What we know, guess and wonder about Trees

I spent a day with the children investigating what we know about trees and what we want to learn.  It's always a pleasure to sit and listen to their insights, ideas and curiosities.  It also helps me track the children's interests and respond accordingly.  Based on our conversations and some great brainstorming with my colleagues, the studio will look very different after the break!  Make sure to stop by after the first of the year to check it out!

In the meantime, here are a few snippets of dialog and artistry to share:

Squirrels live in a tree.  They sleep inside the tree.     
-Will C.

I wonder how did trees become Christmas trees?  What, where and when was the first Christmas tree?     -Brynn

Well I know trees talk.  They use the wind to carry their words.  Trees have bark and leaves and wind and dirt and birds and bugs. Owls live in trees and squirrels and bugs.  Well... they do have big branches for all of them to live in.     -Paige W.

Trees talk with the wind and light.  I have a friend that is a tree.  It has swings on it and it let’s me swing on it.  It’s in my front yard.  The leaves on a tree fall off in the Fall. When it gets windy the leaves blow off.  In the summer it’s hot and in the fall it’s cold.  When it’s cold the leaves blow off.  When its in the summer the birds come out.  In the winter the birds sleep up high in the tree in their nests.     -Owen W.

I want to learn about birds and nests and eggs.     -Horace

Red birds, like a woodpecker and a cardinal, live in trees.  I wonder if bananas fall out of trees or does someone pick them?     -Piper

Birds live in a tree.  Blue birds live in trees.     -Charlie M.

Trees help us breathe.  Trees help us survive.  I have trees that are changing colors and there are trees that make maple syrup.  I have a pine tree that is really, really big in my front yard.  I look at it...I want to know how long trees live and how tall they grow.  I want to know when mushrooms grow on trees and branches and where else do they grow on trees?  What do mushrooms do for trees?  

What if we made mushroom soup?!!!! And we could have fruit to eat too!  Maybe we could have a special day for our parents and we could tell them what we know about trees and serve them mushroom soup!!!!     -Henry L.

Will had this to say of our Studio tree:

This is a tree that we made but it can’t communicate to the other trees cuz it’s a fake tree but it’s a real LOVE tree.  It feels like a real tree but its actually not.  Real trees communicate with like a smell or something through its roots or leaves.  Like a chemical, yeah there’s some kind of chemical that helps it communicate.  Maybe we could add real live roots so it could talk to other trees.

I just love this tree.  It is a hard and rough tree.  We could make some leaves on it.

As the winter break approaches consider observing the trees in your neighborhood and listening to your child's wisdom and wonder. about our wooded world  And as always I'd love to hear anything you'd like to share!

Where do the birds find their food in the winter?

“Where do animals get their dinner?” “ Do their parents make it for them?” Great questions!  To follow their caring inquiry BJ joined us in studio for a fun day making bird feeders for our winged friends.

To complement our bird study the children drew some of our favorite birds.  

Here are a few examples:

Of course we wanted to hear some birds too so we listened to classical music layered with birdsongs and got out our pop-up bird book which plays bird songs from different geographic regions.

And then we hung our bird feeders in front of the school!  

To make these fun feeders at home for your feathered friends simply spread some sun-butter on a pinecone, dunk the sticky mess in bird seed and hang it from a nearby tree.  Easy-peasy.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend listening to the birds in your backyard.

Birdhouses in Cherry Creek

Cherry Creek Framing has partnered with Ronald McDonald house for a fundraiser and family event in the Cherry Creek North community and the theme is BIRDS and birdhouses.

 They invited our children to contribute twenty decorated birdhouses.  Of course we said YES!

The children created their designs using black sharpies and added color using liquid watercolor.  When they were finished and back in their classrooms, I sealed each house with an outdoor acrylic spray.

They were so inspired by the activity that we have decided to order some more birdhouses to hang in the trees around our school.

Each house is truly wonderful.  Their art is currently hanging in a tree at the corner of 3rd and Detroit St.

 If you can stop by to see them please do.  Also, here is some important information about the culminating event:

You can even come see and BUY the BIRDHOUSES embellished by Students and businesses!

Birdhouses will hang from Sunday 9/16- Sunday 9/23 in trees along 2nd and 3rd Avenues in Cherry Creek North

Sunday, September 23, 11-3

FUN ACTIVITIES

Face painting     Balloon Artist

Kids Mani-Pedis         Music

Bird Demonstrations

Street Fairies

Birdhouse decorating

Educational demo by the Audubon Association

Birdhouse auctions

I hope to see you there!

Owls!!!

Deanna and Lauren from Wild Wings Education brought four marvelous owls to share with us.  A barn owl (valentine owl) named Cupid (because of his heart shaped face).

 A great horned owl named Sophie

 A screech owl named Bugsy (because he loves to eat bugs).

 And a small burrowing owl named Sage.

Some interesting facts we discovered about owls include: 

Many owls have ears that are asymmetrical on their heads (one high and one low) allowing them to triangulate their hearing... and hear if prey is to their right or left and how high and low.

Owls have four toes and sharp talons to catch prey.

Their feathered tufts on the heads of certain breeds are called plumicorns.

 Owls can rotate their head 3/4 of the way around to better see with fixed eyes.

They have super soft feathers which allow them hunt in silence.

We learned more facts!  So ask your child what s/he remembered.  There's also a fun and brief youtube video to watch if you want to learn more. https://youtu.be/m0XgSrdYQRY

Have a wonderful weekend and be on the lookout for owls in your backyards and beyond.  If you find any, please us know.

Eggs-citing week in the studio

First a huge thank you to the families who donated eggs this week (fresh and hard-boiled) they were a whopping success!  Each child had the opportunity to crack an egg and scramble it to their own personal liking, seasoning it with a little salt and pepper if so inclined.

 Of course their favorite part of the process involved eating it.

The older children and I spent a day talking about chickens and eggs and which comes first, the chicken or the egg? (there was no real consensus on that one)

 We examined hard boiled eggs.

 And fresh eggs.  Then we spent some time documenting our findings.

 The eggs were then scrambled and enjoyed.

The toddlers helped me make egg salad.  The afternoon class loved eating their creation while the morning class eyed it with suspicion and choose to play bird calls instead.

All in all it was another fabulous and EGGS-citing (I know I can't help it) week in the studio!  

Now get your child into the kitchen to prepare you some scrambled eggs.  

They know how to do it!