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   PRESCHOOL PROGRAMS Peace Valley Nature Center offers exciting outdoor adventures for young children. Working with groups of 6 to 10 preschoolers, our trained teacher/naturalists will lead children in our 300 acre outdoor classroom and awaken their senses to the wonders of the natural world. The appropriate season follows a description of each 1 1/2 hour outdoor activity. A program brochure is available on request or [CLICK HERE] Our Programs Include: BUGS AND BEASTIES -- Enter the weird and wonderful world of small critters. Look for shining black beetles and salamanders under logs in the woods. Sweep the field with a net to investigate the diversity of the insect world. Take a close look at a grasshopper's mouth parts and find out how an insect breathes. MAY 15 -- OCTOBER 15 PONDS AND PUDDLES -- Tadpoles and frogs are not the only critters in the water. Using nets children collect diving beetles, mayfly nymphs, water boatman, and many other fascinating water creatures. MAY 15 -- OCTOBER 15 32 student limit WINNIE THE POOH WALK -- For children 5 years old and older. Search the 100 acre woods for Piglet, Tigger, and Eyeore. Surprise Winnie the Pooh in his special tree house. Language skills can be enhanced while role playing A.A. Milne's story. 12 student limit 2 adult limit. MAY 15 -- OCTOBER 15 HOMES AND HIDEAWAYS -- Every animal has a home . Discover the raccoon's den in a hollow tree, follow mouse trails to their hole in the ground, visit a groundhog community, and look for small bugs and salamanders under rocks and logs. ANIMAL SKELETONS -- Bones give animals shape. Look at different animal skeletons, compare animal skulls and teeth. Put together a complete deer skeleton. Take a walk and search for bones and discover the diversity of habitats at Peace Valley Nature Center. FALL, WINTER, SPRING SUN POWER -- Children will perform simple "hands-on" experiments: take temperatures of water in the shade and in the sun, use a solar water heater, cook with a solar oven, and have an ice cube race. Children will walk to discover how the sun warms animals. DECEMBER THROUGH MARCH ANIMAL TRACKS -- Follow deer tracks to find out where the deer go to hide. Find the small hand-like print of the raccoon, look for rabbit trails or mouse runways in the field. WINTER, SPRING WHERE DO ANIMALS GO IN THE WINTER? -- Groundhogs sleep soundly in holes in the ground, while frogs snuggle down in the mud at the bottom of the pond. Beetles and other small critters hide in rotten logs, deer look for sunny spots and raccoons curl up in holes in trees. WINTER WINTER PATTERNS -- We can see more shapes and patterns when the leaves are off the trees. Discover bird's nests and look for animal tracks in the snow. Observe beautifully shaped ice crystals and tree skeletons in the woods. WINTER SEED PRESENTS -- Seeds are beautifully designed packages that contain the beginnings of plant life. Take apart a seed and find the tiny new plant inside. Let the seed "wishes" blow in the wind and collect hitchhiking seeds to find out how seeds travel. Discover nuts that are eaten by squirrels and deer. WINTER, FALL BIRDS AND THEIR NESTS -- Why is a bird different from other animals? Take a close look at feathers used for flying and keeping warm. Find out how a bird uses its beak to build a nest. Visit the bird blind to watch birds eating. WINTER, SPRING, FALL SEASONS -- Let your children observe the changes that occur from season to season. SPRING see all the green shoots of tiny plants emerging, frogs and toads laying their eggs in the pond. SUMMER see the tadpoles that have hatched and find out how cool the woods are on a hot day. In the FALL bright colors abound as leaves turn red, yellow and orange. Flower have developed into seeds in all kinds of packages. WINTER is a wonderful time to discover frozen streams and tracks in the snow. Children love to return each season to a favorite place. SENSORY WALK -- Use your senses to discover the beauty and wonder of the natural world. Sniff a spicy smelling bush, find a tickly and a prickly, compare colors in nature, share shadows and listen to the sound of the wind and the birds singing. WINTER, SPRING, SUMER, FALL TREES -- GIANTS OF THE PLANT WORLD -- Hug a tree, make bark rubbings, listen to a tree, go into a huge hollow tree. Role play a tree growing from a small seed to a giant plant. WINTER, SPRING SUMMER, FALL WALK LIKE THE ANIMALS -- Fly through the fields, hop like a rabbit, and pounce as the fox does when hunting mice. Become a deer walking silently through the woods, listening and sniffing the air. WINTER, SPRING FALL SUMMER SPRING, SUMMER, FALL, WINTER Nature Adventures To schedule a class contact: Gail Hill, Environmental Education Director Tel: 215.345.7860 Fax: 215.345.4529 Email: ghill@co.bucks.pa.us From the bubbly, cool house of a spittlebug to the gold-rimmed eye of a toad, there are countless discoveries to be made in the natural world. Young children's innate curiosity allows them to look deeply, smell, hear and touch without reservation. Shelley Taylor |
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The First Signs Of Spring