Nature Preschool had a blast from the prehistoric past this week! It all started when our planet was first formed and covered in oceans. We learned about how life developed over time, from one celled organisms floating in water, to crazy mixed up creatures, to dinosaurs! What was Earth like when dinosaurs were alive? We channeled our inner paleontologists and studied fossils, went on an excavation and recorded our findings!
Some of our favorite class moments:
-The Fox class created a cave in the bottom of the loft and made cave paintings! They traced their hands with charcoal and left their mark like the earliest man. They hiked to the Wetland trail where they went on a hunt for dinosaur bones! They measured their discoveries with yard sticks. They found a jaw bone that was 17 inches long!
-The Flying Squirrels met Dinah the dinosaur! She lost her eggs on the trail and the children went out on a hunt! Once all the eggs were found they took them to the meadow and created nests for them from grasses, sticks and other natural materials. On Thursday they got caught in the rain and ran down the trails, laughing the whole way!
-The Bears made a timeline of the Prehistoric Era. Starting with the formation of Earth, to the period of one celled organisms, to the development of land, to ice ages, dinosaurs, their extinction and the creation of man.
-The Rabbits traced their whole bodies in an egg shape. Watch out they may hatch! They also met a corn snake. Did you know that 67 million-year-old fossils of a snake coiled around dinosaur eggs and a hatchling were recently discovered? This is evidence that snakes existed during the time of the dinosaurs!
-The Chipmunks enjoyed searching for dinosaur eggs in the meadow. They wrote a terrific class story about dinosaurs and then performed the dinosaur song for their parents. On the Vista Loop trail they found what looked to be a brontosaurus neck and face hiding in the trees!
Even with the chillier temperatures, signs of Spring are all around us. We noticed blossoming flowers, blooming leaves and heard several active animals!
Until next time,
Nature Preschool
Outdoor Learning
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- Digging for fossils in the outdoor classroom.
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- The Chipmunks work together to build a nest.
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- Mama dinosaur sits on her eggs!
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- Look at the size of this jawbone!
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- Sitting in freshly grown flowers.
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- She is creating a bouquet.
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- The Flying Squirrels are on the trails looking for lost dinosaur eggs!
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- She has found one! These eggs were created by freezing water in balloons.
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- Happily showing off her frozen egg!
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- The class showing off their eggs.
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- After finding the eggs, the children work together to make a nest for them!
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- Meadow grass will make in nice and comfortable.
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- Hiking in the rain! We don’t complain. We love it!
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- Puddle Stomping
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- Building a dam in the outdoor classroom!
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- The Foxes found fall tulip poplar branches. Some had fallen in winter with no leave, others had spring buds so they must had just fallen!
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- She stopped to notice some spring blooms.
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- We found this giant dinosaur bone! Time to measure it.
Discoveries In Nature
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- He found a hole!
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- Pink Blossoms
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- The Spring Meadow
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- Fox Treasure
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- Exploring a spring tulip poplar blossom.
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- Finding Leaves
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- The children found ice in the bird bath in the Woodland Garden.
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- This giant earthworm is escaping!
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- Snail Shell
In The Classroom
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- Digging for fossils in the sandy sensory bin.
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- Giant jaw bone found in our sensory bin.
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- Dino World – Creating small worlds inside hula hoops!
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- We compare the size of a millipede now compared to how large it was in the prehistoric era.
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- Sorting natural materials in a class treasure box.
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- Mud, paint, pencils and dinosaurs invite the children to come explore.
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- Adding some blooming buds to our forest diorama.
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- Painting With Worms
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- Cooking corn muffins with a class parent! Yum!
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- Cave Painting
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- Painting with dinosaur stencils on the easel!
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- The Flying Squirrels used a giant piece of burlap to make a cave!
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- New tinker toys led to some pretty amazing creations!
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- Umbrellas for our rainy Thursday!
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- She is taking a closer look at that dino foot.
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- Draw what you see!
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- The Flying Squirrels traced their bodies inside an egg! Paint the body before it hatches!
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- Mud + Dinosaurs = Loads of Fun
