The Chickadees were as busy as beavers this week! Read more to learn what they were up to…

TUESDAY

A bracelet? A rattle? Teeth!— these were some of the guesses the Chickadees shared after feeling the contents of Tuesday’s mystery bag. After a loud drumroll, Sarah pulled out two half circles that were orange, white and black. “These belong to an animal that can be found around here. It can swim and it eats tree bark. It can use its strong teeth to chew down trees and carry limbs to make a dam and/or a lodge.” The mystery objects were teeth belonging to a beaver! The children learned that beaver teeth are orange because of iron in their enamel that helps keep their teeth strong (you’ve got to have strong teeth if you’re chewing wood!). 

On their way down to Trillium Camp, the flock stopped near a hole on the creekside of the path. Last week, the Chickadees spotted muddy five-fingered tracks leading to and from this hole. Sarah brought her trail cam and set it up on a nearby tree with the hope of catching a glimpse of the animal that’s living there. What do you think it could be? 

Once in camp, the Chickadees transformed into busy beavers! They worked together to carry sticks that were once a part of their shelter over to the creek where they planned to build a dam — just like actual beavers! This was tough work and the Chickadees did a great job working together, using their words and giving others space when they were carrying long sticks. 

The flock worked up an appetite after all that heavy lifting! At slunch they listened to a story called Turtle’s Race with Beaver by Joseph and James Bruchac and got to help tell part of the story. When all the animals of the forest gathered at the pond to watch turtle and beaver race, the animals started chanting — “Turtle! Turtle! Turtle!” and “Beaver! Beaver! Beaver!” The Chickadees did the same and if there were any beavers nearby, I’m sure they heard us! Eventually the chanting turned to silly words and the forest was filled with laughter. 

At Closing Circle, Tali, who is joining the Chickadees on Tuesdays and Thursdays until the spring starts, taught us a new song called “Land of the Silver Birch.” This song is a traditional Canadian folk song. The Chickadees played their instruments while singing:

Land of the silver birch 

Home of the beaver 

Where the mighty moose 

Wanders at will 

Blue lake and rocky shore

I will return once more 

Boomdiddyatta, Boomdiddyatta, Booooom

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THURSDAY

Thursday brought blue skies, warm sunshine and lots and lots of MUD! The Chickadees gathered in the log circle, which was really just one giant mud puddle. While singing “Land of the Silver Birch” and Nora’s silly beaver song, the children (and instructors!) squished their boots in the mud. Some even rolled pieces of mud in their hands to make smooth mud balls that were almost like clay! 

The path to Trillium Camp was clear of snow for the first time in several weeks. The Chickadees stopped at the trail cam to see if it had taken any pictures and it had! Sarah showed the flock a picture of someone walking by on the trail — it was Eli! There were no pictures of the mysterious animal living in the hole yet but we’ll check next week to see if it took any new pictures over the weekend. 

After walking down the bridge and hanging up their backpacks, the children were excited to see mud puddles everywhere! The Chickadees flew through camp, jumping in every puddle they could find. They even went in the creek and splashed and played. Some children started working together to make a big pot of soup! They took turns carrying the pots to and from the creek, filling them up with water and dumping the water in the big pot of soup while other children stirred and added other ingredients (sticks, rocks, slushy snow). 

When it was getting close to slunch time, Nora smelled something and needed the help of some coyote pups to sniff it out. After some searching, which led them around camp and up a nearby hill, they found a small container of something sweet! What could it be? Nora said she would reveal this special treat at slunch. The children washed their hands, brought over the food and water to the log circle and Nora showed them what was in the container — maple candy! Nora explained that she made this candy using the sap from the trees we tapped! Each child and instructor got to try the sweet and smoky candy that came from the green-gray mountain trees! 

The children spent the rest of the day climbing up and sliding down the Climbing Hill, which became Mud Mountain. A giant puddle sat at the bottom of the hill, which the Chickadees took turns jumping in. It was a beautiful day and while we have all enjoyed the wonders of winter, we are excited for the magic that lies ahead in spring.

Thank you for reading! We’ll see you next week for the last week of the winter session!

This week the Nuthatches got to play in the snow and the mud! 

What an exciting week to be outside at preschool. We all had so much energy to run and explore in the sun. 

Shout out to Nuthatch instructor Emily Rose for most of these wonderful photos!!

On Tuesday, the Nuthatches started off the day by passing around a beaver skull that Sarah Chaffee had found on a hiking trip. We peered into the big holes where the eyes would have been, the little holes where the teeth used to be, and the medium-sized hole where the brain was. Ian got us thinking about how beavers often change the landscape around them by building dams and flooding streams, which creates a wonderful habitat for many fish, waterbirds, and other mammals like muskrats. What are some ways that humans change the landscape? What can we do to respect this land? 

When we arrived at camp, the first thing we did was check on the sap bucket. There were a few inches of clear liquid (with some bugs too). Then Ian drew our attention to some pieces of paper with mysterious drawings on them–clues to a scavenger hunt! The Nuthatches put their minds together to figure out each step in the adventure, leading us into the brush to a tree with a long basket hanging from it. When we looked inside, we saw an object that looked like a bow, and some other pieces of wood of different lengths and thickness. Ian told us that these were tools for making fires–one was called a bow drill, and the other was called a hand drill. In order to make our fire though, we had to gather a lot of firewood! The Nuthatch kids raced to gather more wood than the instructors.  

Back in our circle, Ian demonstrated the hand drill for us and made a coal in only a few minutes! We were very impressed. Ian said that he’d practiced this skill for months before he was able to successfully start a fire using a hand drill. As we basked in the warmth of the fire, Emily read a sweet book to us called “Planting the Wild Garden,” by Kathryn Galbraith. To end the day, the Nuthatches played on the seesaw and in the field, where the snow shelters were still standing.  

On Thursday, the Nuthatches were overjoyed to see the muddy rivers crossing the front field at arrival. Some of the mud was so deep that when we stepped in it, our feet disappeared! It really felt like spring as we stomped around under a blue sky. As we walked out to camp, we also noticed that the creek was rushing with a lot of power! When we arrived at camp, some of the Nuthatches checked on the sap bucket again–today it was almost half full! And we could see the clear liquid drip-drip-dripping out of the spile. The trees are ready for spring too! 

Some of the Nuthatches got right to work collecting firewood, while the others played a rousing game of Beavers vs Dragons in the field, where the snow shelters were just barely standing. And then it was time for a little adventure–to the creek! We trekked to a section that wasn’t roaring so ferociously, and tested the waters. We splashed around and even built a dam out of sticks and mud, just like beavers do! It was so fun that nobody got upset over the water in their boots. Back at camp, we had lunch around a fire that warmed our feet and hands. Cesca told us a story about a time she saw an otter, and Emily read a book called “Bugs for Lunch,” by Margery Facklam. We started to notice bugs all around us…

The Nuthatches spent the rest of the day sneaking up on the Chickadees. We were so sneaky that they didn’t see us even though we were really close! 

A week of surprises and “see you laters!” Read more to learn what the Chickadees were up to this week in the woods.

TUESDAY

The Chickadees gathered in Opening Circle on a windy Tuesday morning. Eli showed them a picture of a five-fingered track with long claws. The flock listened as Eli shared some clues about this animal — it’s a large mammal that can be found in North America, it’s an omnivore and it has black fur on its body. What animal do you think this could be?

Wake up all you black bears 

You’ve been sleeping the winter through 

It’s time to wake up and do the things you do! 

The  children sang the song “Hibernation” by Annie Nixon while pretending to be hungry bears waking from a long winter’s rest. The bear cubs crawled their way to the red oak tree, put on their backpacks and headed down the snowy trail to Trillium Camp. The Chickadees checked the sugar maple they re-tapped on Monday and were excited to see some frozen sap! Eli brought supplies for the Chickadees to tap a second tree but first they needed to identify another “green-gray mountain tree.” The Chickadees moved from tree to tree in Trillium Camp and the hillside, looking for one with areas of smooth, gray bark with furrows and peaks that look like mini mountains. After some searching, they found a tall tree growing behind the woodbox. The children and instructors took turns drilling a hole into the tree and were able to hang the bucket to start collecting sap all before slunch time.

It’s slunch time

It’s slunch time 

It’s time to eat our slunch! 

Once all the Chickadees had gathered in the log circle, Hannah told a fantastic tale about a bear named Betulah who was afraid to climb trees. After befriending a wise raven named Rocky, Betulah goes on a long journey through the Appalachian Mountains. Along the way she learns how to be courageous with each mountain she summits. During this story, Hannah told the Chickadees that, like Betulah, she too will be climbing the Appalachian Mountains. In fact, Hannah will be hiking the Appalachian Trail! She unrolled a long, vertical map of the east coast and walked around the circle pointing out the trail that connects Georgia to Maine — 2,190 miles! When Hannah told the Chickadees this would be her last week at Ithaca Forest Preschool, they peppered her with questions about her next big adventure. “How will you survive?” “Will you see bears?” “Where will you sleep?”

THURSDAY

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On Thursday, Hannah answered some of those questions when she brought the biggest mystery in the history of mysteries at preschool — a large red backpack! “This will be my home on the trail.” Hannah started unpacking her bag to show the Chickadees what was inside. She passed around a long, tube-shaped bag that held her tent and showed them her med kit and headlamp. The children were especially interested in a small green object hanging on the front of her backpack. They each got a turn to practice digging with it in the icy snow — it was an ultralight trowel! Hannah even blew up her sleeping pad to show the Chickadees what she’ll be sleeping on each night.

The children put on their slightly smaller backpacks and walked down to Trillium Camp while listening to the sounds of the creek and looking for fresh tracks. Little did they know, that a busy day full of surprises lied ahead! After hanging up their backpacks, Nora got a whiff of something smelly! She asked for the bear cubs’ help since they all have an excellent sense of smell. They took turns smelling a tree with bark that smelled like — “onion!”  The smell was everywhere! The Chickadees followed the pungent smell up the hill, past the Horsey Log and to Turkey Knoll. Along the way they not only followed the smell of onions but also the sight — onion skins and even pieces of an onion hung on the branches of a honeysuckle bush. Where were the onions taking them? Suddenly, the children found themselves at the base of a large white pine and in its branches was a tall blue container that looked a lot like something Hannah had shown us from her backpack just that morning. The children each tried to open the bear canister but it was tough! After lots of turning, twisting and wiggling, the container remained locked. Nora gave it a try and showed the Chickadees these two raised pieces of plastic along the rim of the lid that have to be pressed in order for it to slide off. “It’s hard for even adults to open!” The Chickadees learned that it’s not good for bears to eat human food and that Hannah will be using her canister to store all of her food with the hope that bears won’t be able to open it and eat what’s inside. 

While the Chickadees played underneath the white pine, they noticed a lot of what looked like steam coming from Hearth Camp, a site located across the creek. They could see that one of the homeschool flocks were there so the Chickadees decided to go over and say hello. One by one, the children balanced on the rocks to avoid getting their feet wet while crossing over the creek. Before they entered Hearth Camp, the Chickadees were reminded to stick together and give the homeschool flock (the Juncos) space. Steam continued to rise from a cinder block structure off to the side of their fire circle. Wren and Sean, the two Junco instructors, explained that they were heating up sap they had collected from maple trees and evaporating the water to make syrup! Some members of the Juncos were excited to show us the fire that was burning beneath the cinder blocks to keep the sap hot. 

The Chickadees thanked the Juncos for showing them their special project and headed back to Trillium for a late slunch and a special treat they had found in the opened bear canister — popcorn! While the children got out their food and water, Nora built a fire to cook the popcorn and Hannah read a story called How Chipmunk Got His Stripes by Joseph and James Bruchac.

The day is done

The day is done

Thank you for the day 

The Chickadees packed up their bags, helped clean up camp and gathered in the circle with Hannah to share some gratitude for her and all she has shared with the preschool community. One child said that he liked when Hannah brought in her special box of nature treasures (feathers, butterflies and all kinds of wonderful things!) And another child shared that she hopes she has fun on her adventures with the red bag. We will miss you, Hannah! Happy trails <3

Thank you so much for reading! We’ll see you next week for more stories, songs and silliness!

Did you feel spring approaching this week? The Nuthatches sure did!

This week we learned about black bears, who like to eat many things including berries and honey. 

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Winter is coming to close and spring is just around the corner! The fluctuating temperatures and taste of spring in the air left everyone with extra energy this week. Both flocks raced around their camps and enjoyed being extra active.

Chickadees

Something big and fascinating was waiting for us in the circle on Monday morning. Pressed into a yellowing piece of plaster was a giant footprint of our mystery animal. It was much bigger than the Chickadees’ own hands, and included a big pad, five fingers, and some small holes at the very top of the track from the animal’s long claws.

This animal likes to eat berries and also sleeps during the winter. Peter taught us how to transform into this animal, growing those long claws and lumbering across the field to our backpacks. It was time to head to camp!

When we got to the bridge above Trillium Camp, we took a moment to observe how our space had changed since we last were here. Water rushed through the creek, spilling over the banks where we had stood on dry land in the fall. The sound of it gurgling quickly past filled the forest. The warmer temperatures, melting snow, and rain had nearly turned our creek into a river.

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There was something else we needed to check up on when we got to camp: our sap bucket! Had any sap dripped out of the tree over the weekend? 

As we lifted the lid and peeked in, there was no sap to be found! The hole we had drilled must not have been the best place on the tree. We needed to move our bucket. While Eli worked on moving the hole to the sunnier, untapped side of the tree, the Chickadees jumped on the horsey log and went for an adventure in their rocket ship. They raced and bounced around asteroids, then landed on the nearest planet to refill their ship’s batteries. Everyone hopped back on and blasted off to explore another part of the solar system.

With sap dripping from the maple tree from the new tap and our space exploration resolved, it was time to sit down for slunch. Nora told us a story about when Willa the Winter Fairy had witnessed a momma bear give birth during hibernation, and watched the little bear cubs open their eyes for the very first time. The tiny black bears revealed to us what our mystery animal is for the week: black bears!

After slunch it was time for some free play next to the rushing creek, peering over the bridge and using a big vine fishing pole to wrangle some big fish. The Chickadees laughed and screamed as they chased Nora and “Box Man” around the camp. 

At the end of the day, the sound of instruments drifted through the forest, echoing off the treetops. We sang songs and expressed our gratitude for the day, leaving full of energy and excitement for the rest of the week.

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As the Chickadees gathered in morning circle on Wednesday, Nora told us to close our eyes. She had a surprise that we couldn’t see, or hear, or touch, but instead had to solve the mystery with our noses! Since bears have such a great sense of smell, we were going to use our own sense of smell to guess what Nora had for us today. It smelled sweet and a little spicy… Cinnamon! The chickadees guessed it right away.

When we got down to camp, we found that we were going to need to use our bear noses once again. In the snow was a dusting of red-brown powder – a cinnamon trail leading into the forest. We followed it up the side of the creek until we found a big blue bucket in the snow. Inside the bucket was a bag of apples, but in order to get the apples, we had to open the lid first! 

The lid proved impossible to open, though every chickadee tried their hardest. Then Eli showed us a trick – you had to press down on the lid in order to open it. This was a bear canister, designed to keep the creatures out of your food! Once we’d successfully figured out how to open it, we headed back to camp.

During slunch, Sarah cut up the apples we’d found and gave them a dusting of cinnamon. Each chickadee enjoyed their sweet treat they’d collected from the woods while we listened to stories of close encounters with bears that the instructors had!

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After slunch, we set off on another adventure, this time up the other side of the creek towards Turkey Knoll and the Nuthatch’s camp. We wandered past the horsey log and the quinzhee huts in the open field, traveled through the horse barn, and even walked all the way past Red Squirrel Camp on the other side of the field. We found patches of ice to stand on and even saw some turkey tracks in the snow. We explored the bark on the trees and the way the snow piled over the logs. It was a big adventure!

By the time we got back to camp, we’d walked a long way during the day. However, the Chickadees were still as energetic as ever. The warm spring air fueled them as they raced around camp and helped sweep the pavilion. 

At the end of the day, we got to use our friends the Peace Superheros to solve a disagreement.

We couldn’t decide how to decorate the table in the pavilion, so Sarah brought out the peace stones. We used our finest words to express our feelings, thanks to Fine Words Fox, and found a compromise thanks to Unity Unicorn. 

This week was full of energy. The energy of the winds blew temperature changes and sun into our woods, and no amount of exploring the forest could quench that momentum. The Chickadees are excited for the changes spring brings!

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Nuthatches

What animal is big and furry, lumbers when it walks, and likes to sleep through the winter? In our morning circle on Monday we discovered that black bears were our animal for the week! This is a great week to learn about bears as they start to wake up from their hibernation as spring comes this way. 

When we got down to camp, we found that Ian had transformed into a bear and was just coming out of hibernation! He had a bowl of treasures next to him, but since he was so sleepy he couldn’t see us as we tried to grab things from the bowl. We would need to be sneaky! We hid behind trees and carefully walked through the snow, trying to be as quiet as possible. Eventually, we managed to get all of the treasures! We realized that he had been hiding the Peace Stones for our camp in his bowl.

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The Nuthatches gathered in a circle to look at the Peace Stones and go over each Peace Superhero – Fine Words Fox, Peaceful Porcupine, Unity Unicorn, Feel Better Butterfly, and their helpful friend Shadowtail. Each Superhero has something to teach us about conflict resolution and how to be kind while we disagree. When a preschooler has a conflict, they can go to the Peace Log to ask for help from the Peace Superheroes and talk out the problem with each other. We needed to find a home in our new camp for our Peace Superheros to live, so we headed just north of camp to find a new Peace Log. It was a nice, comfy log that the Nuthatches can sit on to talk moving forward. 

With our Peace Superheros safe in their new home, it was time to sneak up on Ian the bear again. This time, we had to work together to take a bandana from his feet and make it back across the field, passing it to each person along the way. Our teamwork helped us succeed in taking treasures from the sleepy bear once again.

During slunch, we sat around the fire to hear Ariadne, also known as Nani, tell a beautiful story about bears. The Nuthatches also shared their own stories. With full bellies and feeling a bit warmer, we once again raced out into the field for more snow play and to crawl in the quinzhees before the weather gets too warm and they melt.

On Wednesday, songs echoed across the field as the Nuthatches sang My Roots Go Down. We even added verses for bears and our favorite animal, dragons.

My roots go down, down to the earth.

My roots go down, down to the earth.

My roots go down, down to the earth.

My roots go down.

I am a bear looking for some berries,

I am a bear looking for some berries,

I am a bear looking for some berries,

My roots go down.

After our song, Astrid asked us what we were excited about for spring? With the warmth in the air, it seems like spring can’t be too far away. The Nuthatches are all very excited for the rain, flowers, and for the snow to melt. 

When we got down to camp, we checked how much sap we’d collected from our trusty maple tree behind our shelter. There was a layer of frozen sap in the bottom of the bucket. We’d have to wait a while before we’d have enough sap to use!

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Then we ran back out into the field and finished the day with some free play, racing through the snow and crawling through the tunnels in the quinzhee huts. 

This week was full of changes and surprises in the weather every day. The lack of chill in the air promises some warmer days ahead, and the Nuthatches are excited to explore their natural world as it does.

Porcupines, the burnt potato chip tree and sap — what a fun and silly week we had with the Chickadee flock!

TUESDAY

Let’s get together us porcupines 

Catbirds, hawks and fishers 

We’ll climb tall trees where we’ll wait and linger 

And sing to the Hemlock Grove

The Chickadees sang the second verse of the Hemlock Grove song together after identifying the mysterious track Hannah showed them — it belonged to a porcupine! The prickle (what a group of porcupines are called!) put on their backpacks and made their way to Trillium Camp. Once there, the Chickadees helped us name two different kinds of trees based on what their bark looks like. They named a tall tree with dark colored bark the burnt potato chip tree, also known as a black cherry tree. The Chickadees also named a very important tree that we’ll get to know over the next few weeks — the green- gray mountain tree, more commonly known as a sugar maple! After they identified these trees, Eli and Sarah called out their names and the children had to run to the tree. In doing this, the Chickadees realized we have a lot of burnt potato chip trees in our camp! 

At slunch, Sarah told the story of how Willa the Winter Fairy met Peaceful Porcupine and how he taught her balloon breaths (“Everybody fill your balloon!”). After everyone had filled their bellies with food and water, it was time to do some exploring. The Chickadees headed up to the Horsey Log where they pretended it was a rocket ship taking them to new planets. The group then walked down the path leading them to the top of the Climbing Hill. Along the way they noticed two big green-gray mountain trees! They walked down the hill to feel their bark and look up their tall trunks. Eli shared that during this time of year, when daytime temperatures are above freezing and nighttime temperatures are below, that sap runs from the roots of these trees all the way to the branches where their leaves will start to grow again. “Should we tap this tree and try to collect some sap?,” Sarah asked. “Yes!,” exclaimed the Chickadees.

THURSDAY

The sun warmed the Chickadees’ faces as they gathered in Opening Circle on Thursday morning. Sarah had a mystery for them! This mystery fit inside a small box and used an important part of the animal we had been talking about this week — porcupine quill earrings! While traveling in Alaska in the summer of 2019, Sarah went to the Morris Thompson Cultural and Visitors Center in Fairbanks. While she was there, Sarah signed up for a workshop led by an Alaskan Native who taught her how to make earrings using porcupine quills and moose hide. Sarah learned so much and was very appreciative that this special art was shared with her.

After singing the Hemlock Grove song again and putting on their bags, the children walked down to Trillium Camp. Along the way, they heard something…something that sounded like rushing water — the creek! The children noticed the creek had more water and guessed that it was because the snow was starting to melt. The Chickadees slid down the Climbing Hill on their bellies like otters and pulled each other around on sleds. When it was time for slunch, Hannah read a story called The Parrot and the Fig Tree by Michael Harman. The children had listened to part of this story on Tuesday during pick-up and were happy to hear the rest of it.

After slunch it was time to check the sap bucket! The Chickadees walked up the hill, past the Horsey Log and down towards the green-gray mountain tree. Nora helped the children take turns looking inside the bucket — no sap yet! The group will have to check again on Monday to see if any sap was collected over the weekend.

Thanks for reading! We’ll see you next week!