making tracks: a plaster cast tutorial

One of our favorite things to do on walks is look for tracks.  Since most wild animals are active during the early morning or evening - times when we're usually cozy at home - tracks are one of the best ways to observe who's been there and what they've been up to.  

A few weeks ago, we discovered several sets of deer tracks on the sidewalk outside our house.  We had so much fun following the tracks, imagining the family of deer that walked by while the neighborhood slept! 

I decided to build on this interest by making plaster casts of a few tracks with Elise that we could bring home. Something to actually hold in our hands and study!  

Here's how we did it:

What you'll need:

• plaster of paris - we made 4 tracks and used about 2 pounds
• water - we used less than our 32 oz bottle held
• long strips of poster board - ours were about 3 x 18 inches 
• paper clips - for fastening the poster board strips around the tracks
• disposable bowls - for mixing the plaster
• spoons - also for mixing the plaster
• not pictured:  paper towels (this project is NOT as clean as I've made it look!!!) and bags for cushioning and transporting the finished casts 

^^ Find a track - the deeper and more well-defined the better! ^^

^^ Bend a strip of poster board into a ring slightly larger than the track, secure with a paper clip, and push securely into the ground. ^^

^^ Use a spoon to measure the plaster of paris into a bowl - we weren't too exact!  ;) ^^

^^ Add water and mix well - the ratio should be about 2 parts plaster of paris to 1 part water. ^^

^^ Gently pour the mixture over the track - an inch or so will do. ^^

^^ Have a snack - the plaster of paris will take about a half an hour to set. ^^

^^ We had hoped to make a Rosie track, but she was not cooperative - imagine that! ^^

^^ Use the trowel to loosen the soil around the track, and lift it out - wow!  ^^

^^ We let our casts set completely overnight before giving them a good scrub! ^^

^^ Guess that track!  We've been using our field guides to identify the tracks and read about the animals who made them.  I haven't done it yet, but I've been thinking about making a set of animal cards to match with the tracks...  I'll be sure to share them if I do! ^^

vegetable taste test

Did you know that when you're eating vegetables, sometimes you're eating leaves?  And stems?!  And flowers?!!!

I'm sure you knew that, and I guess I did, too - I just hadn't really thought of it that way before.  Elise, on the other hand, apparently thinks about it a lot.  A few mornings ago, before she even rolled out of bed, she exclaimed, "Mama!  I eat leaves!!!"  Surprised, I responded, "You do?!"  To which she replied, "Yes, salad!"

Anyway, this early-morning conversation about the parts of plants that we eat inspired this vegetable taste test.  It was so much fun, we actually put it together again to go along with our lunch!  ;)

root - carrot

bulb - scallion

stem - celery

leaves - spinach

flowers - broccoli

fruit - cucumber

seeds - peas

(We didn't have one of these prepared, but for bonus points, eat a tuber - potato!)

Please check back on Friday for a list of our favorite vegetable books!

eat like a bird!

Inspired by Jen's Birds of a feather post on Montessori Beginnings, Elise and I decided to snack like our feathered friends this afternoon...

fruit - both fresh and dried,

seeds,

and peanut butter 

(The birds outside our window have been eating their peanut butter off pine cones; we ate ours on crackers!)

We also pretended that chopsticks and tongs were our beaks.  

This was fun, but challenging - especially picking up sunflower seeds with chopsticks!  ;)

Tweet, tweet! 

winter bird-watching with a toddler

Last winter, we set up a bird feeder outside our front window, and we've enjoyed watching a variety of bird visitors ever since.  It's been especially great this winter, when it's been too cold to go outside for very long.  We've been feeding a regular group of black-capped chickadees, and an occasional white-breasted nuthatch and northern flicker. The chickadees are friendly enough to stay and dine on a seed or two, even with Elise's face pressed against the window, watching them!

Here are a few activities that I've put together to support Elise's budding interest in birds...
 

binoculars and cleaning cloth

Of course, she still likes to use my binoculars the most!  

a basket of bird guides

The owl section is Elise's favorite in both books, even upside down.  ;)  

bird feeder and bird magnets

(laminated paper with magnets glued to the back - bird images from supercoloring.com) 

 I couldn't find my much-loved magnet board from my teaching days, 

so we improvised with the lid from our roasting pan!

filling the bird feeder

Elise is always ready to help feed the birds!  

(BTW, I've since shortened the string on our pine cone bird feeder.  

It was a little too wild of a ride for the chickadees - ha!)