Explore Outdoors ~ Snowflake Size

Last week we had a bunch of snow fall from the sky. At first, the flakes were large and fluffy. They looked like downy feathers about as long as my index finger. In the space of a half hour they were replaced by smaller flakes. Over that time, the temperature had fallen from near 30 degrees F to about 24 degrees.

If you get snow during these last few weeks of winter, pay attention to the flakes. What do they look like? How big are they? Do they float or are they intent on reaching the ground? And how do they change over the course of a storm?

This year I'm encouraging everyone to spend 1,000 hours outdoors. So on Wednesday I'll be posting ideas for nature breaks, field trips, and outdoor play. The goal: to have fun!

Teachers and homeschoolers who want to use nature breaks as field trips can grab a sketchbook or journal, something to draw and write with, and some watercolors, colored pencils, crayons, or markers. Think cross-curricular: art, language, science, math, engineering, movement, exercise! And come back Friday for some STEM book-talk.

Seeking Signs of Spring

On a Snow-Melting Day: Seeking Signs of Spring 
by Buffy Silverman
32 pages; ages 4-9
Millbrook Press, 2020

themes: changing seasons, spring, nonfiction, STEAM

On a drip-droppy, slip-sloppy, snow-melting day…

Opening this book is like stepping into a seasonal change. It begins with ice-encased twigs and salamanders on snow and ends with muddy splatters and buds growing.

What I like about this book: The language! It’s lyrical and fun to read. Lots of verbs: icicles drip; chickadees sip. I like the photos – they take us winter-bound readers out of our dreary gray day and into the woods where leaves and twigs cover the ground and snow only exists in patches. Where the sky is blue and grass is green beneath the melting snow. You can almost smell the mud!

And there is Back Matter! I am a big fan of back matter. Here, in the last pages, you can read more about the animals mentioned, the physical aspects of snow, mist, drifts, lake thaw… and where the snow goes when it melts. There is a brief glossary and some great titles for kids who want to find more fun books about spring emerging.

One Question for Buffy:

Archimedes: What inspired you to write about emerging spring? 

Buffy: The idea for Snow-Melting Day began as a response to a StoryStorm post in January, 2018 by Heidi Stemple. Heidi encouraged writers to pay attention to what is around them. It must have been a warm winter day for Michigan, because I wrote this sentence in my notebook:
It was a drip droppy
                slip sloppy
                snow melting day

And then I jotted down a few images: Mist rises in the air, boots sink in the slush, puddles grow on the lake, followed by some questions to myself: Is there a story here? Or just a poem? followed by more notes: dog wet from snout to tail (it really must have been a slushy day!) and writing on the snow (dog/deer tracks) turn to slippery sloppery.

Beyond the Books:

Pay attention to how the season is changing around you. Maybe you notice that there are more birds at the feeder, or different birds. Maybe the sky looks different than it did last month. What do you notice?

Take photos over the next six weeks and make a scrapbook showing how spring emerges where you live.

Make a map showing where snow melts first in your neighborhood, and where the first buds show.

Become a citizen scientist. Join Project Budburst to help scientists document when flowers bloom.

Buffy is a member of #STEAMTeam2020. You can find out more about her at her website.
Today we're joining Perfect Picture Book Friday, an event where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copy provided by the publisher.

Explore Outdoors ~ Bark

At this time of the year, most of the trees have shed their leaves. Except for evergreens that are covered in needles, and the papery beech leaves clinging to twigs. So if you want to know about the trees you see, you need to learn about their bark:

• is it smooth?
• is it patchy?
• is it lined vertically?
• is it scaly?

Check out field guides to find out who's who in their bark. Here's one from UNH.

This year I'm encouraging everyone to spend 1,000 hours outdoors. So on Wednesday I'll be posting ideas for nature breaks, field trips, and outdoor play. The goal: to have fun!

Teachers and homeschoolers who want to use nature breaks as field trips can grab a sketchbook or journal, something to draw and write with, and some watercolors, colored pencils, crayons, or markers. Think cross-curricular: art, language, science, math, engineering, movement, exercise! And come back Friday for some STEM book-talk.