My Little Butterfly

About a month ago, I asked my daughter what she wanted to be for Halloween.  I made a few suggestions starting with popular princesses, a few traditional Halloween costumes for little ones, and then I mentioned a few animals.  My little nature lover’s eyes lit up when I suggested a butterfly.  That’s what she wanted to be; and before I even started looking at costumes, my daughter began telling everyone what she was going to be for Halloween.  There was no changing her mind.  So I had to immediately set out in search of the perfect butterfly costume.  There were a lot to choose from, but I found a beautiful monarch butterfly costume.  We’ve worn it a few times already to various Halloween events, and she loves it!  The funny thing about the costume is that she can’t wear the wings in the car or in large crowds; so when we take off the wings, she happily says she’s a caterpillar.  I also found a toy replica of the life cycle of the monarch for her.  Now she reenacts The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle using her new toys.  I’m so proud of my little butterfly.

There are many animals that have strange life cycles, where the animal hatches out of an egg looking one way and then metamorphoses into a completely different looking animal as an adult, most notably frogs and butterflies.  But the monarch’s life cycle is unique among animals that go through metamorphosis in that it migrates long distances.  The unusual part of this migration is that butterflies don’t have long life spans.  Therefore, to complete the monarch’s migration, it takes about four generations of butterflies, with the fourth generation doing most of the traveling.   So there is more to the monarch butterfly, the king of butterflies, than just a single life cycle.

Generally, monarchs mate and lay eggs on milkweed in March and April somewhere in the US and Canada.  It takes a few days for the caterpillars to hatch from their eggs.  Then, their priority is to eat the milkweed plant and grow bigger for about two weeks.  Next they build their chrysalis around their bodies and metamorphose into butterflies in about ten days.  When their pupa stage inside the chrysalis is over, they emerge as adult butterflies.  They live for two to six more weeks drinking nectar, mating, and laying eggs.  The cycle starts all over again in May and June, July and August, and again in September and October.  But the final life cycle of the year is different.  When they emerge from their chrysalis as adult butterflies, they are not able to mate and the cooler weather acts as a signal, telling them it’s time to migrate to a warmer climate.  They do not survive in cold weather.  During the month of October, monarchs all over the US and Canada start their migration south to Mexico and Southern California.  They hibernate on the same trees every year in large numbers.  Milkweed does not grow where the monarchs hibernate; so when the weather warms up, they again head north.  Once they arrive where there is milkweed, they are able to mate again and lay eggs in March and April to start the cycle again.

My little monarch butterfly might not understand the generations of life cycles and the monarch’s amazing migration just yet.  But she does understand a single life cycle and is already an advocate for these amazing creatures.  I just love my daughter’s enthusiasm and adoration for nature!  Did your child/children dress in a costume inspired by nature for Halloween?  I would love to see them.  Feel free to share your pictures or stories by posting them to this article.

Halloween Nature Scavenger Hunt

 

I love celebrating Halloween!  But as a mother of a 2 ½ year old, I have to be careful how I celebrate and how much exposure to spooky costumes and decorations my child can endure.  Otherwise, I’ll be in for some long nights well after Halloween.  Therefore, around my house, I have decorations and books of ghosts, pumpkins, and bats that are all very cute to help ease her into Halloween.  However, I can’t control what my child might find in the neighborhood where we will be trick or treating.  So I decided to take my daughter on a Halloween nature scavenger hunt in my neighborhood before the big day to get her a little prepared for some of the more scary looking decorations she might encounter.  You can too!

The idea is to teach our children about the real things found in nature that are used in spooky decorations so our children are not as afraid of them.  For the scavenger hunt, you’ll need to design an activity sheet with pictures of things found in nature that are often depicted in Halloween decorations (examples may include owls, bugs, snakes, lizards, toads, snails, slugs, spider webs, bats, black birds, black cats, pumpkins, dormant trees, the moon, dead leaves, etc.).  Think about the area where you live and what kinds of things you may find in nature at this time of year and collect pictures of those items onto a sheet or two of paper.  Then go on a walk around the neighborhood to find them. 

Let your child know that he or she may not find all of the items pictured on the scavenger hunt activity sheet, but that they are all things that can naturally be found around the neighborhood.  You may want to bring a walking stick or just a strong stick with you that you can use as a pointer, but let your child know it is only to be used for pointing and not for touching animals.  The stick is also for the parent to use to gently move plants, logs, or rocks to assist you in looking for animals.  Just make sure that anything moved during your walk is gently placed back where you found it.  And please follow instructions from my October 5, 2014 post, “Rules of the Nature Trail” concerning the touching of animals.

Your child will probably notice many of the Halloween decorations in your neighbors’ yards while on your walk.  Remind your child that decorations are for pretend and for fun (it’s also good to see the scary decorations during the daytime) and feel free to focus on decorations that are like the real things you are searching for during your scavenger hunt.  Once you start finding items, observe them and talk a little about each one.  For example, look at a tree with no leaves.  It looks spooky because it doesn’t look alive with color, but it is alive (it’s just “resting” at this time of year) and will grow many new leaves in the spring.  Under the same tree, you’ll probably find a lot of brown, dried leaves that fell off of the tree.  They seem spooky because again they are not alive with color, and they make a crunching sound when you step on them.  Allow your child to walk around in the leaves to hear the crunching sound.  That sound can also be scary because it may mean that something is walking around near you.  At night, you might not be able to see what that something is; but most likely, it’s just a woodland animal or even a pet dog or cat in the neighborhood.

Most of the animals featured in Halloween decorations are used because they are not much like us, automatically making them creepy and less endearing to children.  This includes many scaly reptiles, warty toads, and creepy crawly bugs.  Children can be taught, however, that just because they aren’t like us, that shouldn’t automatically make them scary.  Differences are good!  For example, a snake’s scales help it move since it doesn’t have legs, and they are protection from sharp sticks and rocks on the ground where it moves.  Likewise, a toad’s warty skin gives it protection from the harsh sun and from predators.  They do not give people warts!  As for bugs, most of them get a bad reputation because of a small number of bugs that bite or sting, have venom, or can even spread diseases.  But there are many more beneficial and harmless bugs that need our support such as the dragonfly, butterfly, European honey bee, praying mantis, ladybug, and millipede, just to name a few.  Other creepy crawlies include slugs, snails, and worms, which are completely harmless unless they are eating away your garden.  But in small numbers, they actually aid in natural decomposition and seed germination, which can be good for your garden.  These creepy crawlies are also slimy, and therefore considered icky by many people.  But that slime is important to protect their bodies and keep them moist.  Then there is the most common creepy crawly Halloween decoration of them all, the spider.  Yes, all spiders have venom, making them seem very scary.  However, very few have venom strong enough to harm humans.  A spider’s venom is primarily used to help it digest food.  And if you don’t like creepy crawly bugs, spiders along with many other animals featured in Halloween decorations do a good job of controlling bug populations.

Other animals found as Halloween decorations include about anything with black fur, feathers, or scales.  But black coloration in animals is an adaptation that allows them to better hide, or at least not be seen easily at night.  Otherwise, they are not really different from their more colorful cousins.  A black cat is not any more dangerous than a brown tabby.  In fact, in the US, black snakes are all non venomous, making them less dangerous than some of the more colorful snakes.  It is true that big black birds such as crows, ravens, and vultures seem to be attracted to dead animals, but they are scavengers.  That’s what they eat.  They are part of nature’s cleanup crew.

You don’t need to discuss each item you find along your walk in depth.  Pay attention to your child.  He or she will let you know what is scary to them.  Help your child see the importance in what he or she thinks is scary.  Children don’t have to like everything in nature; they just need to understand it a little better.  Hopefully this Halloween nature scavenger hunt will provide your child with the knowledge needed to make Halloween a little less scary and a lot more fun!

Story Time - Tap the Magic Tree

“Story Time” will be a recurring feature on Mommy Nature, introducing children’s books with a nature theme.  Watch for them to help expand your child’s library.

Story Time – Tap the Magic Tree, written by Christie Matheson

If your child is like mine, he or she is noticing leaves dropping from the trees.  Even though it is a little early here in Florida for most trees to drop their leaves, we are seeing some lose their leaves due to the beginning of dry season.  My daughter currently thinks fallen leaves are fun, since they go “crunch” when she jumps in them.  But in a couple of months, she’ll start to see barren trees with no leaves.  This might be upsetting for my little tree hugger, if she didn’t know what was happening.  Luckily, we added Tap the Magic Tree to her bookshelf a few months ago, so she knows all about the seasonal changes of deciduous trees. 

This book says it is for ages 4 to 8; however, my 2 ½ year old daughter loves it!  It’s a wonderfully simple and interactive book about the changes deciduous trees go through during each season.  It’s not very wordy, and each page has the child participate with tapping, clapping, rubbing, counting, etc., to help the tree through its changes.  The tasks are easy enough; my preschooler can do every interactive instruction in the book.  It also teaches children to be gentle with trees and have patience waiting for the leaves to come back in the spring.  More importantly, it’s really a fun book to read!  My daughter wants me to read it over and over again to her, and I don’t mind!  It’s a pleasure to watch her work so vigorously while following the instructions to make sure the tree changes as it should. 

It’s easy to add an art project to go along with the book by drawing or coloring a basic tree (without leaves).  Then, using yellow, red, orange, and green construction paper, cut out simple leaves that your child can paste onto the tree.  You can also cut out flowers, apples, and a bird’s nest for the tree.  The illustrations in the book are simple and easy to use as models for this art project.  Enjoy!

Please let me know if you’ve come across a gem of a story for children about nature.  You’re welcome to tell me a little about the book and why you like it.  Books are always a favorite for young children; and I, like many of you, am always looking for the perfect addition for my daughter’s bookshelf. 

Nature's Real Ghosts

 

With Halloween just around the corner, my 2 ½ year old is seeing ghosts!  They are in decorations everywhere… at the grocery store, in the neighbor’s yard, at the library, and even at preschool, where she made one.  Of course my daughter doesn’t really know exactly what they are.  I’ve told her that they are pretend.  We dress up for Halloween as something we are not for pretend and sometimes to be scary for fun.  And ghosts say, “Boo!”  She gets that because she likes to play scary tiger or dinosaur and roar to be scary for fun.  But before she gets too inquisitive about what ghosts are, I decided to be proactive and tell her about the ghost owl.  Hopefully that will hold her over until she is old enough to understand more about Halloween.

The ghost owl is another name for the barn owl, the most common owl in the world.  They are naturally found in grasslands, farmlands, and woodlands or where ever they can find plenty of small rodents to eat.  Unfortunately, rodents like to be near people because people unintentionally provide an abundance of food for the rodents, especially on farms.  Barn owls have noticed this relationship and often choose old barns and buildings as nesting sites.  Consequently, the most common name for this species of owl is the barn owl.  Having a barn owl living on a farm is good for the farm because these owls can eat almost 1000 rodents each, every year.  That is obviously beneficial to the farmer since rodents typically raid grain supplies on the farm.  Barn owls also help people in general by controlling rodent populations since too many rodents living in an area can increase the probability that the rodent colonies become reservoirs for diseases that can affect human health. 

Unfortunately, a long time ago when people were often frightened by things they didn’t know or understand, these owls were viewed badly based upon negative myths and folklore.  It’s easy to appreciate how that happened because of normal barn owl behavior.  As I’ve already mentioned, barn owls like to live in old barns or abandoned buildings.  Where better for a ghost story to start?  In addition, these owls don’t hoot; they scream!  And if someone were to go into an old barn or building to investigate the scream, that person may be met with a display like no other.  First the barn owl will lower its head and sway it from side to side while lifting its wings, looking like a sheeted ghost.  Then to defend its territory, the barn owl may take silent flight toward the intruder.  Its white wings reflect the light from the farmer’s lantern and look like a glowing ghost floating down from the rafters without a sound or maybe even with a bone chilling scream.  Then the owl, with talons extended, lunges at the intruder and then flies away without a sound as if disappearing into thin air.  That is how the barn owl also earned the name, ghost owl. 

As I tell my daughter, some stories are started by people who were scared long ago by things they didn’t know or understand, and those stories continue today because they are fun to tell.  Long ago, farmers would spread stories of a haunted barn or an abandoned building, but we know today that those stories had their roots in very real nature, the behavior of the common barn owl, Tyto alba.  But on Halloween each year, we continue those old ghost stories just for fun. 

After telling my daughter about the ghost owl, we then looked at pictures of barn owls and made a tissue paper ghost modeled after the ghost owl.  You can do it with your child too.  Just take two pieces of tissue paper, wad up one and place it in the middle of the other.  Wrap the outside tissue around the inside one and put a rubber band around the outside to hold the inside tissue in place.  But instead of making a normal ghost face on it, draw a heart (barn owl faces are heart shaped), eyes, and nose/beak for the face.  Then we’ll all have ghost owl decorations at our houses this Halloween, in celebration of nature’s real ghosts and the source of some of the most enduring folklore in the world.

Improving Listening Skills in the Great Outdoors

One of my favorite games to play with children when out on a trail is nature bingo!  It’s easy for a child to understand and play, and the game helps the child’s ability to focus.  It’s also easy to create customized bingo cards for every location with pictures of items found in nature (flowers, bugs, birds, trees, etc.).  And because the game uses pictures, it’s perfect for preschoolers.  But this week, I decided to put a twist on the usual nature bingo game by focusing on sounds heard on the nature trail.  My daughter has been interested in sounds since she could say, “What’s that?” while pointing up in the air.  So I thought this would be the perfect way to make a game out of her curiosity with the added benefit of improving her listening and concentration skills. 

I used to take groups of people out into the middle of the woods just to listen to sounds.  We would close our eyes and focus on each sound we heard.  As we listened, in our minds we could picture a squirrel running across fallen leaves as it chased a chattering foe or a song bird trying to attract a mate with his beautiful trills while a female answered from the other side of the woods.  It was quite relaxing and therapeutic to just sit for ten minutes and listen to nature, something that is difficult to do with a 2 ½ year old child most of the time.  But if you make a game of it, being quiet and listening is a fun and enjoyable experience for everyone!

I created a sound bingo card by making a simple table of four columns and four rows (you can make more or fewer columns and rows depending on your child’s age) on my computer and then searched for pictures of things that may make noises on the trail where I planned to take my daughter.  My pictures included a song bird, hawk, woodpecker, owl, duck, frog, squirrel, lizard, bugs, dog, car, plane, people, wind blowing in the trees, leaves, and a question mark for unknown sounds.  The nice thing about creating this game is that it can easily be changed for the season, location, or age of your child.  You just have to have a general idea of what noises to expect when and where you go out on a trail, and animals like birds, frogs, and bugs can be separated into different families (or even species) as your child grows older and learns the sounds different animals make.

Once the sound bingo game card is made, hit the trail with your child!  Explain each picture on the card and let your child know he or she may or may not hear each of them.  The goal is to hear four sounds pictured in a row, column, or diagonal.  You may have to remind your child several times to be quiet and listen; but after checking off a few pictures on your sound bingo card, your child should get the idea and begin concentrating on what he or she hears.

The more you play games like this, the better your child’s listening skills and concentration will become.  I particularly like this exercise for kids who need help learning to focus.  The natural outcome of this game will be that your child will learn that more sounds are heard when he or she is calm, quiet, and concentrating on what is going on around him or her.  And as an added benefit, children become eager to learn about the different sounds they hear.  There are many beautiful sounds found in nature.  Take pleasure in discovering how golden silence really is with your preschooler.  Enjoy the experience!

Fall is Here!



Cypress trees turning yellow are one of
the first signs of fall in Florida.

In Florida, it can be a little more difficult to notice when the seasons begin to change.  Most people would agree we have a wet and a dry season, but if you look closely, you can find evidence that fall has arrived, even here.  Obviously, the sun sits a little lower in the sky and daylight hours are decreasing.  There is a little less humidity in the air and the 95 degree weather is gone until next spring.  But take an even closer look.  Many Florida plants are changing.  They’re just more subtle than the fireworks of color just a little to the north.  American Beautyberries and Dahoon Holly berries are ripening to their bright beautiful purple and red colors respectively.  Cypress trees are turning yellow.  And many other plants are covered with seeds.  Plants aren’t the only living things preparing for the Florida Winter.  Soon birds will be flying in from up north and mammals will be preparing nests and dens for a short Florida winter.

Just the other day, my daughter and I watched our neighborhood squirrels gathering acorns and frantically burying them all over the yard.  Just like squirrels in colder climates, Florida squirrels are preparing for winter.  The only differences may be that Florida squirrels have a longer season to gather all of their food, and winter shouldn’t last as long.  But it is still unpredictable and squirrels tend to be over prepared, which is a good lesson for your child.  By the way, if oak trees are producing a lot of acorns, that usually indicates a harsh winter is coming. 

If your child is noticing busy animals collecting food, leaves falling from trees, and cool breezes, it is a great time to tell the old ant and grasshopper fable, where the ant works all summer and fall collecting food and preparing for the winter while the grasshopper plays.  Then when winter comes, it’s too late for the grasshopper to gather food.  The grasshopper sees the ant comfortable with plenty of food during the cold winter months and learns that it is best to be prepared.  Ask your child how you can prepare for the winter.  Have your child help make suggestions such as shop for a winter coat, bake using fall fruits and nuts, rake leaves, or plant fall flowers or a fall vegetable garden and then work together on those fall projects. 

It’s always a good lesson, teaching children to be prepared, and young children naturally want to help.  So get your child involved with all of your preparation plans whether they are for the winter, a vacation trip, or a picnic in the park to watch your local wildlife.  Likewise, fall is a great season for observations.  See how many seasonal changes your child notices.  And most importantly, get out and enjoy the cooler weather!

Story Time - Monkey with the Bright Blue Bottom

“Story Time” will be a recurring feature on Mommy Nature, introducing children’s books with a nature theme.  Watch for them in the future to help expand your child’s library.

Story Time – Monkey with the Bright Blue Bottom, written by Steve Smallman, Illustrated by Nick Schon

I love creation stories for children!  You know… those simple explanations for the way things are.  Cultures from around the world have been telling creation stories since the beginning of their language.  These stories help to explain things to children that are too complicated for them to understand, such as where they came from, why they exist, or why something looks the way it does.  I know many of these stories and will use them in future posts as they relate to my subject; but recently, I was thrilled to find Monkey with the Bright Blue Bottom at my local library.  It’s not an old creation story told by generations of families, but is a refreshingly new story that explains why certain animals have the colors they do.  It uses humor and rhyme making it a joy to read.  My daughter also loved listening to it over and over again.  Additionally, we are lucky enough to have a local zoo that houses mandrills (the real monkey with the blue bottom).  In real life, mandrills use their coloration to communicate.  Even if you don’t have a nearby zoo with these colorful animals, after reading this book, you’ll be inspired to take a trip to your local zoo with your child to inspect each color on the animals you see. 

Please let me know if you’ve come across a gem of a story for children about nature.  You’re welcome to tell me a little about the book and why you like it.  Books are always a favorite for young children; and I, like many of you, am always looking for the perfect addition for my daughter’s bookshelf. 

Rules of the Nature Trail

There are always safety concerns when providing immersive, hands-on experiences for children.  This is particularly true with nature education.  Nature can be unpredictable.  However, we can all take steps to ensure a more positive experience.  And it is extremely important for the experience to stay positive for children to get the most out of nature education.  The following are rules I’ve always used to ensure a positive experience for children.

1.     Anything with a mouth can bite.  That includes children too.  Even I can bite, if necessary.  But instead of biting, people (usually) use their words to convey uneasy feelings.  Animals, for the most part, do not have the ability to use words.  Some animals are able to use other forms of communication; but if we don’t understand it, the final behavior to ensure an animal’s safety, may be to bite.  And yes, some animals are more dangerous than others, which is very important for everyone to understand.

a.     Because anything with a mouth can bite, do not handle or corner animals you are unsure about or know to be dangerous.  Only touch animals you know to be harmless such as your own pet, an animal handled by a person with knowledge about that animal (and only after that person has said it is okay to touch), or animals that in general are harmless like ladybugs (Ladybugs’ mouth parts are too small to bite human skin.).

b.     If an animal is scared, its first instinct is usually to flee.  If it can’t flee, it often must stand its ground and may bite.

c.     Very rarely does an animal bite for no reason!  Understand the possible reasons and go out of your way to prevent encounters with wildlife that would be a negative experience for your child and the animals.

2.     Always make sure your child is calm when touching an animal.  Many animals sense uncertainty and perceive excitement, though they can’t necessarily tell the difference between happy excitement and nervous excitement.  If your son or daughter can’t focus enough to listen to instructions about touching an animal, then they aren’t ready to interact with that animal. 

3.     Never let a child wrap his or her hand around an animal.  Children don’t know their own strength and often feel they need to hold on tight to anything put in their hands.  When you go to a zoo, aquarium or nature center, you might encounter animals that can be touched.  A professional will tell you or you may read a sign that says, “Use two fingers only please.”  The objective here is to prevent animals from being grabbed or squeezed, which will cause harm to the animal and may be a reason for the animal to bite. 

4.     Not all harmless animals should be touched.  If you are introducing your child to a harmless insect, a two-finger touch isn’t suitable.  When first introducing insects, let the bug walk across your child’s arm or shirt before placing it in an open hand.  When you feel sure your child will remain calm, put the insect in the child’s hand (The back of the hand also works well for new encounters.).

5.     Always be prepared to separate the child from the animal if you feel the animal or child may be harmed.  You may be eager to step away and take a photo, but wait a moment to be sure that your child and the animal are comfortable before putting too much distance between yourself and your child. 

6.     Never force a child to do something he or she doesn’t want to do.  Ask once, if your son or daughter wants to touch an animal.  If the answer is no, don’t say any more.  Then touch the animal yourself, describing what you feel (be honest, but never negative), and show interest in the animal.  Try again with your child another day if they aren’t ready.  Keep the interaction positive whether or not your child wants to touch the animal.

a.     There are studies that show information is transferred to long-term memory at a greater rate when a child actually touches an animal than when a child just looks at an animal.  Take advantage of this, and teach values and ideas you want your child to remember, such as conservation, empathy, and more!

b.     However, animal observations are most important to having a deeper understanding of animals.  All interactions with animals should also include observations.  Remember, you can observe almost anything, ranging from color patterns and behaviors to anatomy and reproduction.

7.     Keep in mind that your interactions around animals are the most important for your child.  That is what your child will remember into adulthood.  If you have fears and show them around your child, he or she will learn to have those same fears.  So don’t let that life-long fear of spiders you have determine your son or daughter’s interactions with spiders for the rest of his or her life.

I’ve always used these rules when exposing children to animals.  And with every animal interaction, I’ve watched children walk away with smiles and telling stories of their experience.  I’m sure for most of them, it was the highlight of their day and one they will remember.  I love seeing those children feel at ease, inquisitive, and eager to learn about animals.  Hopefully, these rules will help you see the same in your child too.  Remember, every positive animal interaction your child has inspires empathy, conservation, and curiosity for nature, which is a goal we all share.