Rookie Rangers in Reading (Grades K-5)
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This program with Mass Audobon will build on children's curiosity about the world by using hands-on, nature-based activities and is two hours long each week.
Week 1: Winter Tracking
Learn how body, shape, leg length, and foot type determine an animal's track pattern. Make connections to unseen animals by learning and following tracks, looking for other evidence of activity, and practicing your silent stalking.
Week 2: Trees
Through role-play, children come to understand how a tree functions and changes with the seasons. Learn about conifers and broad-leaved trees and identify some trees by leaf shape. Observe the life cycle of trees from maturity to decay while we discover which animals rely on trees for their lives. Older students will learn how to use a dichotomous key for identification.
Week 3: Awesome Owls
Have you ever walked through the woods looking for owls during the day? Owls are most active at night, of course, but if you know what to look for you can find their daytime roosts. Together we will discover what our local owls look like, what they eat, and what they sound like. As a special activity, everyone will help dissect some owl pellets.
Week 4: Nature and Art
Wake up the artist in you. Participants will take a short hike to collect natural materials for sketching and observation. Become artists in your very own studio, as you visit four nature art centers using paint, pastel, and colored pencils.
Week 5: Winter Weeds
Their presence beautifies our winter landscape and provides seed for birds, homes for wintering insects, and food and building materials for small animals. Participate in a weed hunt and discover the many varieties. Using winter weeds and clay, we will make our own snow bouquets.
A Message from Mass Audobon at the Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary:
Over the years, the Mass Audobon staff has provided thousands of environmental education programs for Pre-K, elementary, middle, and high school students on the North Shore of Massachusetts. Under the guidance of their education staff and field teachers, children investigate, explore and marvel at the wonders of the natural world, while gaining valuable knowledge in the life and earth sciences. They offer programming at the sanctuary and now through Reading Recreation. They also offer a Naturalist in Residency program and teacher workshops. Their programs cultivate an appreciation for and an understanding of the environment and their interrelationships with the natural world. It is also their goal to develop thoughtful, conservation-minded citizens for the future.
Location:
The Mattera Cabin is located at 1481 Main Street, Reading.