The girls and I went to the park today for our weekly playtime at the park. We were suppose to be meeting other kids from La Petite Ecole, however we were the only ones who showed up. So, after a few minutes of playing on the playground equipment we decided to go for a walk. Although we have been to this park several times, we had not taken the walking path that goes around the park.
The girls made many discoveries on our walk. They found several different species of butterflies, and compared them to the Monarchs we have been raising (they were all a lot smaller, for one). They also noticed the flowers that were attracting the butterflies and suggested we plant some in our yard. They saw several bees, and discussed how the bees were collecting nectar to make honey, and how the butterflies were also interested in the nectar, but not to for storing.
After a while, we moved further down the path and found a small pond with some geese. The girls watched them for a while and collected some feathers. They compared the sizes and textures of the different feathers they collected. It was a nice walk!
Afterwards we started discussing the butterflies we saw and how the Monarchs migrate to Mexico to their overwintering site, but other butterflies do not. We also discussed that the geese migrate as well. That lead to a discussion about migration versus hibernation, and which animals migrate and which hibernate. We decided to check out the Journey North website (http://www.learner.org/jnorth/) when we got home to find out more about migration.
We revisited the information at Journey North about the Monarch migration and the map of their overwintering sites in Mexico as well as the awesome pictures of the Monarchs on the trees there. We also explored the information about the migration of the hummingbird. They learned about the 2 different types of hummingbirds in the US, and which one is found in our area (Ruby-throated Hummingbird). Then they looked at the Whooping Crane information. Madeline was particularly interested in the whooping cranes.
After checking out the wealth of information about the whooping cranes on Journey North, we proceeded to Operation Migration (http://www.operationmigration.org/) for some additional information and resources. It is amazing how much you can find on the internet... pictures, video, articles, diaries, lesson plans, free printable books... the list goes on and on! We will be returning to these sites for further study!
It looks like we will be studying whooping cranes next (and maybe more about migration and hibernation) , and all because of a simple walk in the park.
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