Sensory Walk

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  • March
  • Activities, Early Years Quick Activities, Landmark 3, Senses, Spring

Materials Needed

  • None!
Video Link

Size of Group

1-10

Age Range

Birth to 5 years

How to:

Young children need plenty of opportunities to exercise all of their senses while exploring their world.  Go outdoors together as often as you can, and give children opportunities to touch, smell, see and hear as many different items as you can.

Professor Mary Lou Lummiss of Fleming College explains the importance of sensory experiences for young children, and takes you on a walk through her garden (3 minute video).

Natural Fibres Workshop

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  • March
  • Activities, Animals, Educator & Parent Workshops, Intermediate Videos, Intermediate Workshops, Intermediate Years Quick Activities, Middle Years Quick Activities, Middle Years Videos, Middle Years Workshops, Senior Videos, Senior Workshops, Senior Years Quick Activities, Spring, Student Workshops, Videos, Workshops

Materials Needed

  • Samples of natural fibres (if available: wool, cotton etc.)
Natural Fibres Video

Size of Group

any

Age Range

6-18 years

How to:

This 10 minute video, produced by Farms at Work, focuses on farmers in the Kawartha region who raise animals for natural fibres for clothing.  It explores the care of the animals, shearing and processing the fibres, and the reasons why natural fibres are especially important.  Recent research is showing that synthetic fabrics are one of the sources of microplastics in waterways, so environmental concerns are sparking renewed interest in natural fibres.

Bird Sleuth Explorers

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  • March
  • Activities, Birds, Intermediate Years Deeper Activities, Middle Years Deeper Activities, Spring

Materials Needed

  • Copies of Guidebook
  • Clipboard
  • Pencil
  • Binoculars (if available)
Guidebook PDF

Size of Group

1-20

Age Range

8-12 years

How to:

This excellent resource was developed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and provides a number of activities to help elementary students focus their attention and develop a lifelong relationship with bird friends.

Seasonal Tug-of-War

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  • March
  • Activities, Early Years Quick Activities, Middle Years Quick Activities, Spring

Materials Needed

  • Tug-of-War sheets
  • Pencils
  • Clipboards
Seasonal Tug-of-War Sheet

Size of Group

any

Age Range

4-8 years

How to:

Go outdoors for a walk and make a checklist of all the signs of spring that you see.  Then make a list of signs of winter.  Which season is winning today?  Try using the attached checklist to get you started. .

Eggshell Planters

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  • March
  • Activities, Early Years Quick Activities, Middle Years Quick Activities, Plants, Spring

Materials Needed

  • Eggs
  • Potting Soil
  • Small Seeds
Eggshell Planter Poster

Size of Group

1-10

Age Range

4-8 years

How to:

You can use empty eggshells as small planting pots to start early garden plants.  Colour or decorate the shells before planting to make them more festive!  Small seeds work best in these tiny pots (lettuce, spinach, tomato etc.).  Follow the directions on the poster and be sure to put them in a sunny windowsill to grow.

Common Birds of PTBO

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COMMON BIRDS OF PETERBOROUGH

These are birds that are residents or have migrated back to southern Ontario in the spring. Use this checklist along with the Pathway Common Winter Birds checklist to see how many different birds you can find on your walk today. To learn more, check out this website, allaboutbirds.org

SPRING EDITION

DOWNLOAD HERE

WINTER EDITION

Ever wonder what feathered friends in your neighbourhood stay here all winter? The winter months still offer a bright array of cheerful bird friends, and most of these will be happy to visit bird feeders. Can you find all 12 of these common winter birds of Peterborough? Use this free downloadable PDF as a checklist.

DOWNLOAD HERE

To learn more about these birds, check out the website, allaboutbirds.org

Home Sweet Home: Build or install a nest box this spring!

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Home Sweet Home:

Build or install a nest box this spring!

Here’s a great spring activity to try at home or at school.  Nest boxes provide wonderful habitat for many kinds of birds, and having avian families in your yard gives hours of enjoyment watching these feathered miracles.

In nature, holes in trees are prime real estate for wildlife.  In fact, many kinds of birds need these holes, called ‘cavities’ for building their nests and raising their young.  Especially in urban areas, dead or dying trees are usually removed, leaving a scarcity of nesting sites for our bird neighbours.

Luckily, nest boxes are quite easy to build with a few simple tools and some understanding of what birds need for protection from weather and predators.  While there are many specialized types of nest boxes for specific species, a good basic design is suitable for many small birds such as chickadees, wrens, and nuthatches.

Here are some basic guidelines:

  • nest boxes need enough space for a nest full of baby birds and access for parents
  • the correct size of the entrance hole is important; it should be near the top of the box;
  • nest boxes must be cleaned out every year, so make sure you can open up the box, and reseal it safely
  • don’t put a perch on your box; birds don’t need it, but perches can help predators reach the young birds
  • don’t paint or put a finish on your box; birds prefer untreated, natural wood
  • provide ventilation and drainage; a few small holes near the top provide ventilation, and small holes in the floor allow moisture to drain

  • use a predator guard to protect the entrance hole from being chewed by squirrels or other mammals who would destroy the eggs or young birds; a metal plate or piece of thick wood are effective (see examples)
  • install securely at least 6 feet from the ground; avoid nailing into trees – a pole or post are ideal

 

Cornell Ornithology Lab has great illustrated guidelines

 

Here are some plans for a simple nest box you can build from a 4 ft. piece of 1 X 6″ lumber

Chickadee Nest Box Plans from Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Note:  Entrance hold diameter is 1″ for House Wrens; Use 1 1/8″ diameter for Black-Capped Chickadees; 1 1/4″ for White-Breasted and Red-Breasted Nuthatches

Wet and Wonderful – A Mud Puddle-and-Pie Activity Guide

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Wet and Wonderful – a Mud Puddle-and-Pie Activity Guide

The season of wet-and-muddy is upon us, and with it, an opportunity to embrace all manners of sensory play, mud-puddle math, nature art and interdisciplinary integration!  Have boots? Will play!

Mud-puddle math:

Mud puddles provide endless hours of sensory fun, and an incredible opportunity for authentic learning!

How deep is the water? How much water is in a really big puddle?  What could it fill? A bucket?  A bathtub? How could we even measure it?!

In her blog Puddle Play – Rethinking the ‘Math Classroom’, Deanna Pecaski McLennan, PhD, elaborates the “measurement, counting, capacity, classification, time and quantity” that can all be explored authentically  in a puddle. This is rich learning where play and adaptive reasoning intersect.

Math can happen anywhere, and outdoors doing something most children love is the perfect place!

Tool tips? Try:

  • Turkey basters  That turkey baster that only gets used twice yearly?! An incredible (and FUN) instrument of transfer and measurement:  squirting distance, volume transfer – comparing between one container and another.
  • Measuring cups
  • Funnels

More math and measurement?! Try Mud Kitchens!

Mud Kitchen:

Cooking up delicious “recipes” in a mud kitchen requires only a few second-hand kitchen implements like muffin tins, metal bowls, collanders and spoons.  This can be on-the-ground immersive play or hands-in-a-sandbox in a wood or brick enclosure (pictured below).  Second-hand stores are inexpensive sources for utensils, and places like the Re-store offer inexpensive sinks and accessories for more elaborate builds!

Cold, Wet, Muddy and Fun

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Cold, Wet, Muddy and Fun

January 23, 2019 – Our Cold, Wet, Muddy and Fun! workshop with Sue Ferren was so true to name!  Not only did we experience first-hand all of the chilly temps, rain, mud and snow within the span of our Saturday morning together, but we enjoyed a rich morning of learning, sharing and FUN.  Sue revealed the magic that can be found when we courageously bundle our wee ones and venture out, whatever the weather! 

All 15 folks who attended, including 2 wee ones, were led on a clear pathway to providing the invitation, clothing and materials necessary for children to explore, create and engage in any weather.  Sue shared her wealth of knowledge, beautifully curated resources, an enviable nature-themed library, and a treasure trove of hands-on activities – both indoor and out – for us to explore.  She also shared the challenges and barriers we know can keep the most intrepid explorers from venturing out, and ways to make that challenge more manageable and more fun.


In the warmth of the Camp Kawartha Environment Centre we brainstormed Barrier Breakers, models of how to bring nature in, loose parts of every description, and shared stories of mishaps and magic-making with wee ones in all weather.  Then we were invited outdoors on a beautiful story walk with the laminated pages of In the Snow – Who’s Been Here.  The story trail wove us through the cedar grove and opened to a clearing lovingly spread with activity centres showcasing simple and powerful activities to spark early years engagement.  Mud kitchens, rain-filled tube mazes, tarp painting, and making nature-found masterpieces within empty ornate frames – all ready for hours of exploration.  The wee ones who had been enjoying the morning under the watchful care of Jumping Mouse’s Martine Cleary, joined us to explore these centres.  It was immediately obvious that with a few thoughtful materials, comfortable all-weather clothing, and adults willing to venture out, cold, wet and muddy are Fun!