Fall Discoveries

We loaded our wagon and began our journey on this week’s Discovery Hike. Looking high and low in search of wildlife, plants and the seasons first fallen leaves and fruit: acorns, ginkgo fruit, and sweet gum fruit became the focus of the day. We observed the strong, pungent smell of the ginkgo fruit and the prickly texture of the sweet gum tree’s harvest.

Floating on the surface of the lake was the day's most intriguing discovery--Duckweed! Throwing rocks on the surface of the water disturbed the algae and opened the concepts of float and sink for exploration

Back in the classroom we dug through rich soil feeling its cool, gritty texture and found a white worm burrowing through! “It’s very tiny!” one student observed. With our magnifying glasses we took a closer look at our forest finds, using rocks and our fingers to “open” acorns and study their many layers. Our fall study has inspired many avenues and is introducing exciting new concepts!