Dragonfly or Damselfly

We began the morning learning about Dragonflies and Damselflies. After comparing and contrasting the insects we were ready to learn more about other small aquatic insects that we may come across in the creek. We set off to a new part of the woods to look for signs of these insects in all their stages of life. Metamorphosis has been a steady topic of conversation this week. Though we didn't seem to notice any dragonflies or damselflies, we did have an extremely fruitful visit to the creek! Our first big find was when Dylan caught a baby snapping turtle. We kept her (named Princess Lightening Creepy Crawler by Lani) for the day to observe her. We saw a small snake, and a few newts. Ms. Moore managed to catch one and we kept that for observing as well. A small toad was captured but we left him in the woods. I could just picture 16 children chasing an escaped toad around the classroom. The longest slug we have come across and a snail helped us review what we learned yesterday about mollusks. We also caught the tiniest baby newt or salamandar. It was so small that at first Henry thought it was a little tadpole in his muddy strainer and so did I. A log was home to a gigantic spider and water striders were of course a prime target for capturing. We have been busy creating creek related art. Bring a resuable shopping bag on Friday to transport everything home!!!!

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Centipedes and Slugs and Sow Bugs, Oh My!

Today we looked near and next to the creek under and in logs to see what critters take advantage of this moist, protected habitat. We rolled logs, pulled up big rocks and moved leaves. What treasures we found! Those shiny trail leaving mollusks, the slug, were in abundance. We found many sow bugs and pill bugs as well as ants galore. Some termites had done such a good job on a log that it fell apart when I tried to roll it. The kids saw ants carrying away some termites and spiders making homes nearby. Worms were quick to be sighted. A big find was a big healthy millipede.

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Waterfalls and Treasures

After reviewing what we learned yesterday about frogs we hiked to a different part of the Wissahickon to try and find some more. We only found one this time around but we did run into a field mouse along the way. We were able to observe moss and fungi growing on logs and rocks and followed the water as it flowed down creating mini waterfalls. Each camper chose one special rock to bring back to the treasure box that they painted back at camp. Did you hear the zoo visited us today? Ask what animals we spotted there!

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Ribbit, Ribbit!

Today we started off the morning getting to know each other's names  by introducing ourselves and then playing a name game.  We thought about what we hoped we would see or thought we would see in the Wissahickon and then drew a picture of ourselves discovering it.  After some snacking and some discussing expectations about our time in the woods we set out for Frog City.  There we observed water striders, caught a centipede, climbed over and under fallen trees and tracked frogs.  We saw many swimming, hopping and hiding.  Some were brown others were green and all were fast.  But one wasn't as fast as we were and we were able to catch it for a moment and take a peek at it up close.  We collected some creek water and thanks to queen capturer Sofia, we were able to take some Water Striders back to our classroom for observation this week.  In the afternoon we worked on a mural, went swimming, ran on the playground and created some worm observation stations.  One is a purchased item but the other you can make at home.  Ask your creek crawler how to create a worm hotel.

The Creek is waiting for you!!

I just spent some time walking through the woods thinking of all the fun we are going to have exploring it together.  I saw two types of butterflies, a frog, a moth, dragonflies and a damselfly (do you know the difference?) I also saw a squirrel a chipmunk and heard many birds.  I was able to see so much because I was quiet and patient. 

What do you hope we see in the Wissahickon?

To be ready for fun you will need:

1. a bathing suit and a towel (we have a swimming pool)
2. Rubber boots or rubber water shoes (for creek walking)
3. an extra complete set of dry clothes (for wearing after you get your first set wet at the creek)
4. bug spray
5. sun screen lotion 

Each day we will read books about animals that live in the stream ecosystem, hike to the creek to explore and create artwork to showcase what we have learned.

Arrival and Dismissal will take place at the Cherokee Campus Playground entrance.

Parents, if you have any questions, feel free to email me at smoore@sch.org