice." We looked at the lake and saw the rotting plants and floating garbage. The children were quiet. Pondering what they saw. "Can we go to the lake?" We took a vote and headed for the lake. Where we come out of the forest onto the bank of the lake is an inlet we like to call "The Island". The lake is damned at one end and has a power station at the other. The water levels can change every time we visit so, the island can grow or shrink depending. We have many discussions about the water levels and track where the water is when we visit. We use a large rock as a guide to monitor the levels. The children enjoy tossing stones into the water. The try to make the biggest splashes or throw the farthest. Sometimes we are lucky and see birds close to shore or find their feathers. Sometimes we find snakes or 'seaweed'. It's never dull at the lake. We have explored the forest and found many types of water pipes and storm drains. Who knew? There is water all around us and we have to be mindful of our surroundings. We are learning how we can keep the earth clean and our waterways is where we will start. I am sure we will continue to explore the water on campus. I wonder what we will see next?
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What the children & educators are up toSo many things change daily in the forest & here we share a sneak peak at some of our interests & activities. Archives
April 2019
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