Predator/Prey Tag

The 1-2 kids have been learning about energy webs as well as the many food chains that compose them. Plants are our only producers as they can use energy from the sun with soil and water to create their own food. All other creatures are consumers by nature - needing to eat as a source of energy. Some animals (and people) eat only plants. These are called herbivores (or vegetarians/vegans in the case of humans!). Animals that have a primarily meat based diet are carnivores, and those whose diet is comprised of a mix of plant and animal sources are omnivores.

The energy web starts with the sun. Plants use this energy to produce their own food. Herbivores eat plants and are generally prey animals for larger predatory carnivores. But ultimately, even apex predators don't live forever and when they die their bodies are decomposed back into matter that enriches the soil which helps our plants continue the cycle.

In this game, students were given a role as a plant (arms kept at their sides), an herbivore/prey animal (hands on head as antlers like deer/moose have) or a carnivore/predator animal with hands out front to signify claws. The tag game that followed acts out the many links of an energy web - plants who are tagged (eaten) by the herbivores become prey animals in the game, herbivores who are tagged (eaten) by the carnivores become predators themselves and predators who are tagged (decomposed/consumed) by the plants are transformed into plants.

The kids had a lot of fun with this tag game as it required everyone to be both "it" while also needing to keep looking over their shoulder lest they should be tagged by another. It was quite the feeding frenzy on Sargent Field! We played several rounds and all kids had an opportunity to try all roles (sometimes the tags happened so fast, you weren't quite sure what your new role was at the end of it!). 

Near the end of our game we noticed that an interested viewer had come to observe - a coyote who seemed very curious about our game sat down and watched us (from a distance and behind a fence and just before we went inside). We thought maybe he was thinking that coyotes should have been our game's predator animal (we were using mountain lions). But all the kids were excited at this rare sighting. 

Enjoy the pictures below of kids playing the game and of our special guest!

The Art of Folding Paper

This week, we had a special visit from School Committee member, and friend to the 1-2s, Cathi Collins! One of her special talents (outside the committee room) is ORIGAMI. We were delighted to have her show us how to craft a beautiful flower and a cute puppy all from a few pieces of colorful paper and just in time to give as handmade Valentines to our loved ones at home! 

This special craft be equal parts fun and frustration which offers LOTS of learning experiences for our students including - take your time, watch the demonstration carefully, ask for help, help someone at your table if you finish the step ahead of them, try MANY times and to stop and take a deep breath when you are feeling overwhelmed. The prize for applying these skills were a pair of lovely folded paper creations that we made with our own hands! 

The kids were so excited to spend the morning with Cathi that we will be having her back in the spring to do a special origami session on boats that we will then float and race in the streams behind the Outdoor Classroom. The 1-2s can't wait for her next visit!

Happy Valentine's Day! Enjoy the pictures below.

MWRA Poster Contest

This year marks 40 years of the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA). It was established in 1985 to provide wholesale water and sewer services to 3.1 million people and more than 5,000 large industrial users in 61 Metropolitan Boston communities. While Natick has its own water resource, the town's sewage is handled by MWRA.

The theme of this year's poster contest asked kids to use their creative skills to make a poster highlighting one or more of the projects that MWRA has been involved in since its creation. Over the past 40 years, the MWRA has been involved in many groundbreaking projects, including the clean-up of Boston Harbor, taking sludge and turning it into fertilizer, and the removal of a dam.  It has also stewarded some of the nation's cleanest and best tasting drinking water, so we had plenty of inspiration to draw from.

Many kids focused on the clean water endeavors for people and wildlife with slogans like, "No poop in my soup" and "No pee in my sea" with illustrations to match. Other kids featured the importance of flowing water in nature and wrote messages to encourage people to leave the dam building to the beavers. 

We will be submitting these posters to the contest to be judged and are hopeful that we may have a winner or an honorable mention among these great entries (we have had one or two winners in the past). A contest like this is a good opportunity to have kids learn how to handle both joy and disappointment with grace. Congratulating someone else for winning an award is the best way to combat your own disappointed feelings. 

Enjoy the posters below!