Nature's Way Preschool

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! 

We have had wonderful weather in Central Texas lately, which hopefully has inspired you to explore outside! However, we must remember that we're sharing space with many kinds of wildlife, some of which might cause harm if you get too close.  For today's Teaching Tuesday , let's learn about some nature neighbors you might spot that need plenty of space! Use this handy infographic to teach children how to identify potentially dangerous arthropods and plants. Tomorrow we will share another safety post with snakes and spiders!

Today's Mindfulness Monday activity is making Rice Snakes, also known as Lap Snakes or Sock Babies. These heavy toys provide extra sensory feedback for children. They can help calm a child or improve their focus! These Rice Snakes can be used in a peace corner, for anxious children to hold, during group time to help them listen carefully, or anytime a child needs to wait! Children are often more interested in using toys they make themselves, so encourage your child to decorate their 'snake' however they'd like and even help you pour the rice (or dried beans!) into the sock. Hope you and your children enjoy your Rice Snakes and they help build mindfulness into your daily routine!

Have you ever been outside and heard an animal that you couldn't see? This happens all the time, even for those who spend every day out in nature! Learning the calls of different animals, especially birds, can really come in handy sometimes.  Use the graphic below to learn and practice making your own bird calls for today's Five Senses Friday !

Birds seem to be one of children's book authors' favorite topics to write about and I can see why- they have beautiful patterns and colors, sing enchanting songs, do interesting dances, most can fly, and you can find them in your own backyard! Below is a list of some of our favorite books about birds. For today's Tales from the Trail Thursday , see if you can find a few of these at your local library. Mama Built a Little Nest by Jennifer Ward Bird Talk: What Birds Are Saying and Why by Lita Judge Have You Heard the Nesting Bird? by Rita Gray An Egg is Quiet by Dianna Hutts Aston A Bird is a Bird by Lizzy Rockwell Birds by Carme Lemniscates

Today's Wild Wednesday is all about nests. At Nature's Way, we have our very own Black-Chinned Hummingbird nest on the play yard, complete with a nesting mother and eggs! That nest was very hard to find (they are only the size of a golf ball), but many nests are much easier to spot. Have you tried looking for bird nests in your neighborhood? It can also be fun to gather materials to make your own nest. You can use mud like a Cliff Swallow, stack straw and sticks like a Pigeon, dig a hole in the ground like a Burrowing Owl, or maybe use something a bird has never thought of before!

Especially in springtime, Austin is home to a wide variety of colorful and unique birds.  Use the graphic below to see how many flying colors of the rainbow you can find for today's Teaching Tuesday ! Did you notice that most of the birds shown are male? I wonder why that is...

Do you know what a sit spot is? It is a peaceful spot that you can return to periodically throughout the year. It can be a place for meditation, nature observation, or a spot just to think! Some people even like to bring a journal with them to draw what they see and how they feel.  For today's Mindfulness Monday, go find your own sit spot in nature!

For this Five Senses Friday , let's harness our observation skills! Use the graphic below to help guide you through the process of making your own map. Having real maps on hand to reference is helpful too. Grab your walking shoes, a journal, and a pencil and get started!

I don't know about you, but after spending so much time looking for and learning about butterflies this week, all I want to do is read more about them! Check out the butterfly book recommendations below for today's Tales from the Trail Thursday ! 1. Caterpillar Dreams by Clive McFarland 2. The Amazing Life Cycle of Butterflies by Kay Barnham 3. Hurry and the Monarch by Antoine O Flatharta 4. A Butterfly is Patient by Dianna Hutts Aston 4. Gotta Go! Gotta Go! By Sam Swope and Sue Riddle 5. Are You a Butterfly? By Judy Allen

One of our favorite springtime visitors in Austin is the Monarch Butterfly. We can easily distinguish them by their attention-grabbing orange and black patterns, but do you know what their caterpillars look like? What about where they hatch from? Another popular pollinator, the Black Swallowtail, looks similar to the Monarch as a caterpillar, but looks very different as an adult! They also lay their eggs on very different plants.  For today's Wild Wednesday , use the graphic below to help spot the similarities and differences between these two beautiful species throughout their life cycles. 

We are fortunate to see so many different species of butterflies in Central Texas. Some are easy to tell apart, and others' patterns vary by just a few lines or dots! Use the graphic below to help you identify a few common species of butterflies for today's Teaching Tuesday!

Have you ever seen something in nature that made you want to move your body? For today's Mindfulness Monday , we are going to do some nature-inspired movement. If you have lots of energy, maybe you want to run like a rushing creek! If you're feeling a little more mellow, try floating gently like a falling leaf!  

To wrap up our week all about trees, let's do an activity using our sense of touch. For today's Five Senses Friday , grab some playdough (or anything good for imprint making) and head outside to make some bark imprints!

We've been learning a lot about trees and who might live in them this week, so let's check out some of our favorite books about them! For today's Tales from the Trail Thursday , use the graphic below to find some great books to bring on your next hike. 1. Who Will Plant a Tree by Jerry Pallotta 2. Tap the Magic Tree by Christie Matheson  3. Fletcher and the Falling Leaves by Julia Rawlinson 4. The Busy Tree by Jennifer Ward 5. One Small Place in a Tree by Barbara Brenner

What are your favorite animals that live in a tree? For today's Wild Wednesday , go outside and pretend to be like some of those animals! Use the graphic below for some inspiration.

How can you tell trees apart? Maybe you look at their bark, examine where they grow, or maybe you look at their leaves! Use the graphic below to help identify some common Central Texas trees for today's Teaching Tuesday .

For today's Mindfulness Monday , go outside and find a tree! Spend some time observing, or "meeting", it.  Is the bark smooth or rough? Does it have leaves? What sounds do the leaves make? Are there any flowers or seeds? What colors are they? Use the graphic below for some suggestions.