Tadpoles 2017-18: Week 12- Discovery Scope and Tree Art

Wednesday was a bit cold, so we started the day with a fire. Malena wanted to try to make a friction fire, so we attempted to use the bow drill to get a fire going. The bow drill was tighter than last time, so it was hard to do with cold fingers. Mrs. Kathryn used a match to get the fire started, once we had a fire we sang a song and had snack together.
When the teens got there, we gathered for opening circle. After opening circle, Malena and I went for a wander thinking of foxes. "Will foxes bite me?" Malena asked. So, Ms. Sierra role-played as a fox and showed Malena what might happen if we see a fox. She soon began to explain that the fox might be curious and scared by her. Then we continued to wander down a trial leading to the pond.


At the pond we used the Discovery Scope looking at leaves, our fingers, and then water/sediment.


Then we built a bird nest, thinking about what a bird might need in order to survive and what role a male or female bird might have with raising their babies.

Malena constructed a resting spot for the baby birds, by tying a stick onto the tree with a string we found, practicing some fine motor skills. She then added the leaves under the string, explaining that the leaves were food for the babies.
After we role played for awhile we hiked back to the fire, where the teens and Mrs. Kathryn were creating their own friction fire kits! We had lunch, shared our stories from our day, and read a chipmunk book. Before closing circle we went to investigate a clumping of beautiful feathers. The take home challenge was to try to figure out what bird the feathers belonged to!