Ms. Pat's Nature Club

Ms. Pat's Nature Club is a blog for anyone who is a nature nut and loves nature, no matter what age you are. I hope you will let me know what you think and give me feedback. I love to hear from my friends!



"Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better."
-Albert Einstein

"Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you."
-Frank Lloyd Wright


"Treat the earth well. It was not given to you by your parents, It was loaned to you by your children"

-Native American proverb


"Teaching children about the natural world should be treated as one of the most important events in their lives."

-Thomas Berry, Dream of the Earth


"If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, the excitement and mystery of the world we live in."
-Rachel Carson, A Sense of Wonder

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Nature Nuts






We had our very first session of Nature Nuts on Friday. We walked around the school to see what different trees were there. We each picked a tree to be our own "special" tree to watch for the next month. We measured the distance around their trunks and felt their bark. When we came inside, I read "Are Trees Alive?" by Debbie S. Miller and we looked at the little pine cones and bits of bark that we found on the ground. Everyone had a good time and is excited for our next Nature Nuts class on April 8. I am really, really hoping that by this time next month, the trees, the ground and the air will be very different (warmer and no snow!!).

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Nature Nuts

Nature Nuts will start this Friday with posts following in a day or two. This class is an extra at PCLC. There will be four classes on Fridays and we will begin learning about trees tomorrow!

Critter Watch

Two days ago (before the latest snow storm) I saw two sandhill cranes flying over and clacking excitedly. I hope they are doing all right with the snow on the ground. I also hope the great blue heron that I saw fly across the road today is finding enough open water and food. I feel bad for the summer animals when they arrive and it's still winter here.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Nature Club- March 1,2,3




This week's Nature Club was the sequel to looking at sea creatures last week. We got to see a video of a coral reef and how those creatures really looked underwater. We saw nurse sharks, a seahorse, an octopus, reef squid, a sea snake, two kinds of eels (spotted and green morays), sponges,sea turtles,sting rays and spotted eagle rays. We saw many kinds of interesting and pretty fish. In the background always, but probably the most important thing in the video, was the coral reef itself. The coral takes many unusual forms and different colors, but without the reef, none of the other animals would even be there- including us divers!
The kids really liked seeing those things and I think they liked the fact that Ms. Pat went underwater to see them.