The Nuthatches had to use fire to stay warm this week! Maybe Spring is feeling a little shy…
Even though it was chilly, we did see some wriggly worms. We learned a fun song called “Spaceworms” by Susan Marcus and April Kassirer. By the end of the week, the Nuthatches could sing this song super fast and it was stuck in everybody’s head.
On Tuesday, Jamie led us in speaking more about the Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫʼ (Cayuga Nation), whose unceded territory our program takes place on. We thought about how instead of being forced off their land in 1779, it would have been better for the early American settlers to find a way to share the land with them. The Nuthatches thought of some ways that we can try to take care of the earth, like the Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫʼ have done for hundreds of years.
When the Nuthatches got out to camp, they noticed that Jamie had disappeared! But there was an “All In!” call coming from behind a white pine tree. There was Jamie, and he said it was time to go on a wander! We crossed the creek and stopped at a fallen log, where we played a sneaky game called “Keeper of the Keys” and another sneaky game called “Camouflage”! While we were hiding, it was so silent that we could hear the birds chattering in the swamp nearby. Then we headed back to camp (by way of the mud puddles), where we gathered some firewood and sat down to lunch. Some of the Nuthatches entertained us with spectacularly spooky stories, and then Jamie read a book called “Whose Tracks Are These?” by James Nail.
The Nuthatches started off the day on Thursday by working more on the shelter made of wood cookies, and looking at a tick. The tick was moving very slowly because it was cold, but it reminded us to keep looking out for ticks every day. In opening circle, we spoke about how today is Earth Day, and as we honor the Earth we can also look to the example the Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫʼ set in taking care of this land. Once at camp, the Nuthatches broke up into groups to make some art to show our gratitude for the Earth. We used many different natural materials, and our creativity and thoughtfullness really shone through! Then we gathered a lot of firewood for a lunch fire. Nora got in some good practice using a bow drill kit but we ultimately ended up lighting our fire with a match. Emily read the story “How Chipmunk got His Stripes” (a Nuthatch favorite) by Joseph Bruchac and James Bruchac. We love it when Emily does different voices for brown squirrel and bear! Before leaving we made sure to do a good tick scan!
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