Winter Bingo

Looking for a fun winter activity for all ages? Here is a free winter Bingo game cards from the Pathway!

Visit a special place, explore your senses, discover winter themed words and most of all, have fun!

This winter bingo helps with Landmarks 1,3,4 and 7.

Landmark 1. Explore outdoors together at least an hour a wee.

Landmark 3. Exercise the senses daily.

Landmark 4. Visit a favourite outdoor place each week throughout all seasons.

Landmark 7Share a nature-based picture book, song, poem or game each week.

Winter Wonderland: The Night Sky

Winter is a perfect season for an often overlooked family activity – exploring the sky at night.  With winter’s early darkness and often crisp, clear weather, the stars take on a special brightness that is nothing short of breathtaking.

January and February are perfect months to view one of the most striking and unforgettable of all the constellations – Orion, the Hunter.  Rising in the southeastern sky in early evening, Orion travels (like the sun) from east to west across the winter sky as the earth turns and night progresses, to finally set in the west before morning.  Orion is easy to find, by facing south and looking for the three stars in a row that make up his belt.  His shoulder and knee are two of our brightest stars, Betelgeuse and Rigel.  Just below and beside him is Sirius, the dog star – Orion’s faithful friend.

Indigenous storytellers also saw a human-like figure in this unique combination of stars.  The Ojibwe know him as Biboonkeonini – the Wintermaker.  Wintermaker stretches out his long arms to beckon the cold and winds of winter.  He also ushers in the traditional storytelling season of winter.

Early on a crisp, cloudless winter night, pack up the family, bring a thermos of hot chocolate and go out stargazing.  Turn out the house and yard lights for better viewing, or travel to a park or open area with few lights. Look for patterns in the stars and make your own stories.  If you’re lucky, you may even see a shooting star!  What an awesome reminder of the wonders around us every day.

Star watching connects with Landmarks 1, 3, 6, 11, 14, 17, 25.

Summer Report Highlights

We’ve had some super ideas from families and other groups this summer.  Some of our favourites include:

• The James family learned how to geocache with their 10-year old boys
• The Nature Ninjas tried lots of new outdoor activities!  They built an obstacle course in their backyard, and the kids challenged the parents to see who was fastest completing the course; they tried making paints using soil and crushed plants, and made pictures with all-natural materials
• Babbling Brook Daycare visited Jackson Park, and in one day, they saw a monarch butterfly, a grasshopper, a cardinal, as well as fish and geese in the pond and creek;  they also made beautiful corn husk dolls when the corn was ripe
• The Warrens visit their favourite donkey on weekends, and feed her delicious treats
• The Chickadees researched edible plants in their own yard and created their own field guide; they also created clothes made from flower petals to dress up sketches of people

So many great ideas!  Why not send us yours?

Bird of the Month:  Black-capped Chickadee

While so many birds are flying to warmer places to spend the winter, the hardy little Black-capped Chickadee is preparing to stay with us all winter.

Chickadees are cheerful little birds that travel in flocks and seem to be always on the move. They have a black cap and bib, with white cheeks. They’re one of the easiest birds to attract to a winter bird feeder – a feast of black oil sunflower seeds will keep them happily visiting you all winter.  You can hear their ‘chick-a-dee-dee-dee’ call all year ‘round, but on warmer days in winter, their slower ‘Dee dee’ song sounds like they’re saying ‘Honey!’ or ‘Hey, sweetie!’ That call shows that they’re feeling frisky, and thinking of warmer days and the breeding season.

Black-capped Chickadees are very friendly, curious little birds, and with a bit of patience and standing very still, you can often entice them to come and take a seed from your outstretched hand.  What a memorable moment, especially for children, to be visited by these lighter-than-air feathered friends!  If you’re working on Landmark 12 with young children (learn 5 birds in your neighbourhood), the Black-capped Chickadee is sure to be one of your neighbours.

Squirrel Nest Game

Eastern Grey Squirrels are the common tree squirrels found in many areas of southern Ontario, and are more often black than grey.  What do they do in winter?  They need to construct a well-insulated nest in tree branches or tree cavities for protection from the harsh weather.

Can you build a nest that will keep a tiny squirrel warm?  This game is a great fall activity for families or school groups.

Getting Started…

For this game, every player will need a small container with lid that will be their ‘squirrel.’  Pill bottles, old film canisters or baby food jars are all ideal.  Just be sure that every player’s container is the same size (kids can work in teams for larger groups).  Everyone can decorate their ‘squirrel’ if they like – just make sure you can still remove and reseal the lid.  You will also need a small thermometer and some warm water – set all these aside while you prepare your nest.

1. Take all the players outside to find natural materials for building a nest.  These could be leaves, branches, shreds of bark or paper, ‘fluff’ from seeds like milkweed, or anything you can find that you think would make a good home for your squirrel.
2. Each player builds their squirrel nest in a protected place that they can find again.
3. A teacher or parent heats a pot of water to body temperature (warm water from the tap is fine too). Tip for teachers:  having warm water ready in a thermos can be handy for larger groups.
4. Everyone checks the temperature of the water in the pot (or thermos). Write down or remember the starting temperature!
5. Find your own squirrel and bring it to the pot of water. Quickly fill your ‘squirrel’ with the warm water, put the lid on snugly, and take the squirrel to the nest you have built.  Carefully place it in the nest, and snuggle the nest materials around it.
6. Leave your ‘squirrel’ in its nest for 30 minutes.  This is a good time for a nature walk, or an autumn scavenger hunt, while you’re waiting for your ‘squirrel’ to settle in its nest.
7. After 30 minutes, come back to each nest with the thermometer.  Carefully remove each lid, and take the temperature of the water inside.  Whose squirrel stayed the warmest?  Which cooled down the most?  What kinds of materials were best for keeping the squirrels warm?
8. You can play this game as often as you like, trying different decorations on your ‘squirrels’, making the most creative nest, and using different materials to keep the squirrel warm.

Hope you stay warm this winter too!  Staying cozy outdoors in cold weather depends on having several layers of insulation and a good windbreak.  Squirrels use the same tricks!