Learning To Grow!

Playing in the dirt is a fun for a child of any age and at The Nature of Things we like going home with a little dirt under our fingernails.  Gardening with children offers many benefits besides tasty food and beautiful flowers.  It teaches patience, responsibility, and accountability.  Growing schoolyard gardens also instills a sense of pride and accomplishment.  Through gardening, children also learn the importance of taking care of living things and begin to appreciate the value of the physical work that goes into such tasks.  Moreover, they realize what fresh picked vegetables look like before they are cleaned, waxed, packaged, shipped, and displayed in a grocery store.  Children also learn valuable lessons such as eating healthy, respecting their environment, working cooperatively with others to help their garden grow, hands-on exploration, the wonders of science, and a plant’s life cycle.

First Roll-A-Thon

On June 1^st and 2^nd, 80 children from the preschool, pre-kindergarten, interim-kindergarten, kindergarten, and elementary classes rode for a cause at our first annual roll-a-thon!  The children raised over $2000 in pledges to help local child cancer patients from the Norris Cotton Cancer Center in Lebanon, NH.  A raffle, bake sale, and lemonade stand also raised funds for this amazing cause.  The kids had a blast riding around our own circle and were so proud of the number of laps they did!  Almost all of the children rode over a half mile (7.14 laps) with most riding between a mile (14.27 laps) to almost four miles!  Their smiles and laughter were a testament to a successful couple of days and the knowledge that they were riding “to help sick kids get better.”

Annual Sheep and Alpaca Shearing

 The students of Nature’s Pathways and 2^nd Nature Academy recently observed the annual sheep and alpaca shearing.  The animals grow warm waterproof coats to insulate them from the elements in the winter.  Each spring Malcolm Cooper visits the school and shaves the animals with electric shears.   Malcolm explained to the children that shearing alpaca and sheep is similar to giving boys a “buzz haircut” and that it doesn’t hurt them at all.  The fiber is then washed, dried, and used for various crafts both at school and at summer camp.

 

Painted Lady Butterflies

On Friday May 6, 2010, the kindergarten classes released their Painted Lady Butterflies.  Over the past three and a half weeks, the students watched the larvae grow into large furry caterpillars and then transform into chrysalises.  After spring break, the students were excited to find Painted Ladies emerging from their chrysalises.  They were pleased to release the butterflies in a field of blooming wildflowers, where they will feed and lay their eggs and continue the Painted Lady life cycle.

 

Earth Day

On Friday, April 22, The Nature of Things joined forces and pitched in to help get our Earth clean in celebration of Earth Day.  Preschool through Elementary school children scoured the campus, as well as the Dunstable Rural Land Trust woods, to pick up trash.  The kids had a great time and enjoyed cleaning up their "outdoor classroom".  Their efforts are to be commended!

Spring is in the Air, and in the Pond…

For many, the sound of peepers is a true indicator of spring.  The recent arrival of warm weather has brought with it a chorus of peepers, wood frogs, and tree frogs echoing each evening from our pond out back.  This amphibian melody prompted us to venture out to the pond with boots on feet and nets in hand.  Although it was a bit early in the season to actually find any frog eggs, we did discover a plethora of early stages of life.  After viewing many samples of pond water, the entomologists in training excitedly observed midge larvae, backswimmer nymphs, giant water bug nymphs, and various other insect species.  In addition, the children noticed a northern water snake sunning itself on a fallen branch before it quickly slithered away beneath the water.  Wild creatures were not the only animals the children observed.  Our Indian Runner ducks paddled ashore looking for some tasty morsels. 

Pennies for Peace

The elementary students at 2^nd Nature Academy recently learned the value of a penny.  They discovered that in remote areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan many children, especially girls, never get the opportunity to attend school.  Through Pennies for Peace, children all over the globe help promote peace through education by collecting pennies.  One hundred percent of the money collected goes directly to building schools in rural areas, stocking them with supplies such as pencils, erasers, paper, and books, and paying teachers’ salaries.  

The Nature of Things children and their families collected over $156 in pennies and other coins for Pennies for Peace through the school’s February service-learning project.  The 1^st through 3^rd grade children then spent the morning at People’s United Bank in Merrimack counting the coins with the assistance of the wonderful bank staff.  The picture below shows several of the students receiving a cashiers check from the staff at Peoples United Bank.  The check was mailed into Pennies for Peace.  While at the bank, the children also learned about the field of banking and even got to assist customers at the drive through window.

To learn more about this charity, read Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson or visit penniesforpeace.org.

TNOT Parent Advisory Committee (PAC) Pancake Breakfast

TNOT PAC organized a successful pancake breakfast get-together for TNOT families and friends.  Approximately 200 guests were served breakfast in our new post and beam multi-purpose room.   Our new healthy and environmentally friendly school building was toured by many extended family members.  All proceeds from the event were dedicated our school garden project.  Each year the school children tend to organic gardens at the school and the harvest produce is served to the children.

A 30' by 36' green house was recently constructed on the school campus and will soon be home to a large variety of organic garden plants started by seed by the elementary school children.  Organic garden seedlings are currently lining the windowsills of the classrooms awaiting the completion of the greenhouse tables and raised beds.  In addition, raised beds will be constructed outside each classroom for the children to tend throughout the season.  Plants that have already germinated include several varieties of tomatoes, peppers, cabbage, broccoli, and kale. Squashes, pumpkins, beets, carrots, cucumbers, lettuces, corn, onions, potatoes, herbs, and flowers will be planted in the gardens when the danger of frost passes.

 

New Kids on the Block

On February 3, 2011 Fiona gave birth to four kids, two girls (Sydney and Annie) and two boys (Seamus and Finnegan).  Sadly, Finny only lived two days as he was the tiniest of the litter.  Sydney, Annie, and Seamus are all healthy and happy kids who love attention and are very playful.  Sydney is mostly black with some patches of brown, Annie is mostly brown with one patch of white, and Seamus is brown and white like his mom.