How Can Snow Be An Insulator?

 

Wow.  We had such an amazing day today. It was beautiful springlike weather, which didn’t lend well to our theme – “Under the Snow” – but it did make for a gorgeous day of playing the forest and learning!

We joined the older homeschool group for a game of lizard tails to start off the day. Then we came inside and began morning circle with “snowball” greeting, where kids picked names from a basket and greeted the person they picked.

Kids had great home projects to share – photos and stories of animal tracks and sign in the snow and grass.

We discussed our theme, and the fact that since we didn’t have any snow to explore, we’d have to get creative. We talked about how the snow can be like a blanket, even though it’s cold, and how it can also protect animals from their predators. 

 

 

Our morning activity was making Borax crystals – an idea from Carole, Connor and Owen. To make them, we made shapes out of pipe cleaners and then dipped them into a jar that had a solution of Borax and water. We should have crystals in two days!

 

We ate snack and then we were off. We ran, not walked, to the frog pond to look for frogs and climb trees. What a great “playground” that is! We did spot a frog – can you believe it?

 Then we ran, not walked, through the forest, eventually arriving at the farm. We looked for snakes, gathered cattails and admired the view. We counted seven praying mantis egg cases today and saw other cool stuff – like a small animal’s guts and two red-tailed hawks! 

 

We think we found some signs of a yellow-bellied sapsucker – they have very distinct pecking patterns on dead trees.

 

We ate lunch and recapped our passwords this session – conifer, metamorphosis, hexagon, scat, and ... today’s password was a mystery we hadn’t solved yet. Then I read a book Penelope had written about some snowy owl friends. It was awesome!

Kids finished their journals today – we had a secret code to break to find out our password and what it meant. Our password for the day was subnivean and it means “under the snow”. We bound our journals – they came out beautifully.

 

Then I put on a play called “Snug in the Snow” about two mice under the snow. A weasel almost came to eat them but they were safe... for now. We learned that animals under the snow have all they need: food, warmth and shelter. Plus miles of tunnels to run through!

We finished the day with a science experiment. We used toothpicks and water to “magically” form a five-pointed star. Amazing! (It’s not magic, but how did it happen?) 

 Our Borax crystals should be ready to pick up in two days, so feel free to stop by and pick yours up. Also, now is the time to sign up for spring homeschool so please call and register! See you in March!