Preschool Programs

Fall Chipmunk Hike

November 9, 2018

By Rae Bronenkant

Today we continued the with a fall state of mind as we set off on an adventure hiking the whole Hires Trail! We started our day out at Forest Camp with free play and then our morning meeting.

Photo: Audubon Vermont

Not only was this an epic day of hiking we also had not one, but two missions! We were on the lookout for chipmunks, food cache boxes and the pages to Audubon’s story walk! Emily and I had set these up before hand. Once the mission was given we were off! We took turns reading pages, spotting all of the chipmunks hidden and best of all seeing what was in the chach boxes. As winter approaches animals have to prepare for the lack of food, water, and warmth.

Photo: Audubon Vermont

Each animal prepares in their own way. Some leave, some sleep all winter, but those who are active must change their diet, their coat, and their routine! Chipmunks prepare for the cold by collecting all the food they can find and storing it in safe places called; caches.  When we found a cache each person got to feel what was inside and try and decide with just feeling. In each box was different foods animals eat. We found corn, pinecones, acorns, and beans.

It was a lovely day of exploring the trails of Audubon!

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