Posts Tagged ‘Nature School’
Nature School – Cerro Cabrillo
September 15th, 2011 Posted by momitomi in Kids | 861 Comments »Today for Nature School we met out in between Los Osos and Morro Bay at Cerro Cabrillo. It is one of the Nine Sisters of San Luis Obispo County which is an extinct volcano chain. It was a really great place to see animal tracks because the ground was very dusty and it was holding prints really nicely. We saw lots of raccoon and rabbit tracks. Because of how dusty it was, the kids all ended up covered in dirt, but they had a lot of fun.
One of the first things we came across once we started our hike was a lot of scat from many different species of animals. I didn’t take any pictures of that, but I did take a picture of this really nice raccoon print.
The kids all together learning about their surroundings.
One of Dylans and it seems like most all of the kids favorite things to do while at nature school is to play a game. In this game some of the kids were prey and some were the predators. If the prey can hold still in the bushes then the predator can’t sense them there and will move on. Today Dylan was supposed to be a young predator who was being taught how to hunt by the older more experienced hunter.
After the game the little girls continued on being predators. I think at this time they were tigers heading up the mountain.
My little predator looking for something to eat.
At the end of class the kids convinced Evan to play another game. I think they like this one the best. They all get to be a predator and Evan is the prey. The kids crawl behind the prey and they are supposed to be silent. When the prey animal turns around to look to see if anyone is following the predator has to stop or it will be seen by the prey and the prey will run off. I think they really just enjoy making a big dog pile on top of Evan when the game is finally over.
To see more pictures from this excursion, please click here.
Nature School – Cuesta Park
September 6th, 2011 Posted by momitomi in Kids | 1,188 Comments »Today for Nature School we ventured out to Cuesta Park to have some playing in the creek. We brought our nets just in case we found some little fish or frogs to try to capture. I think the little girls had more fun trying to capture each other however.
We stopped for a while to check out a tree where a woodpecker has been hiding his acorn stash.
And we even came across a couple of “wild chickens” that turned out to be not so wild after all. All the kids enjoyed feeding them a little bit of bread and they would come and take it right out of our hands. They followed us for quite a while down the creek and were very entertaining to watch. Aubri especially liked to feed them.
We then continued on our journey and found a perfect spot for a little creek play. The kids were trying to build up a dam and they were pretty successful at getting the water to slow down quite a bit.
After nature school the kids and I hung out at the creek for a while and Dylan and Aubri had a good time building a “castle”. I am not sure there are many things that they find more fun than playing out in the water on a warm day.
To see a few more photos from our day. Please click here.
Nature School – Fiscalini Ranch
September 1st, 2011 Posted by momitomi in Kids | 1,665 Comments »Today for Nature School we headed out to Cambria to the Fiscalini Ranch.
We started with a hike to check out the surroundings and came across this old housing structure.
Then we hiked down to a little creek where the kids had a great time catching frogs. Evan had a guide book so the kids were able to identify their catches and we found several different types of frogs of all colors.
Here is Aubri with one of her catches. She really enjoyed catching them and holding them. It was very hard to get her to let them go when it was time.
Dylan and his friends spent quite some time and built this little home for the frogs. They felt like they needed a little pond to swim in. 
After all the excitement at the stream, we continued on and came across this beautiful feather. It is from a red-shafted flicker.
At the end of the day we took a little hike up a hill and got to see some beautiful wildflowers.
To see more pictures from our day, please click here.
Nature School – Salinas River Atascadero
August 23rd, 2011 Posted by momitomi in Kids | 4,891 Comments »Today at Nature School we went to a part of the Salinas River in Atascadero. Evan wanted to show the kids a beaver dam and also brought along nets so the kids could catch fish, toads and crawdads. Dylan wasn’t so sure he wanted to be in the water at first. The deepest part only came up to his thighs, but he still felt uncomfortable right at first. Evan gave him a ride over to see the beaver dam until he became a little more comfortable.
Aubri wasn’t sure at first either, but she got used to the idea much faster. Especially with a little help from Maurica.
Leo proved himself the best with the net and he was able to catch several little fish and several toads.
Dylan eventually found out that being in the water was pretty fun and he did his best to try to snag some fish and toads.
Aubri and Ruthie had fun playing in the water and catching pebbles and stones in their nets.
When the boys were done looking at the toads in their nets, they gave the little girls a chance to hold the toads for a few minutes before they let them swim off to freedom.
Evan caught a pretty good size crawdad.
The kids enjoyed looking at it, but were a little concerned when he let it go that it might come pinch their toes. I had to assure Dylan and Aubri that crawdad really prefer to eat fish and stuff and not little girl and boy toes. We had a really fun day out enjoying the sunshine and water.
Please click here to see more photos from today.
- The gang checking out insects in the water.
Nature School at Los Osos Oak Preserve
March 22nd, 2011 Posted by momitomi in Kids | 3,104 Comments »Today for nature school we went back to the Los Osos Oaks Preserve. It had been raining for a few days so Evan thought it would be good to stick a little closer to the coast to avoid so much mud. The kid don’t mind spending the day hiking around in the mud, but cleaning their shoes and clothes after is not all that much fun. Anyways, it was a really beautiful day out. You could really tell that spring has come and although their wasn’t too many flowers in bloom yet, everything was so green and it felt like we were in a lush forest. The kids got to eat their share of miners lettuce and they all really enjoyed getting their hands dirty so they could wash them again and again with the Ceanothus. The kids did get to start learning how to use a field guide to identify one of the few flowers we did find. Dylan now has a new book on his wish list that he wants to get so we can have it when we are out hiking. Aubri is becoming more brave and she is wanting to climb higher and higher in the trees. Her friend Ruthie is a great climber and I think it has inspired her to want to climb higher. If you would like to see more photos from today, please click here. If you want to see more information about Dylan and Aubri’s nature school, please click here.
The kids listening to Evan
Aubri happy in a tree
Dylan munching on some Miners lettuce
The little girls being "coyotes" looking for a "fawn".
Nature School at Prefumo Canyon
March 10th, 2011 Posted by momitomi in Kids | 886 Comments »This week for nature school we went to Prefumo Canyon in San Luis Obispo. According to Evan (the awesome leader of the class), this is one of the best places in San Luis Obispo to see wildflowers. This week we went to see if there were any early bloomers out there. There weren’t a lot of flowers bloomed out right now but everything is really green and it was gorgeous couple of days out there. Dylan is really loving nature school right now. He is learning a lot about plants and how to recognize them and what their uses are. He can now tell you and identify which plant to use if you get into some poison oak and which plant will take away the sting of the stinging nettle. He can identify a few edible plants such as miners lettuce and chickweed, and he is learning more every time. I can hardly keep up with all he is learning and I am always having to ask him questions afterwards because he remembers it all. He really seems to just love it so much that he absorbs all of the information and retains it. I guess this is why I feel that this is the best form of “schooling”. The kids also got to play one of their favorite games while we were out there. They become the predators and Evan becomes the prey. He moves in front of them and when he turns to look they have to freeze like an animal would if it was stalking its prey. They absolutely love to play this game and in the end it always erupts into laughter as they all tackle their prey. To see more pictures from these outings, please click here.
California Poppy
The predators after their prey
Aubri picking buttercups
Washing his hands using Ceanothus
Looking at the plants