Nature Walk

Faye Stoner has become a treasured part of the Summers-Knoll Curriculum. Three times a year, she takes us out in County Fair Park and exposes us to the wide variety of plants and animals right outside our door. I have yet to take a trip with Faye in which I have not learned something new.

Friday's trip centered around finding signs of autumn. She started by showing us a woolly bear caterpillar, which will turn into an Isabella tiger moth in the spring. As we walked down the paths we found milkweed plants with pods bursting with seed and milkweed bugs eating the leaves. We found nice red berries that shouldn't be eaten by people and tasted the tart berries of the sumac bushes.

Faye had us listen for crickets and grasshoppers. We could only hear the males because they are the only ones that chirp. Then we played a game in which we made a ball

jump like a

grasshopper.

At the very end of the walk we found a cozy spot amongst the trees to listen and watch nature in silence. Faye told us when we are quiet, animals will often come very close to us and we can learn about their habits. Although no birds or other animals came near this time, the children were so quiet we could see, feel, and hear the wind moving around us and the trees.