St James Field Trip - Wesselman Woods & Howell Wetlands

Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd graders listening to the naturalist at Wesselman Wood's.  We quickly broke into 4 groups and hiked along their trails to visit 4 different stations.  At each station a naturalist/volunteer spoke to the groups about different animal groups and their habitats. 

 

This was our first station.  The Reptile station.  We learned all about reptiles.  They are cold blooded animals meaning their body temperature changes with the outside temperature, they lay eggs, and they are covered with scales.  The kindergarten class was able to feel a snake skin, see a turtle shell and see some preserved lizards.  At the end, they even got to meet a real turtle named "Mickey" after Michelangelo from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Our next station was all about amphibians.  They learned about the life cycle of a frog.  They then discussed the habitat and traits of amphibians.  We learned that amphibians can breathe thru their skin and prefer to be in wetter habitats. 

We then got to meet "Tony" the Tiger Salamander.  He was a pretty big hit with all of the kids.

 

 Our next station was about mammals.  What makes mammals different from other types of animals?  Well we learned all about it.  Mammals have fur, birth live babies, feed their babies milk, and are warm blooded.  The class had the opportunity to feel different types of animal furs that are local to our area.  They had a red fox, coyote, deer, and rabbit. 

They also learned about the bat. 

 

The last station was all about birds.  This is a bird skull.  They used it to discuss features that make birds, well birds.  They of course are covered with feathers, they lay eggs, have beaks, and might fly.  The naturalist explained that different birds have different beaks depending on what they eat.  This bird would have eaten "meat" due to the sharp curved beak.

Looks like Devin was really paying attention...

At the bird station, we had the opportunity to meet Rae.  She is a blind owl.  She was born this way.  This owl was very small, standing on the naturalist finger.  She told us that Rae weighed less than a can of pop.

The kindergartner's where asked to draw a picture of Rae before leaving the station.

A quick picture of the kindergarten class before leaving Wesselman Woods for the shelter house.  Up next, lunch, and the kids couldn't wait.  They were all starting to get hungry!  After lunch they had a few minutes to play on the playground before heading across town to Howell Wetlands.

Listening to the naturalist at Howell Wetlands.  We divided into 2 groups.  The first group toured the Wetlands looking for wildlife, while the second group made a bird feeder.

The Kindergarten class out on the trail.  Here they were pointing out some caterpillars in their web. 

Looking over the Ox Bow Lake.  We spotted all kinds of wildlife: fish, turtles, ducks, geese, dragonflies and more.

Taking a quick break to listen and learn about the habitats surrounding us before heading back.

 

The kids had a perfect day for their field trip!  I was so happy to be able to tag along and help out Devin's class.  He had been looking forward to this day for weeks.