Winter Spring Summer Fall Play

April Family Lab was all about helping our native Bees and Earth! Where would we be without Native Bees? Most often people think of honeybees but did you know there are over 4000 species of native bees in the US? Most are solitary making their homes in the ground, wood etc. They are specialist to the native plants and are more efficient at pollination. etc. Native bees work very hard creating nests, providing all the food necessary for the larva, laying their eggs and sealing up the chamber. To help our native bees we created bee hotels to support our beloved bees. And we got to role play and become bees looking for nectar and pollen to make bee bread. We also celebrated Earth Day a week early to get our mindset on what our goals are to help Mother Earth. Earth day is not just one day but everyday! We discussed how we can make a difference in our choices and daily habits! And our final week we sought to learn more about flower parts and how pollination actually works by identifying the different flower parts and then creating a bookmark! What a beautiful months of spring! It’s a beautiful thing to spend time learning and focusing on nature!

January Family Lab was a wild ride! Getting outdoors with the sunsetting early is a different game! We had to really embrace the beauty of the dark! Unfortunately, at the end, the extreme cold made gathering not an option. But the two classes we had were in my opinion beautiful and I myself learned a lot!

First week back we discussed the Subnivean Zone, a special cove for small active critters in the winter that is protected between the ground and a crusted snow roof that falls at the bottom of fallen snow! This space helps small animals survive! And of course once you know it you see it everywhere! We happened to be reading Brambley Head afterwards and caught the perfect depiction of the Subjivean zone, see in pictures!

Next we talked about the moon phases and constellations! Winter evenings is a great time to look up and observe the sky! Kids got to create the moon phases and using light to project /view constellations! One thing I learned is if you know which direction is north you can determine based of North and where the moon if it’s waxing or waning!

Winter sometimes feels like a waiting room, but I’m always trying to remember that its purpose in the cycles of season is still very important! God is always creating life out of darknes! We are almost there for Spring New Life!