Nature's Way Preschool

With such a wide variety of creatures to choose from, making a list of our favorite arthropod books proved to be quite tricky!  Check out the graphic below for some of our must-read books about crustaceans, insects, arachnids, and more. 1. A House for Hermit Crab by Eric Carle 2. I'm a Pill Bug by Yukihisa Tokuda 3. A Beetle Is Shy by Dianna Hutts Aston 4. Are You a Centipede? by Judy Allen 5. Hey, Little Ant by Phillip and Hannah Hoose 6. Some Bugs by Angela DiTerlizzi 7. Be Nice to Spiders by Margaret Bloy Graham 8. Soar High, Dragonfly! by Sheri M. Bestor

There are more arthropods on earth than any other animal! But d o you know what an arthropod is?  Arthropods are animals with an exoskeleton, meaning they have their skeleton on the outside! They also have segmented bodies and are cold-blooded.  What arthropods can you find on your hike today? Use the graphics below to help you learn a little more about them and count them as you explore! P.S.- The Trilobite fossils from yesterday are arthropods too!

Let's go on a fossil search! Most of the fossils you might find in Central Texas are marine- meaning they came from the ocean.  Do you know where to look for these fossils? You don't have to go all the way to the coast to find them.... t ry looking in local creek beds!  Use the graphic below to learn about some of the most common fossil finds!

One of our favorite resources at Nature's Way Preschool is our Growing Up Wild Activity Guide. If you are not familiar with this curriculum, check out more information here !  At the start of each school year, we like to use their First Impressions Activity  as a tool for understanding our student's feelings and individual comfort levels regarding various common wildlife. We make modifications for each group, whether it be making popsicle stick signs with various feelings faces for each child to hold up, practicing showing our emotions with our faces and bodies, or leaving time for more thorough discussions regarding each animal. It can be very enlightening for children and educators to see the differences in attitudes towards certain animals based on different cultures, previous outdoor experiences, individual family beliefs, and more!

There have been a lot of snakes on the blog this week, and for today's Tales from the Trail, we will continue the pattern.  Look below to browse books about these smooth and slithery friends! 1. Hide and Snake by Keith Baker 2. Snake! by Carrie Hyatt 3. Verdi by Janelle Cannon 4. I Don't Like Snakes by Nicola Davies 5. Snakes are Hunters by Patricia Lauber 6. Knot Cannot by Tiffany Stone

Building on our post from yesterday, we've got  some more wonderful but "be careful" creatures to learn about! For today's Wild Wednesday , look below to learn how to identify venomous spiders and snakes  that can be found in Central Texas . Remember that these creatures have important roles in their habitats and that they just want to be left alone. We hope that these descriptions help you feel empowered as you explore!