March 2023 Kids Corner
from the Gale River Cooperative Preschool
Introducing...the Springtail?
photo credit: https://www.farmersalmanac.com/snow-fleas-29846
As the weather warms, you may start to see small black dots flecking the melting snow.
These tiny creatures are called snow fleas, though they aren’t fleas at all! They are a kind of arthropod, like lobsters, spiders, and mites called Springtails.
Specifically, they’re called Springtails because of their forked tail-like body part called a furcula that is held under tension and used to jump a few inches in height. They usually crawl, but because they don’t have wings, the furcula is a quick way to escape predators. Snow fleas are very common, but are usually only noticed this time of year because they come to the surface of the snow to look for food. They feed on decaying plants and organic matter and often gather around the bases of trees. Their 1-3 millimeter long bodies are blackish blue, meaning they stand out against the white snow. In the summer they blend into the soil surface but they really pop in winter. An abundance of them actually implies healthy soil, rich in nutrients.
Snow fleas are well adapted to the cold and able to survive freezing temperatures thanks to a special protein in their body. This protein is high in glycine which acts like antifreeze. It prevents ice crystals from growing in their bodies and allows them to live happily in cold temperatures.
So as you go about your early spring adventures, take a closer look at the snow fleas. They won’t bite you, they don’t want to come into your house, and they show that the local soil is healthy. You might want to avoid eating the snow though, as no one wants an unintended snow flea snack!
Want tips on how to explore snow fleas this March? Scroll down for ideas then head outside!
Stuff to do Outdoors!
Looking at snow fleas is the perfect time to get out the magnifying glass! Can you get a close enough look to see how many legs they have? What do their bodies look like? Having tiny subjects for observation necessitates using strong observational skills. You can also try to draw a picture of the snow flea. What does it remind you of?
Science is all about answering questions. Have your group come up with some questions about snow fleas then work to gather data to answer them. One example is do snow fleas like to be on top of the snow or deeper down in the snow. You could use a ruler to measure how high up you find the most snow fleas.
Interested in snow flea activities and crafts? We’ve got you covered!
The way that snow fleas move is pretty exciting! They use a spring to jump, which is pretty different from most jumping insects that use their legs. Can you find ways springs are used in your house to make things jump or bounce? Try taking apart a pen, feeling your bed, or checking an old bicycle seat. Springs can also be found on some playgrounds or in some kids’ toys. The springs in pens can be especially fun to squeeze and let go. See how far they jump!
If you get a good close look at the snow fleas’ bodies, you can see they have different segments and body parts. You could recreate their body out of clay or cut paper to make a model of the snow flea!
March 2022 Kids Corner
from the Gale River Cooperative Preschool
Sweet ideas for spring!
After securing the spile in the tree, hang a bucket, jug, or whatever you are using to collect the sap and watch it run!
March is often thought of as a shoulder month - the slushy bridge between winter and spring. But as anyone who delights in sweet syrup on their pancakes knows, March is a precious time of year. When nights are in the 20s and days are in the 40s, there is a helpful build up of pressure in the trees which causes sap to rise. Sap is mostly water, but in maple trees, 1-3% is sugar. The sugar comes from the tree’s winter storage of starch in its roots. When we tap maple trees (usually sugar maples but others work well too), we tap into the xylem layer in the tree. The xylem layer brings water and nutrients to the buds and leaves while the phloem layer brings energy down from leaves all summer and fall. As pressure forces sap up, it runs through a metal spile we place in the tree then into buckets or tubing. A good day-long sap run can yield a gallon of sap. In order to get to that small amount of sugar, we have to boil off the water. It takes forty gallons of sap to make just one gallon of maple syrup! Boiling can take all day, but once you reach the amber colored sticky liquid you know it’s time to move to the kitchen, finish the boil, and can the syrup. The process of sugaring is fairly simple, but time intensive project. Collecting and boiling sap can take up your free time, however nothing beats pouring your own syrup on pancakes and taking a big bite!
Interested in learning more about sugaring or even taking it on this Spring? Here are some sweet ideas:
Practice your tree ID. Winter is a hard time to identify trees because deciduous trees are mostly missing their leaves. The surest way to identify your maples is by the buds. Red maple buds are bulbous, very red, and have three parts that are all equal in size. Sugar maples have pointed buds that are darker in color. The buds on either side of the main one are smaller and it looks like a spear. The buds can be high up so bring your binoculars!
If you want to experience tapping a tree firsthand, all you need is a drill, a spile, and a bucket! Spiles are pretty cheap to buy and you can even use an old milk jug for your bucket. Monitor how much sap you get day to day and what the high and low temperatures were. If you’d like to try boiling, a turkey fryer, or larger propane burner, is a simple way to boil a smaller amount of sap.
The Forest Society offers maple sugaring tours at the Rocks throughout the month of March. for more information click here.
Interested in maple sugaring activities and crafts? We’ve got you covered!
Try to create a tree that stands up on its own. This is a fun STEAM-based project. Trees have to be strong enough to withstand all kinds of wind and weather. What materials do you need to create your own strong tree? Start with some popsicle sticks, tape, clay, paper, glue, and let your imagination run wild.
Take bark rubbings. Bark can be useful in winter tree ID though it can change shape and texture as a tree gets older. Bring some paper and a crayon outside. Find a good piece of bark and lightly rub the crayon over the paper. The texture of the tree’s bark should appear on the paper! Compare bark rubbings from different trees. What do you notice?
March 2021 Kids Corner - Owl Activities
from the Gale River Cooperative Preschool
Test out your owl eyes!
Photo Credit: D. Gordon E. Robertson/ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Barred_owl.jpg
Materials:
Empty toilet paper roll
Scissors
Markers or other things to decorate
Instructions:
Cut the toilet paper roll in half so you have two smaller rolls.
Decorate the rolls if you want to!
Now experiment with having owl eyes! Have your child hold the rolls up to their eyes (or help your child to do so if they need it.) Ask them to keep their head still without turning it. Ask your child:
What can you see on your right side?
What can you see on your left side?
What can you see straight ahead?
Now have your child turn their head from side to side. Ask the same questions. What can they see now?!
Hungry for more? Try moving like an owl!
Outside or inside, move like an owl with your child! You can turn this into follow the leader. This helps teach self-regulation and is also fun!
Try:
Flying: flap your arms as you move about
Swooping: put your arms close to the sides of your body and dip your head and come back up again
Perching: bend your knees and stand on your toes with your arms at your sides
Looking around: slowly move your head from side to side
Looking for even more fun?
This owl game that helps to learn about an owl’s keen sense of hearing can be played inside or outside!
One person puts on a blindfold and becomes the owl. The other people in the game are the prey. One at a time, the prey move quietly to a spot near the owl and make their noise. The owl then tries to point in the direction of the prey and guess what kind of animal it was and who made the sound! Some good prey options are mice, snakes, frogs, or bats. Have fun!
Thanks to our partner, the Gale River Cooperative Preschool in Bethlehem, for helping our area parents get kiddos outside for fun no matter the time of year.
