Field Trip #1 - Hidden Oaks Nature Center

Our first field trip of the year was wonderful! We began in the nature center's classroom. There we talked about metamorphosis, the life cycle of insects, and lots of other things having to do with animals. We got to see tadpoles, a toad, a butterfly, and bunches of other small critters.

After the classroom time we split into two groups. One group headed off on a nature walk. During the nature walk each child got one ladybug to set free in the forest. The ladybugs loved the kids and many didn't want to head off onto leaves. The feeling was mutual. The ladybugs were quite popular and everyone was sad to send them off and move on to the next step in our field trip.

The final piece was planting a seed. To begin each child got a lima bean and had the opportunity to take it apart to look inside with a magnifying glass. Students found the seed coat and the brand new plant growing inside the seed. They looked really closely at their lima beans. After inspecting their lima beans the students were given a brand new one and a yogurt cup to plant it in. They took these cups with their seed ready to grow home last week and I hope they are getting ready to sprout!