March Preschool Update

February Highlights

Valentine's Day
The children enjoyed baking goodies and sharing them with the nature center staff and volunteers. They also painted large paper hearts that they distributed throughout the nature center building, providing a truly happy Valentine's Day for all!

Winter Olympics
As the winter Olympics continued in Vancouver, many of our classes enjoyed their own winter olympics. They played outdoor winter games on the nature center grounds. We also learned about animals in different parts of the world. (Note from Lee: Elsa's class did "bobsledding" on the sledding hill and "boot skating" on the frozen pond. They made gold medals and had a medal ceremony, complete with national anthem, at the end of class. Elsa got her medal in figure skating.)


Winter Birds
We had many opportunities to see the birds that stay in Wisconsin in the wintertime. Many of the classes took owl pellets apart as they learned that owls are nesting this time of year. (Note from Lee: For those who aren't aware, owl pellets are basically a big ball of fur and bones that the owl coughs up after eating a mouse or a vole or whatever. We took a pellet apart the day I was at school for Elsa's half-birthday celebration. It was disgusting, but I tried to pretend I loved it!)

March Nature Experiences
Maple sugaring is our main topic in the month of March. We tap maple trees, taste and collect the sap, boil the sap, and produce our own maple syrup.

Tapping Maple Trees
During the first week of March, all of the classes tapped a maple tree with maple sugar farmer Patti. Each class has their own tree and are responsible for collecting sap and bringing it back to the nature center. With the warm days and cold nights, the sap has been flowing nicely.

Boiling Sap
The children will have the opportunity to visit the sugar shack on the nature center grounds and see how the evaporator works to boil the sap and produce maple syrup. Once we have collected a good amount of sap from our trees, we will also be boiling the sap over the fire.

Maple Sugar Camp
In each classroom, the teachers will be setting up a "maple sugar camp" for the children. The children will be able to pretend to tap trees and make maple syrup in the sensory tables. After we have made our own syrup, we will be trying it on pancakes and other foods throughout the month. (Note from Lee: Elsa's classroom has smelled like maple syrup for the past week and a half. I get really hungry for pancakes every time I'm there picking her up or dropping off!)

Goldfinch Class and Miss Lorna on the Radio
The afternoon Goldfinch class was interviewed by WUWM last week. The interview aired Friday morning. You can hear it through the following link, Inspiring a Love of Nature. Thank you Lorna and the Goldfinch class for sharing your love of nature with everyone. (Note from Lee: Although this isn't Elsa's class or teacher, it's a nice story and a good representation of what Elsa's days there are like.)