Today, there was a dead bird. Lynne found the bird. It was at the base of a tree. We looked at it and took care for this little dead bird. The bird had lived and flown. It was a girl nuttall woodpecker. The boy has a red head.
We learned that she eats insects. She likes termites, ants, and spiders. She pokes acorns into the holes that she drills in oak trees, creating long term food storage for her whole family. We hear her sisters in the trees working, working.
Someone made up a woodpecker song and sang to her. It was beautiful and so was she.
We’d sung goodbye. We’d talked about the day. There were only four of us left, two grownups and two children. Everyone else had gone. One grownup went back to get something they’d forgotten, and the three of us decided to play a game.
One person chose Ring Around the Rosie. We sang. We walked in a circle. And we FELL DOWN. We lay where we fell and looked up. There was Grandfather Oak, so, so old. Look at how high Grandfather Oak’s branches climb and twist. Look how wide Grandfather Oak’s branches twist and reach.
I sat up, and the two of you stayed put there on our Earth, on your backs, looking up. I’d sat up too soon, so I lay down again. You said that you could lay there forever. That sounded lovely.
Sister Tree grows too close to the fence and too close to our neighbor’s house. You asked me to feel her leaves. They felt like velvet, so soft, and she’s so strong. She’s sneaky too.
You were pulling off her leaves. Other plants might die if we take too many of their leaves, but not Sister Tree. Along with the sun, that’s how most plants feed themselves, get energy. Sister Tree feeds herself and bugs too with her leaves, but she is strong. Even if you pull off all her leaves, she will grow back.
We looked, and we noticed that new tree trunks were beginning to grow from an old stump of Sister Tree. She’s so strong that even if you cut her down, she grows back.
And she will send her roots out under ground and grow again from a new spot. Sneaky. We found some tiny green leaves sprouting off a tiny slender trunk, and we decided to see if they belonged to Sister Tree too.
We dug and dug, and you know what? Her root grew thicker than her trunk and longer and longer. We never did find the end. Sneaky Sister Tree. It’s like she has super invincible powers.
We met Worker Ant carrying another insect. We met Sister Beetle hurrying and scurrying to get underneath the Magnatiles. I think maybe Sister Beetle was worried about being seen. She was a very small beetle. I think she was trying to hide. At one point, she scurried right off the table.
It was a very long fall for such a small beetle, but she righted herself and kept right on going. The unfortunate thing is that she kept trying to hurry right under our feet. I felt sad. Sister Beetle got smushed. We thanked Nature for Sister Beetle and her help, for being a vital food source for the birds. Did you know that she is also a decomposer and recycler, pollinator, and pest controller?
When you start noticing, there’s a whole world of insects right there, aunts, uncles, mamas, papas, grandparents, our earth-sharing insect family. It’s fun to notice with you.
Love, Teacher Michelle
P.S. We also found this cool bug with yellow stripe-like colors. I think this bug dresses up like a bee or a yellow jacket that stings to say, “Hey, I need space!” I used a picture to try to figure out what kind of bug it was. I discovered that it’s likely an ichneumon wasp, and they are even better at pest control than spiders. Most don’t sting. Thank you little wasp.
Daddy Cockroach was in a hurry. Did you see how fast he moved? He was on the way to get food for his children. He has 100 babies. He was going to In and Out to get burgers and fries. Sally, the youngest of all his children, really likes tomatoes. Freddy, the oldest of all Daddy Cockroach’s children, really likes pickles.
Today was an adventure. On an adventure, everyone knows, “Safety First!” You are all safety experts. We went on an Adventure Walk. You expertly let one of the tallest people lead. If anyone is accidentally going to step on a rattlesnake, it’s best for one of the tallest people to lead. Plus, the tallest person can see the furthest ahead, so that hopefully no one surprises the poor rattlesnake by stepping on it.
You expertly sat down when you wanted to put your feet in the water. You know that river bottoms can be slippery and tricky with unexpected ground changes. It’s easy to fall down and find yourself under water unexpectedly. Plus, we didn’t have life vests. It was fun to sit on the edge and put our feet into Cache Creek. The water was cold.
There were little creatures swimming around. We think they may have been tadpoles. You also used your safety expertise back at camp staying in bounds where grownups could see you. Only picking the plants that Lynne okayed to pick and leaving the other plants to grow. And you left the little flags to mark the special plants so they wouldn’t be lost.
Each of us is different. We move through the world and the yard as ourselves. We each go our own way. Some of us are taller. Some of us are shorter. Some of us are older. Some of us are younger.
Some of us can stand on one foot. Some of us are like butterflies flitting and floating and landing here and there. I wonder what a butterfly notices. Some of us cannot stand on one foot today but will next month. Some of us may never have an interest in trying.
Some of us see something another is doing and reach for it to do it too, especially if we are younger and they are older. Someone new to Rainbow School may be used to food on a table being available to eat and reach for yours.
We are all teachers. We are all learners. You may someday be able to let them know that you are using this one and there is another one like it over here or that this is your snack and point out which one is theirs. And if you forget or the feeling of WORRY or ANGRY or both take over, you can always have do overs.
That is another way, like teaching and learning, we are all alike. We all need do overs sometimes.
It’s green. It’s snapping. Is it a crocodile? Run! Get the water traps. No! We don’t need water traps in the Safe Area. Your books! Your writing! Your Art! We have to keep them safe. They MUST stay dry to stay safe. Plus, we don’t need water traps in the Safe Area because the Safe Area is SAFE!
More water! My turn! Yikes! Water is going into the Safe Area. We’re going to be trapped. To safely get the water to make the traps, first, put the hose in the canister you want to fill. Then and only then, turn on the water. Then, watch very carefully and turn off the water when it gets just below the top. That’s important! Otherwise, the water will spray out the too full canister and get you all wet.
The safest and quickest way that I saw was when you put the opening of your canister under the water in the bin. Watch the bubbles. When the bubbles stop, you’ve got water for your water trap. Or use the pitcher to fill the canister. Now, let’s go get that green snapper. Was it a crocodile?
You were digging a BIG hole in the sandbox and asked your mom for help. She was reading, and I really like digging holes, so I asked if I could help. You directed me to dig deeper. We dug a long deep hole. Then, you started digging a long deep hole perpendicular to the hole you’d already dug, so I started one parallel to the one you were digging.
The 3 holes joined at the corners and looked like a U. You began a tunnel. I found a treasure. You noted that it was a mine. When my hole was about as close to the edge of where you were digging your tunnel, I started digging a tunnel too. Then someone else joined to help. Our tunnels met. You could see the scoop I was using from your end.
The two of you kept clearing dirt from the tunnel on your side, and others came over to help too. Someone fell into the first hole we’d dug and forward on top of the tunnel. I thought there might be a cave in, but there wasn’t. Then another person stood on top of the tunnel. A crack appeared. A pile of dirt fell on my side. And …. cave in!
You asked where the rope was. You’d gone to see if it was still tied to the triangle. It wasn’t. I pointed it out on the shelf, and you went to re-tie it. Some others had a different idea for the rope. Three of you pulled one way. Three pulled the other.
I pointed out that you had asked for the rope when you first came in. One of the others went off and found another rope. They tied it to both ends of the swingset. They wanted to throw the middle over the top of the swingset, but I don’t think it was long enough to reach. They had another idea with red paint.
You asked me for help getting your rope over the barn. Then changed your mind when you saw a better way. There was already someone up on the roof of the barn. It took a couple of tries before you could each reach far enough. Finally you got it over. People used the rope all day to get up and down from the barn.
