Enjoy the spirit of the season and take home the fragrance of the forest. We will read [amazon:978-0060281892:inline] by Margaret Wise Brown. Then we will visit the forest to identify a variety of evergreens by their shape, needles, cones, and fragrance.
Bring your young naturalist to the Ravenswood Park in Gloucester and learn all about bugs! Bugs, bugs, everywhere there are bugs! We'll investigate some and venture outdoors on a bug-bingo hunt!
Bring your young naturalist to the Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary to enjoy an afternoon on the Ipswich River! As the summer starts to heat up, cool down with us on a leisurely canoe paddle to Perkins Island. We'll look for sunbathing turtles and other river creatures on the banks and in the backwaters of the beautiful Ipswich River. Once we get to the island, we'll stretch our legs and enjoy some popsicles.
The red fox is a clever and attractive mammal that is active during winter, stalking rabbits, mice, meadow voles, and birds. We will read [amazon 0399214550 inline] by Keizabur Tejima. Then we will wander along the trails to look for tracks or signs left by foxes and other mammals. Perhaps we will be lucky enough to track the red fox back to its den.
In every kind of weather, we love to head outdoors to our spectacular local habitats, so join us for one, two, or more of these nature explorations! Each one will focus on the importance of a sense of place as we explore the ecology, sights, and sounds of our natural landscape. Wildlife, local and migrating birds, collecting techniques, and environmental awareness will be presented in a fun, energetic format that adults and children alike will enjoy.
Community Giving Tree is proud to announce the Twice Loved Toy Sale at Topsfield Fairgrounds! Calling all parents, grandparents, early childhood educators, and day care providers! Don't miss out on this wonderful opportunity to buy fabulous gently used toys at the Topsfield Fairgrounds! Get amazing deals on bikes and ride on toys, Legos, children's books, preschool toys, doll houses, and more! Early evening shopping hours available on Friday, November 1, 5-8pm: Admission donation is $15 or a pack of diapers! All proceeds support Community Giving Tree's mission to help local children.
Can you imagine eating the home that you grew up in? Some insects lay eggs inside plants and cause strange-looking growths called galls. The walls of these miniature "bug castles" give the developing insect larvae food and shelter. This is evidence of another fascinating relationship between insects and plants. We will examine a variety of galls and learn about the lives of their inhabitants. On our walk, we'll hunt for as many kinds of galls as we can find.
Ipswich River's weekly homeschool classes promote an active engagement with nature through inquiry-based, hands-on environmental education. Join us as we explore the many different habitats provided by our nearly 2,000-acre sanctuary, and lay the foundation for a lifelong connection with nature. This season, we will focus on the survival skills that all animals (including humans) need to survive the harsh New England winter.
Preschoolers and young kids will explore the wonders of winter in the "enchanted woods" of Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary in this four-session series. We'll begin in the Nature Center with story, poetry, and imagination. Next, we'll bundle up for a winter walk to awaken our sense of wonder to the silence, scents, and scenery of the sleeping winter woods. Along the way, discover how the trees, plants, birds, beavers, squirrels, chipmunks, and other wildlife spend the winter. We'll look for animal stories in the snow (tracking) and much more. After our walks, we'll create artwork that reflects the wonders of winter that we discovered, while listening to winter nature songs. These keepsakes will bring home winter's secrets and beauty as we await the signs of spring.
Everybody loves Fireflies! Mass Audubon has been coordinating the Firefly Watch community science project since taking over from the Museum of Science in 2018. Counting firefly flashes is fun, but we are ready to think bigger. Firefly Watch Pro, the next step to our existing project, asks you to get you up close to the fireflies, photograph them to identify specific genera, and provide flash pattern data that might help us identify the species in your habitat. This additional data will help us learn what fireflies live where, and over time will give us a sense of population change for specific species and genera.
