Winter For The Canada Goose

In spite of being called the Canada goose, these geese are one of the most common type of water birds, living or at least migrating through all of North America. There are really over a dozen kinds of geese that belong to the species called Canada Goose. Almost all of them migrate, but a few kinds do not, preferring to stay in the same location year round.

The Canada Goose enjoys the young shoots of plants such as cattails, pondweed, grasses, clover, most of plants that can be found growing near water. Seen in ponds with their head submerged underwater and tail sticking up high, they also eat insects and their larvae, snails, small clams and mussels.

In the winter, when the ponds and lakes begin to freeze and their food becomes scarce, the Canada geese begin to migrate to a place that is warmer with plenty of food. Scientists still aren't sure just how migration works or how the geese know what to do and where to go. They do know that most Canada geese travel the same routes or paths each year and arrive at the same place to spend the winter.
The geese migrate both by day and by night, stopping often for rest, food, and water. They make their migration in family groups and are led by experienced adults who have made the trip before. It is believed that they find their way by watching for familiar landmarks, such as mountains, cities, rivers, and lakes. It is also likely that the position of the sun, moon, and stars in the sky as well as the earth’s magnetic field helps them to find their way.
However they do it, we all have to agree that it is a very impressive accomplishment!

For some fun with the Canada Goose, visit these pages:

Canada Goose Coloring Page (from coloring.ws)

Canada Goose Coloring Page (with information)

Canada Goose Coloring Page with Labels (with information)

"What I've learned about the Canada Goose" Coloring Worksheet

Help the Canada Goose find the pond Maze

How many words can you make from CANADA GOOSE Word Worksheet

What Do Rabbits Do In Winter?

The cottontail rabbit is a familiar wild animal that can be found living alongside people almost everywhere, in the city or the countryside. In the summer these rabbits find food easily - nibbling on clover, green grass and other green plants, even raiding the neighbor's garden to eat the plants there!

Rabbits are most active at dawn and dusk. This is the best time to see them. They spend the remainder of the day resting in hollows or shallow nests in the ground called forms. In summer these nests are made in tall grass or brush. You might find a rabbit nesting in an unmowed lawn, meadow or under a bush. In the winter, the rabbit will seek out a place with protection from snow or wind. Overhead cover such as a bush protects the rabbit from birds of prey. Rabbits frequently use woodchuck, skunk or badger burrows during winter months and sunbathe in any nearby sunny spots.

During times in the winter with little snow rabbits eat grasses and other plants they can find. The bark of young trees and shrubs is eaten when snow covers other plant foods. You might want to help out the rabbits in your neighborhood by scattering apple peels, carrot tops or lettuce leaves on the snow in your yard.

You can sometimes tell that a rabbit lives nearby if you see small shrubs or tree seedlings nipped off just above the snow. You may see piles of their round, dark colored droppings. It's easy to identify a rabbit's tracks or footprints. When hopping, the hind feet land first with the front foot prints appearing inside the back feet's prints. Like this:




Click Here for a rabbit coloring page that you could also use for painting or as the beginning of a rabbit collage.

Do Squirrels Migrate Or Hibernate In The Winter?

Well, according to The Scholarly Squirrel

"Although squirrels seem to disappear from sight in the winter months, they are in the exact places where they lived during the warmer months. In fact, squirrels spend their entire lives within only three to five acres. Ground squirrels hibernate during the winter months, but tree squirrels do not. Tree squirrels keep warm by snuggling with their family in their tree nests or ground burrows. As soon as the weather permits, they emerge and begin hunting for food again. Squirrels are very sensitive to weather changes and prepare for an upcoming drop in temperature by instinctively burying their nuts underground as well as binge eating!"

Here's a page of links to directions for making various squirrel nesting boxes
And
a bunch of online jigsaw puzzles featuring squirrels and other forest friends!

Now Just In -
A List of Thirteen Fascinating Squirrel Facts by Nancy at Soliloquy.
Thanks, Nancy!

The Animals Are Getting Ready For Winter!

People usually spend the winter in a home with some sort of heat; they put on extra layers of clothing and heavy coats for added warmth when they go outside. When the need for food grips them, they go to the grocery store. But what about the wild animals that live around us?

The biggest problem for most animals in the winter is finding enough food. Wild animals cope with the changes in weather and availability of food in one of three ways: adjusting, hibernating or migrating. Most land-bound animals are forced to remain and stay somewhat active during the winter. They must adjust to our changing weather. Many make changes in their behavior or bodies. Cold-blooded animals (i.e., insects, reptiles, amphibians, and fish) must hibernate if they live in environments where the temperature and therefore their own body temperature drops below freezing. Box turtles burrow into the soil or mulch piles. Reptiles like lizards and snakes seek protective cover under rocks, leaf litter and mulch piles. Many others hoard food stores to get them through the winter. Squirrels and mice stash their food in tree cavities, under leaf litter, or in holes in the ground. Still other animals, such as voles, have communal food storage areas underground.

Most animals prepare for winter by changing their bodies - accumulating body fat is the most crucial, a vital insulator for warmth and source of energy. Many of these animals, like deer, squirrels, and raccoons, spend the fall feasting on energy- and fat- rich acorns and other nuts that help them put on an insulating layer of fat beneath their skin. Their sparse summer coat is gradually replaced by a warmer one made up of a dense layer of under fur and a thick surface layer that helps to trap body heat. These species, as well the rabbit, otter, muskrat, fox, and bobcat, remain active throughout the winter, foraging or hunting daily. For other species, such as opossums and skunks, winter activity is temperature dependent. During extremely cold periods they spend their time in their nests or dens, curled up in a semi sleep dormant state.

Hibernation is the practice among certain animals of spending part of the cold season in a more or less dormant state, apparently as protection from cold when their normal body temperature cannot be maintained and food is scarce. This deep sleep allows them to conserve energy and survive the winter with little or no food. Hibernation is caused by a chemical trigger released by the brain when the animal experiences extremes of temperature, lack of food, or decreased amounts of daylight. Most hibernators prepare in some way for the winter. Some store food in their burrows or dens, to eat when they awaken for short periods. Many eat extra food in the fall while it is plentiful, and store it as body fat to be used later for energy.

Hibernators have two kinds of fat: regular white fat and a special brown fat. The brown fat forms patches near the animal's brain, heart, and lungs. The fat sends a burst of energy to warm these organs first when it is time for the animal to wake up. Hibernating animals are able to store enough food in their bodies to carry them over until food is once again obtainable. They do not grow during hibernation. Their bodily activities are reduced to a minimum; in fact they may have only one or two heartbeats every minute. This energy-efficient dormant stage enables the hibernating animal to have periods of inactivity that last for weeks or even months. True hibernators go into such a deep sleep that they are difficult to wake and may even appear dead. Their body temperature drops, and their breathing and heart rate drop significantly. For example, the groundhog, or woodchuck, is one of our true hibernators. It spends most of the summer in fields and in tunnels it has dug below. During winter, the groundhog finds it way to the deepest recesses of those tunnels where it will hibernate. A hibernating groundhog's heart rate slows from 80 beats to 4 beats per minute, and its body temperature drops from 98F to as low as 38F. If its temperature falls too low, it will awaken slightly and shiver to warm up a bit.

If an animal lives in an area where the winter is mild, it may hibernate only briefly, or not at all. However, even when the winter is severe, hibernators may wake up for short periods every few weeks to use their "toilet rooms" and eat if food is available. Animals such as raccoons, skunks, and some chipmunks are light sleepers and are easily awakened. They may sleep during the most severe weather and wake to roam and forage for food in milder weather.

Our largest hibernator is the bear. Bears are unique because, unlike other hibernators, they do not eat, drink, or excrete at all while hibernating, which can be as long as six months. Although the quarters are cramped, female bears give birth and nurse their cubs during hibernation. Other true hibernators include the jumping mouse, little brown bat, the eastern chipmunk, and some species of ground squirrels.

This week, let's have some fun learning about how animals live in the winter.
Crafts, coloring pages, stories - we could even make a feeding station to help out the animals that live nearby.

If your family has some ideas we can use to learn about animals in winter, please leave a comment and I'll be sure to say Thank You!

Prisms And Rainbows - Another Story In Pictures

We hung a prism in the window and spent the morning chasing rainbows.






Want to know an easy way to remember the order of the colors of the rainbow?
Remember this man's name : Roy G. Biv

Red
Orange
Yellow
Green
Blue
Indigo
Violet

Ten Weeks of Fun Fall Activities to Enjoy With Your Kids

Here's a great offer from Jennifer Wolf, Your Guide to Single Parents at About.com.

She has added a new (free!) E-course to her site called "Ten Weeks of Fun Fall Activities."

You can either sign up to receive a different fall activity in your E-mail each week, or read through the list of suggestions online. The idea is to plan one weekly outing or activity with your kids throughout the fall season.

Related: Free, Printable Pumpkin Carving Templates

A Visit To A Lighthouse

Here we are, home again, after a fine fall weekend away. I think the highlight of the trip for me was the tour of the lighthouse on point of Stonington. I'm very happy (and a bit proud) that I followed through with my impulse to climb all the way to the top of the lighthouse.

The stairs spiraled up a stone tower - charming and Rapunzel-like. The stairs were stone too, it all felt very safe, very solid, very charming. I did not anticipate the metal ladder leading to the platform at the very top.
Hmmmm...
not so much charm there.
After a few minutes considering this development, and after watching Grandfather disappear into the opening above my head, I finished the climb.

Spectacular!
A Splendid Adventure.
If you have the opportunity to visit a lighthouse with (or without) your children, seize it.
If you aren't anywhere near the shore or a lighthouse, here's a link to the website of the Ponce De Leon Light Station on the coast of Florida. They have a fabulous virtual tour that includes the tower, the keeper's dwelling, even the ship's store.
Be sure to also check out their kids' pages for some coloring, history and a story of life in a lighhouse.

Autumn Is Here!

Please join us on our visit to the pumpkin patch. It was a beautiful Autumn Day!
See Our Photo Album Here

Thomas The Toad

We have a new friend! After a long summer's wait, we found a toad in our garden toad house. We've brought him inside, named him Thomas the Toad - we've been watching him most of the afternoon.
We're learning all about frogs and toads at Frogland. What a fun place to visit!

Grandmother Wren's Autumn Pages

Please visit the Autumn Pages on my website to find
Fall Festivals Around The World
Directions for making Corn Dolls and Apple Crafts
Find out Why Leaves Change Color in the Fall and read the Winter Forecast from The Old Farmer's Almanac
You'll also find puzzles, a calendar of Autumn holidays, quotes about Autumn...
Visit often because I'll be adding Halloween pages and Thanksgiving pages -
It's a Great Time of Year!

Surfing The Net With Kids - Fall Leaves

I look forward every week to the Surfing The Net With Kids newsletter and I'm never disappointed! This week's topic is Fall Leaves. Visit their site to find a collection of links such as:

>Chemistry of Autumn Colors
>Foliage Vermont
>Why Leaves Change Color

along with free Autumn coloring pages and some great games!

Five for Friday - Tips For Sharing Nature With Your Children

Teach less, and share more.
Instead of just telling your child the facts of nature, express your feelings about the natural world. Let her know that a thunderstorm makes you feel adventurous, while worms make you wonder what it’s like to live under the ground.

Be receptive.
Listen. Be aware of the thoughts and feeling that your child is sharing with you. Be sensitive: every question, every comment, every joyful discovery is an opportunity to communicate and learn with your child.

Focus your child’s attention.
Set the tone of your outing by asking questions and pointing out interesting sights and sounds. Some children are not used to watching nature closely, so find things that interest them, and lead them bit by bit into the spirit of keen observation. Let them know that their findings are interesting to you, too.

Look and experience first; talk later.
Don’t worry if you don’t know all the answers. The names of plants and animals are only superficial labels for what those things really are. Just as your own essence isn’t captured by your name, or even by your physical appearance or personality traits, there is also much more to an oak tree than a name and a list of facts about it. You and your child can gain a deeper appreciation of an oak by watching how the tree’s mood shifts with changes in lighting at different times of the day.

Fill learning with joy
Whether it’s real laughter or a peaceful attentiveness, your child will absorb learning naturally if you can keep the spirit of the occasion happy and enthusiastic.

I Know That Tree!

This project requires more trees that we have in our yard (and I’m certain Maya could recognize her nectarine tree immediately!), so a trip to the park or a small patch of woods is in order. The instructions can be adapted according to the ages of the participants and all ages can enjoy this activity, although it’s a bit more suited to slightly older children and adults.

With a partner, go to an area with at least a half dozen trees (more is better, a forest is best!)
Tie a bandana loosely around one partner’s eyes as a blindfold. If your child is reluctant to be blindfolded, ask them to close their eyes while you hold one hand in front of them to prevent peeking.
Choose a tree and carefully lead your blindfolded friend in a roundabout route to that tree.
Without using her eyes, have your friend begin to explore the tree and discover what makes this tree unique.
You can help by asking questions. “Is this tree’s bark smooth or rough?” “Can you put your arms all the way around it?” “Are there any holes or bumps on this tree?” “Can you reach any leaves? What shape are they?” “How does this tree smell?” “What about under this tree? What is there? Can you feel roots, moss, needles, rocks?”
Let your partner take as long as she wants to get to know this tree, then carefully lead her back to your starting point (be sure to use an indirect route).
Remove the blindfold or take your hand away and ask her to try and find the tree with her eyes open.

Suddenly, what at first seemed to be group of trees, now becomes a collection of very individual trees.
One of them has become a tree that your friend has met and knows very well!

I discovered this learning activity many years ago in the book by Joseph Cornell – ‘Sharing Nature with Children’.
In the introduction to his book, Mr. Cornell wrote “At one time or another in our lives nature touches…all of us in some personal, special way. Her immense mystery opens to us a little of its stunning purity, reminding us of a Life that is greater than the little affairs of man.”
“I have never underestimated the value of such moments of touching and entering into nature. I have seen through my own experience, and that of many others, that we can nourish that deeper awareness until it becomes a true and vital understanding of our place in the world.”

Nurturing The Bond Between Child And Tree

The year that Maya was born, the first year in our new house, Grampy planted a nectarine tree in the back yard. It was a very busy year – remodeling, repairs, a new baby – the young tree was rarely noticed or remembered. It grew on its own and seemed happy.

Spring came again, and summer; now the baby was old enough to crawl about in the grass. A beagle puppy joined her. The grandmother gathered up the green nectarine marbles that were falling to the ground under the tree and fretted about choking hazards. The tree continued to grow without tending and seemed happy.

This year, Maya is three years old. The young nectarine tree is now her tree. We’ve watched it since spring, first the buds and the flowers, then the tiny green fruit and now…Yesterday we began to pick the small speckled nectarines and eat them. Suspicious at first (a nectarine isn’t a vegetable, is it?) - after a couple of tentative nibbles, Maya was gobbling fruit with the juice running down her chin.

We have other trees in our yard. There is a large maple that shades Maya’s wading pool. Another maple provides a canopy over the swing. We’ve gathered colored leaves from these trees in the fall, taped pieces of paper on the trunks and made rubbings of bark with our crayons. But it is the nectarine tree with her gift of sweet fruit that has completed the bond between child and tree, awakening the awareness that the earth is alive with abundance and treasure.



Rachel Carson, in her book ‘Edge of the Sea’ writes “Only as a child’s awareness and reverence for the wholeness of life are developed can his humanity to his own kind reach it’s full development.”

We can encourage our children’s relationship with trees and the natural world around them while at the same time renewing our own awareness of its blessings.
Spend time looking up to watch the patterns of light shimmering and shifting between the leaves. Put your ear against the tree and listen, smell the leaves, feel the bark against your cheek.
Pick a favorite tree and begin a tree diary. Take photographs, draw pictures, trace leaves, make leaf and bark rubbings throughout the year, observing your tree friend change with the seasons.

For lots of ideas on ways to share your love of nature (and trees!) with your children visit the Yahoo Environment and Nature Education Directory