Turtles: Living the Good Life!

Bright Sun

Bright sun shining down,
Shining on the ground.
What a lovely face you have,
Yellow, big, and round.

~Author Unknown~

After the rain we've had, this bright sunshine is something to celebrate (though I hear it won't be around for very long)!  Out in the pond, our turtles are soaking up this sun and enjoying themselves! I hope you are able to get outside and bask in this sun too!

Check out this link for some neat facts about turtles to share with your kids! Enjoy!

Join Us for Nature Net's Madison Family Nature Club Free Kickoff Event!

Connect with your family and the great outdoors at Nature Net’s Madison Family Nature Club Free Kickoff Event on Saturday, May 7, from 4-6:30pm at the Glenwood Children's Park (602 Glenwood Street, Madison, 53711).

At the event, you and your family can:

• Participate in fun, active outdoor activities like exploring the park’s cavernous ravines and habitats!
• Enjoy a potluck dinner and meet other local families interested in getting their kids outdoors!
• Learn more about Nature Net's Family Nature Clubs!
• Gain free resources and more!

Please bring a dish to share for 8+ people, a picnic blanket, and your own plates, utensils and beverages.

All are welcome, and this is a great way to join this club or get ideas for starting your own! Visit the Madison Family Nature Club Facebook page for more details or to RSVP.

What is the Madison Family Nature Club?

The Madison Family Nature Club is Nature Net's first local Family Nature Club.  Designed to bring area families together to connect with nature through exciting, healthy outdoor activities, Nature Net’s Family Nature Clubs provide your family with free resources and social outings to engage your children's minds and bodies.  By joining one of Nature Net's Family Nature Clubs, you can meet other parents in your area with children of similar ages or interests, and gain access to toolkits, resources and ideas for nature activities and outings.  In addition, through the Family Nature Clubs online community, you can learn about events and programs, get motivated, make friends, carpool, meet up and have fun with Nature Net’s newest online resources.  Click here to learn more about Nature Net's Family Nature Clubs.

Wonder Bugs Wednesday - Sensational Spring!

“The world is mud-luscious and puddle-wonderful.” -- E.E. Cummings

Let’s get ready for a sensational week!

 
With all of this rain there should be plenty of mud around to squish our toes into. I wonder what it will feel like?

Use those leftover plastic eggs and fill them with objects your wonder bug knows- but don’t let them see you do it! Some examples might be: rice grains, buttons, beans, or crayons. Once they are filled, have them shake the eggs and guess what is inside. I wonder, will the objects sound different in a metal container? I wonder, can your wonder bug stump your ears?

Have fun painting with edible finger paint! Make some vanilla pudding and separate it into small bowls- one for each color you want to make. Use food coloring to dye the pudding. I wonder, will the colors taste different? Now that is finger-licking good!

See you next week,

Miss Tara

Next Wonder Bugs Session: SENSATIONAL SENSES

9:30-10:45am
Tuesday, May 3rd OR Wednesday, May 4th, 2011
Registration Deadline: Friday, April 29, 2011

Come explore the natural world using all of our senses! When all is said, seen, heard, smelled, tasted and done you will be wanting more and more and more. Click here to register.
Single session: ALNC Members: $6/child; Non-Members: $7/child

Use Your Leftover Egg Dye (or Dyed Eggs) to Make these Neat Rainy Day Crafts!

Are you and the kids feeling cooped up with all this rainy weather we're having today?  Try these two crafts to help chase away those rainy day blues with a fun and creative mosaic!  Plus, these projects are the perfect way to use up any extra egg dye you might have around! (If you don't have egg dye already, this is a great time to stock up on it to save for rainy day projects like this. Most stores have dye on major discount right now!)

Spring Cards
(courtesy of http://quirkymomma.com/)

Materials

• Water
• Egg Dye
• Marker
• Construction Paper or Cardstock
  
• Newspaper
• White paper
• One or more of the following:
• A variety of paintbrushes
• Old toothbrushes
• Drinking Straws
• Cottonballs

1. Mix egg dye with water in paper cups.   
2. Cover a table or other flat work space with old newspapers.
3. Use the ends of the brushes to flick the watery dye on to the white paper.  Have fun and try a variety of techniques -- try lightly brushing the dye onto the paper with a paintbrush, dripping the dye onto the paper with the straws or even smearing the dye on the paper with a cotton ball.  If you want to make the dye into fingerpaint you could add a couple tablespoons of cornstarch to the dye.  Warning, this activity does stain fingers/clothes!
4. Fold the dyed paper in half to form a card.
5. Trace an outline of your hand onto the construction paper, cut out and attach to the front of the card.
6. Cut out a small circle, write Spring on it and attach to the front of the card.
7. Send to one of your loved ones as a cheery spring greeting!

Eggshell Mosaic

(courtesy of http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/)

Materials

• Eggs & egg dye or pre-dyed hard-boiled eggs
• Bowls or large cups
• Zip-top bags
•  Markers
• Construction paper
• Glue

1. (Ignore this step if you are using pre-dyed eggs) If you're making egg salad sandwiches, hard-boil the eggs, then peel off the shells. If you'd rather use the raw eggs for cooking, simply crack the eggs and wash and dry the shells. Either way, separate the shells into several piles.
    
2. (Ignore this step if you are using pre-dyed eggs. Instead, peel eggs, crush eggshells and separate into piles by color) Fill the bowls with mixed dye. Color each pile of shells, let them dry, then separate by color into zip-top bags. Crush the shells using a spoon or fist.
    
3. Draw a picture on a piece of paper and glue on the colored eggshells mosaic-style, or dispense with the drawing and simply glue on a collage.

It's only in the 40's today but summer is quickly on it's way! Are you ready for it? If you aren't, perhaps reading all about summer camps will get you in the spirit. The ALNC has tons of wonderful summer programming available now!

Summer camps are available for ages 2-12 so the whole family can participate. Each program is age-specific and nurtures hands-on interactive learning.

Here are some highlights:

If you have a little one at home, the wonder bugs summer camps are just for you!

In Dragonfly By, you and your toddler will learn all about dragonflies like what they eat, what are their babies called, and more.

For more adventure, check out Snakes Alive! and learn all about these slithering critters.

For our older explorers, there are some awesome camps too!

At Muckin in the Marsh I and II, make sure you come ready to get messy! You will spend the day exploring the marsh in search of cattails, muskrats, frogs, and much more. If you're ever wondered what a cattail tastes like, this is the camp for you.

For all the creative artists out there, we have an Art in the Outdoors program. We will spend the day gathering materials from outside and use them to make creative projects using nature as inspiration.

Check out a full listing on our website. You can also register there as well.

Nature Net's FREE Open House Today at ALNC!!!

Join us today for Nature Net's FREE Earth Day Bouquet Open House from 3-5 pm at the Monona Campus!  At the Open House your family can enjoy exciting outdoor family activities and learn more about Nature Net sites and resources, including an expanded online community and the launch of Nature Net’s new Family Nature Clubs!

Plus, you and your family can go on a scavenger hunt, explore with a family trailside backpack of activities, get free resources and surprise earth day goodies! Plus, this is a great introduction to ALNC for first-time summer campers! 

Click here to see other free and low cost nature activities for your family offered as a part of Nature Net's Earth Day Bouquet! 

Hope to see you there!

Egg-Stra Activities for Wonder Bugs Wednesday!

Greetings, egg enthusiasts!

To keep the egg rolling…

1. Check out this book from your library: Chickens Aren’t the Only Ones by Ruth Heller. 
   
2. Pretend to be birds: and build nests out of sticks, twigs, dryer lint, grasses, etc and “glue” them together with mud.  Place eggs (fake paper or plastic ones for example) in the nest and admire your work! (check out the video below for ideas)
   
   
   
3. Make life cycle cards: choose a couple of different animals that lay eggs (frogs, fish, or birds, for example). Find pictures of the egg stage, the baby stage and the adult stage and create index cards for each one; use old magazines or search the web. Color and laminate if desired. Have your wonder bug place the cards in the correct order for each species. Then have your wonder bug create a set of their using a different “egg layer” of their choosing! Click here for some pictures to get you started or here to see a neat site all about frogs!
   
   
   
   
   
4. Visit this website for event more fun! I found the jokes and the egg shell chalk activity (under “eggtivities”) to be particularly interesting!

Let the good times roll,

Miss Tara

Next Wonder Bugs: Sensational Senses

9:30-10:45am
Tuesday, May 3rd OR Wednesday, May 4th, 2011
Registration Deadline: Friday, April 29, 2011

Come explore the natural world using all of our senses! When all is said, seen, heard, smelled, tasted and done you will be wanting more and more and more.

Single session: ALNC Members: $6/child; Non-Members: $7/child

Click here to register!

Stop By Aldo's Cafe On Wednesday to Support ALNC!

Enjoy a delicious sustainable meal and support the Aldo Leopold Nature Center this Wednesday, April 20th at Aldo's Cafe at the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery (click here for directions)! 

In celebration of Earth Day, Aldo's Cafe will donate 10% of all proceeds on April 20th to ALNC!  Located in the northeast corner of the Town Center at the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery, Aldo's Cafe serves gourmet coffee, homemade soups, sandwiches, salads and fresh bakery items. We hope you'll take advantage of this sweet and sustainable way to support environmental education at ALNC! 

Another Great Way to Celebrate Earth Day!

Also, remember that Nature Net is hosting a free Earth Day Bouquet Open House at the Aldo Leopold Nature Center on Thursday, April 21 from 3-5 pm.  At the Open House your family can enjoy exciting outdoor family activities and learn more about Nature Net sites and resources, including an expanded online community and the launch of Nature Net’s new Family Nature Clubs! Hope to see you there!

Spring Break Mini-Camp Fun!

From the pale green buds sprouting on the hickory tree branches, to the serenade of Redwinged Blackbirds in the wetlands, Spring is an exciting time of year at ALNC! Join us to celebrate the season at one or all of these upcoming programs!

Space is limited. Click here to register today!

Spring Break has finally arrived!!! Treat your youngster to adventure and learning this week with ALNC's Spring Break Mini-Camps!  Mini-Camp sessions include:

Which Came First?
Tuesday, April 19
9:00 am-4:00 pm

The chicken or the egg? We won’t find the answer to this age-old question, but we will learn all about eggs and animals that lay them. We’ll start off the day making birds nests and using natural materials to dye an egg to mimic the variety of colorful eggs made by wild critters. After that, we’ll head out with binoculars to search for returning spring birds, play games about beaks, look at feathers and wings, and practice our best bird calls!

Communities
Wednesday, April 20
9:00 am-4:00 pm

Celebrate Earth Week by exploring all the ecosystems at the Aldo Leopold Nature Center! We’ll spend the day marching through the marsh, frolicking in the forest, planting seeds in the prairie, splashing around the pond and learning all about the habitats both humans and animals call home. We’ll discovery why Aldo Leopold wrote: “When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect."

Pioneer Days
Thursday, April 21
9:00 am-4:00 pm

Turn off the TV and join us for some old-fashioned fun! We’ll spend the day playing pioneer games such as drop the handkerchief, Button Button, sack races and much, much more. From firewood to food, we’ll also learn how pioneers lived off the land through fun and exciting explorations.

Price per Mini-Camp: ALNC Members: $35/child per session; Non-Members: $40/child per session

All Mini-Camps are appropriate for ages 5-12. Please bring a sack lunch.

Click here to register!

Nature Fun for Your Family This Weekend + An Adorable Video of the Baby Chick's Visit!!

 Even though the weather is looking blustery, there's still tons of nature fun for your family to enjoy with ALNC & Nature Net this weekend! Visit us this weekend at one or both of these fun events:

Saturday, April 16
Isthmus Green Day
9am-5pm

at the Monona Terrace

Get geared up for a full day of family fun with ALNC at the 4th Annual Isthmus Green Day eco-celebration at the Monona Terrace! Be a nature detective, enjoy an eco-expert presentations, entertainment and sustainable children’s activities.

Sunday, April 17Conservation Celebrations at the Zoo
10am-4pm
Henry Vilas Zoo

Gear up for Earth Day with the Zoo! Hands-on exhibits, demonstrations, displays and give-aways will teach your family about alternative energy, tree planting and the environment .

Here is a rough video of the chick's visit -- enjoy!

Wonder Bugs - From Earth to Egg!

What an egg-cellent couple of days we had at this week's Wonder Bug Preschool Program! We had a lot of fun looking at the insides and outsides of eggs and creating art with crushed egg shells. But the main hit was the live animals: the three chicks, Potato the chicken, and Marvin the turtle (Wednesday only). The beautiful spring weather made for egg-citing scavenger hunts complete with sun-bathing turtles, swimming ducks and geese, and the remains of a goose nest! 

Some wonder bugs were egg-specially interested in the edible nests we ate the blue Jell-O eggs out of for snack; the recipe is easy and typed below. Enjoy!

As spring turns into summer there will be more and more opportunities to find eggs in nature. Watch the birds for nesting behaviors (gathering materials, nest building, sitting on nests, etc) and check ponds for frog eggs and leaves and plants for insect eggs.

Click here to see photos from this week's class!

Cheep cheep,

Miss Tara

Birds’ Nests (from The Secret Life of Food by Clare Crespo- one of my favorite and inspirational books!)

Spray-on cooking oil (I spread it on with a cloth)
3 cups miniature marshmallows
3 tablespoons butter (plus 1 teaspoon for your hands)
4 cups chow mein noodles
12 yogurt-covered almonds or jelly beans (I made Jell-O beans using a mold I have and one recipe of jigglers)
 
1. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Coat well with oil.
2. In a saucepan, melt the marshmallows and butter together over medium heat. Stir until smooth.
3. Put the noodles in a large mixing bowl. Pour the marshmallow mixture over the noodles and stir until well coated.
4. Rub butter on your hands (oil does not work as well) and form about four balls out of the noodle 5. mixture. Place on cookie sheet.
6. With the back of a lightly buttered spoon, press the center of each ball to make an indentation.

Let the nests set until firm. Fill with yogurt-covered almonds or jelly beans for the birds’ eggs.

Note: I used what I had leftover of the noodles (about 4.5 cups) so I added a bit more butter and marshmallows. Plus I made the nests smaller and got about 7 nests total.

 

Next Wonder Bugs Session: Sensational Senses
9:30-10:45am
Tuesday, May 3rd OR Wednesday, May 4th, 2011
Registration Deadline: Friday, April 29, 2011
Come explore the natural world using all of our senses! When all is said, seen, heard, smelled, tasted and done you will be wanting more and more and more.

Single session: ALNC Members: $6/child; Non-Members: $7/child
Package option: All 7 sessions: $38.50/members; $45.50/non-members

Click here to register!

Calling All Nature Detectives!

Join us this Saturday, April 16 from 9 am - 5 pm at Isthmus Green Day at the Monona Terrace!  ALNC will be running the Isthmus Green Day Family Play Zone together with MSCR and the Friends of the Henry Vilas Zoo. We'll have nature games, crafts and an activity station where you can become an Energy Detective to solve "The Case of the Energy Caper!" (You'll even get your own Detective Journal to take home!)

Isthmus Green Day features more than
100 exhibitors, all ready and willing to help you...

* Wow your taste buds
* Stimulate your mind
* Try out an electric bike
* Enjoy fun presentations including The Fabulous Beekman Boys from Discovery's Planet Green reality show and a town hall discussion on healthy food in schools features farmers, students, parents and school representatives.

We hope you can join us!  If you stop by the booth in the morning, be sure to introduce yourself to me (Alanna) to let me know you're reading our blog and you'll be entered to win a free family membership to ALNC! 

Click here for additional details

Tickets are $5 at the door or in advance at the Isthmus office, 101 King Street in Madison.
Free admission for children under 12, and if you walk, take the bus or ride your bike.
Bring donations for Goodwill and get in free, too!

Spring Break for Frogs, Pioneers, Explorers & Scientists!!!

Vacation is just around the corner and the kids are counting down the days until spring break! For most parents, however, this week can mean having to find expensive child care or even staying home from work.

No need to worry, though--ALNC has you covered! We are offering a week of mini-camps to enrich your child's vacation with exciting environmental education all week long! Plus, you can relax knowing your children are receiving high quality, affordable fun is a safe and convenient location.

All the programs are appropriate for ages 5-12. Since it is a full day program, make sure you pack a sack lunch.Click here to register!

Here is a list of the programs available: 

Slime and Scales

Monday, April 18

9:00-4:00

Registration deadline: April 14

Become a herpetologist for the day and search for frogs, toads, snakes and salamanders in this “ribbiting” investigation! We’ll visit the pond and marsh to listen closely for croaks, chirps, trills, and whistles of frogs and toads to learn how to identify them and explore the island in search of all things slippery or slithery.

Which Came First?

Tuesday, April 19^th, 2011

9am-4pm

Registration Deadline: April 15

The chicken or the egg?  We won’t find the answer to this age-old question, but we will learn all about eggs and animals that lay them.  We’ll start off the day making birds nests and using natural materials to dye an egg to mimic the variety of colorful eggs made by wild critters.  After that, we’ll head out with binoculars to search for returning spring birds, play games about beaks, look at feathers and wings, and practice our best bird calls!  Then, we'll meet some real feathered friends including a baby chick!

 

Communities

Wednesday, April 20th, 2011

9am-4pm

Registration Deadline: April 18

Celebrate Earth Week by exploring all the ecosystems at the Aldo Leopold Nature Center!  We’ll spend the day marching through the marsh, frolicking in the forest, planting seeds in the prairie, splashing through the pond and learning all about the habitats both humans and animals call home.  We’ll discovery why Aldo Leopold wrote: “When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.”

Pioneer Days

Thursday, April 21st, 2011

9am-4pm

Registration Deadline:  April 19

Turn off the TV and join us for some old-fashioned fun! We’ll spend the day playing pioneer games such as drop the handkerchief, Button Button, sack races and much, much more.  From firewood to food, we’ll also learn how pioneers lived off the land through fun and exciting explorations. 

Hopefully you will join us this spring break for some learning and fun!  

 

Program Pricing: ALNC Members: $35/child; Non-Members: $40/child

Click here to register today! For more information or to register by phone, call 608-221-0404 x1

Wonder Bugs - Mud Pies in the Skies!

I love mud! And I think that pretty much every wonder bug that came to this week's Wonder Bugs program, Mud Pies in the Skies, loves mud, too!

We had fun meeting Marsha and Marcus Muskrat at the pond, digging in mud and playing with different kinds of soil like clay and sand. 

Thank you to all the wonder bugs muskrats who tried the bog slog and an especially enthusiastic thank you to those of you who liked it! 

Keep digging,

Miss Tara

 Bog Slog Recipe AKA Broccoli Salad

2 large heads of broccoli, chopped very fine

about ½ cup cranberries

about 1cup cooked wild rice

about ½ cup roasted, unsalted sunflower seeds

Combine above ingredients. Then in a separate bowl mix together about 1 cup plain yogurt with 1 tablespoon wine vinegar (I used raspberry wine vinegar). Add sugar to taste.

Combine dressing with chopped broccoli mixture and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Books and Resources to Encourage More Digging at Home:

I Love Dirt byJennifer Ward (ISBN 978-1-59030-535-5)

 

Muskrat Will beSwimming by Cheryl Savageau.  The main character in this story is of Native American and French descent. Click here to checkout some of the pages of the book!

Just "fur" fun! Click here for a website that has everything to do with muskrats!

Next Wonder Bugs Session: EARTH TO EGG

9:30-10:45am
Tuesday, April 12th OR Wednesday, April 13th, 2011
Registration Deadline: Friday, April 8, 2011

Earth Day is the perfect time to celebrate eggs, inside and out. We’ll also explore some animals that hatch from eggs.  Games, crafts, and songs will make it an egg-cellent day! Plus, meet some real baby chicks!

Single session: ALNC Members: $6/child; Non-Members: $7/child
Package option: All 7 sessions: $38.50/members; $45.50/non-members

Click here to register!

Celebrate Earth Day With Nature Net & ALNC!

Celebrate the spring season, Earth Day and National Environmental Education Week with Nature Net's Earth Day Bouquet of events for your family!

From April 10-23, Nature Net sites throughout South Central Wisconsin will offer a "bouquet" of free and low-cost nature activities for your family to enjoy the outdoors, get involved in your local and natural communities and become motivated to make a difference in the health and sustainability of the environment.

The events will culminate with a free Earth Day Bouquet Open House at the Aldo Leopold Nature Center on Thursday, April 21 from 3-5 pm.  At the Open House your family can enjoy exciting outdoor family activities and learn more about Nature Net sites and resources, including an expanded online community and the launch of Nature Net’s new Family Nature Clubs!

Other Earth Day Bouquet events include an Earth Day Celebration at the Henry Vilas Zoo, the Annual Midwest Crane Count at the International Crane Foundation and a Wildflower Walk at the UW Arboretum. Click here or visit www.naturenet.com for a full listing of Earth Day Bouquet events. 

 
Spearheaded by the Aldo Leopold Nature Center, Nature Net is a not-for-profit consortium of member sites that encourage outdoor education through resources, programming and educational initiatives for teachers and families of South Central Wisconsin and beyond.

We hope you can join us for one or more of these Earth Day Bouquet events!

Get Crafty This Spring!

Although the weather is starting to warm up slowly, the flowers and trees are not in bloom yet. This can make a nature hike a little uneventful before all of the colors and life come back. Here is an easy craft idea you can use to make a nature hike a little more exciting! You can turn the hike into a treasure hunt and use all of the things you find to make a nature mobile when you get home.

On your hike, gather a little collection of nature treasures such as pine cones, wheat tops, interesting rocks, and other things. Also, be sure to collect sticks and twigs of various sizes. Once you get home, you can gather some yarn or string and lay out all of your findings. Use the string to create a mobile shape using the sticks and twigs as the main bars. You can make anything from a simple pattern to one with lots of branches or maybe even a pyramid shape. Afterward, use the string to attach all of the little treasures you picked up along the way. With solid objects such as rocks or shells, it might be necessary to wrap some wire around it first to make it easier to attach by string.

Why not make one each season, taking care to pick out items that are characteristic of each? You can also use colored yarn or twine to create a different look, as well as fish swivels to allow the pieces to move in the breeze. 

Hopefully this spruces up your nature experiences until the colors and flowers return.

The Final Countdown! Make Your Vote Count!

There are only a few days left!  Voting ends THIS Sunday, April 3. 

We need your votes to help ALNC win $10k to support our expansion project!!!  ALNC is competing against 11 other nonprofits to win Heartland Credit Union's "Go Local" contest to support our expansion project and increase our environmental teaching capacity to 75,000 students per year.

Our success depends on the number of votes our project receives and you can vote once a day. What's stopping you? From now until April 3, 2011, visit https://www.heartlandcu.org/Go-Local/Finalists/Aldo-Leopold.aspx Anyone can vote, once a day, so vote often to help ALNC win the prize! Click here to read more about the contest on our blog.

Every vote matters!! Our success depends on the number of votes our project receives, so please help us spread the word and vote! If you would like a daily reminder to vote, click here to "like" us on Facebook.  

Thanks Everyone!!!!