The final week of Preschool Nature Camp was all about animals and their habitats. On Monday we learned about what makes up a habitat (food, water, shelter, space) and explored the forest by Mossy Rocks to find all the habitat resources animals need.
On Tuesday we explored fields and meadows. We went to Peeper Pond Field to search for insects and found snails, grasshoppers, and damselflies amongst the sumac and the goldenrod. In the afternoon we learned about the parts of an insect and learned a fun song. “Head, thorax, abdomen, abdomen! Head, thorax, abdomen, abdomen! Six legs, some wings, and an exoskeleton! Head, thorax, abdomen, abdomen!”
On Wednesday we explored the forest floor and underground. We spent the morning doing a leaf little search in the forest. We found red-backed salamanders, red efts, worms, ground beetles, and slugs. The afternoon was hot, so we brought out water balloons and the hose and played in the backyard.
On Thursday we explored the animals that live up in the trees. In the morning, we painted toilet paper tube binoculars before using real binoculars on a nature walk. We saw a slug eating a mushroom, heard chickadees in the trees, and watched Wood Thrushes flying around. In the afternoon we built nests at Forest Camp and played in the mud kitchen. To finish out the day we made seed balls with wildflower seeds to plant, and played games with the parachute.
On Friday we learned about ponds. In the morning we did a craft where the kids camouflaged animal pictures with tissue paper squares. After snack we played in forest camp where many campers enjoyed climbing on trees and playing with sticks in the mud. We met Berry the Beaver who taught the campers about how beavers adapt to live in pond habitats. In the afternoon we trekked down to Beaver Pond looking for signs of Berry the Beaver along the way. At the pond we played in the mud and looked for frogs and fish.
We rounded out the week by all gathering in our closing circle with families and singing our habitat song. “Have to have a habitat to carry on!” Thank you for a fantastic week!
