It finally feels like winter! Nature Preschool was overjoyed to get outside and explore the changes that came with this cold weather! We observed the bare forest, saw our breath, and found frost and ice all around! The children discovered they could melt frost off pieces of mulch by blowing hot breath on them or by clutching them tightly in their warm hands. The most exciting encounters this week were at the stream! The children used large sticks and rocks to break up pieces of ice to flush out the freezing water underneath!
Some of our favorite moments this week:
-The Fox class built a fire and experimented by placing ice chunks in it to see what would happen!
-The Bears built ti-pi structures with frosty logs!
-The Flying Squirrels hiked to the stream underneath the bridge and were so excited to explore ice!
-The Coyotes found giant ice chunks and held them up to their faces! They loved how silly it made them look!
-The Chipmunks found frost and ice in the outdoor classroom and had a parent visit the classroom to read a story!
-The Rabbits enjoyed using the snowballs and parachute to create winter snow! They made flurries, snow showers and a blizzard!
The cold weather has us really wishing for snow! Until then, check out all the fun we had below!
In winter chill,
Nature Preschool at Irvine Nature Center
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- A bear climbing in the outdoor classroom!
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- He found frost on this little piece of leaf!
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- Building Ti-pis in the Bear Class!
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- Miss Emily helps too!
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- Teamwork!
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- They notice some frost on this large log!
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- Two bears work together to move this large log!
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- Smiling in the winter sunshine!
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- What does she notice?
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- The Chipmunks have a parent come in a share a story! We love family visitors!
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- The chipmunks found icicles in the outdoor classroom!
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- Noticing frozen fungus!
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- Ice Stew
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- Getting ready to jump!
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- A hiding chipmunk!
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- Ready or not here they come!
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- Get a up close look at frost on the ground!
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- Miss Emily leads the chipmunks to an adventure!
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- Fun Discoveries
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- Observing the red tailed hawk!
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- The mulch pile is a favorite play spot for the Nature Preschoolers!
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- A beautiful view on a winter day!
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- Chipmunks at the stream!
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- Straddling a log!
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- Stepping on ice! Don’t slip!
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- Melting frost with our breath!
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- The heat from our breath melts frost!
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- This coyote (disguised as an owl) found some serious frost on this piece of mulch!
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- Balancing on a frozen mud trench!
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- Frozen patterns at the stream!
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- Beautiful work of art by Mother Nature!
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- He found a tulip poplar frozen in ice!
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- Funny faces behind ice!
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- Showing off his discovery!
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- The fox class is practicing writing the letter of the week. W!
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- Cut and pasting from nature magazines is a fun way to work on our fine motor skills!
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- It is easy to spot bones in the bare winter forest. The fox class explores bones with various tools in the classroom!
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- Painting with evergreen brushes looks and smells wonderful!
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- Digging into the ice with a stick!
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- She found the letter Y!
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- Frozen Dirt
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- The foxes are exploring underneath the bridge!
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- Standing in an ice bucket!
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- Ice chunks were our most prized possessions this week!
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- What do you notice about this chunk of ice?
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- Miss Swati builds a fire with the foxes!
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- The fox class places small and large chunks of ice in the fire. What happens?
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- Observing the melting ice in the fire!
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- A blushing beauty showing off her ice!
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- The foxes put on shows for each other!
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- Writing W in the air!
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- It is easy to spot a birds nest in the bare winter forest!
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- Making letter W with sticks!
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- Miss Swati found the letter T!
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- Tracing letters on the trail signs!
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- The children love to act out different animal walks as they cross the bridge!
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- Climbing under the bridge!
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- A flying squirrel flying in the classroom!
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- Working hard at the art tables!
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- What do you see?
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- This snowflake makes the perfect mask!
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- Observing this taxidermy woodpecker!
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- Finding letters on the trail signs!
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- What do you see?
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- Ice Discovery
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- Exploring ice under the bridge!
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- Taking a closer look at this icy discovery!
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- Stomping on ice!
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- The flying squirrels are riding away in the outdoor classroom!
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- The flying squirrels crossing the bridge!
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- Ice and Smiles
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- The Rabbits are using pipettes and watercolors to make snowflakes!
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- The next day they cut out triangles!
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- Fold and cut out shapes to make a snowflake!
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- The rabbits loves using this scale to measure the weight of these tree blocks!
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- Writing letter W! We framed burlap and a large construction W! Dry erase markers on the glass makes excellent writing practice!
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- SMILE!
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- Flat Stanley visits the rabbit class and helps figure out the date!
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- Bingo in the Rabbit class.
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- Wow, Winter, W!
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- Balancing on frozen mud!
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- The rabbits found scat! It looks like it could have come from a rabbit!
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- Sunshine Adventures!
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- The rabbits are remembering their time at the wigwam! They can spot it from the overlook!
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- The rabbits notice their long winter shadows!
