Forest Tots
Our weekly outdoor learning experiences are designed for youth to explore, engage, learn and play! Find a program which may interest your child! Please check the Calendar of Events for dates and times.
• Date: Tuesdays & Thursdays
Participants will:
• Develop an understanding of seasonal changes in the Rio Grande Valley by exploring plant and wildlife.
February 24 - Yucca Yonder!
Have you ever met the mighty Yucca plant with their resilient sharp leaves and towering white flowers? Bring your tot to explore the power, lore and life of Yucca, also known as the Spanish Dagger.
Tots will:
- · Begin with Welcoming Song and a Tree Trunk Story.
- · Participate in Yucca Moth Hide and Seek Provocation.
- · Engage in Yucca Flower Petal Tasting.
- · Practice formation of values and respect towards plant life by honoring the power of Yucca.
February 26 - Invasive Species
Invasive is a strong word, and sometimes we all just need our space to be comfortable where we are growing. Tots will explore introduced species of the RGV, how they are growing in relation to other plants, and consider how we can support native plant growth.
Tots will:
- · Begin with Welcoming Song and a Tree Trunk Story.
- · Participate in Seed Discovery Provocation.
- · Engage in Plant Personalities Portraits.
- · Practice language and literacy by naming native and invasive species.
March 3 - Happy, Healthy, Wild
This World Wildlife Day, we're celebrating aromantic and medicinal plants that conserve the health of people and wildlife! Bring your tot to celebrate the wildlife all around, who rely on Honey Mesquite, and other important trees native to our habitat.
Tots will:
- · Begin with Welcoming Song and a Tree Trunk Story.
- · Participate in Tree Bark Exploration.
- · Engage in creating natural wildlife masks.
- · Practice critical thinking and rule-making though wildlife investigation and imaginative play.
March 5 - Out to look for Ocelot
Why are some animals like Ocelot Jaguarondi no longer around? Many species that call the Rio Grande Valley home have become endangered due to the loss of habitat. Bring your tot to learn the stories of these creatures, and how we can keep animals feeling at home.
Tots will:
- · Begin with Welcoming Song and a Tree Trunk Story.
- · Participate in prints and pattern provocation.
- · Engage in Imaginative Ocelot trail walk.
- · Practice empathy and perspective taking by thinking about what it is like to be an animal that has lost their home.
March 10 - Red-Winged Blackbird
Migratory birds start passing through the region welcome larger numbers of Red-Winged Blackbird. Bring your tot to enjoy the sounds of their iconic chorus and learn why some birds are traveling this season.
Tots will:
- · Begin with Welcoming Song and a Tree Trunk Story.
- · Participate bird feathers provocation.
- · Engage in Red-Winged Birding trail walk.
- · Practice identifying and discriminating phonetics of bird calls.
March 12 - Spring Migration, Magnificent Monarchs
Monarch butterflies begin arriving from their overwintering grounds in Mexico this time of year, searching for milkweeds to sustain them before laying their eggs. Tots will learn about the magnificent journey of monarchs and their cultural significance.
Tots will:
- · Begin with Welcoming Song and a Tree Trunk Story.
- · Participate in butterfly wing provocation.
- · Engage in butterfly garden exploration.
- · Practice attaining new knowledge about Monarch butterflies and making observations of butterfly behavior.
March 17 - Anacua Tree and Me
Anacua is one of our most abundant trees in Quinta Mazatlan's thornforest. Bring your tot to begin a friendship with Anacua, learning how to identify them, listen to them and even communicate with them!
Tots will:
- · Begin with Welcoming Song and a Tree Trunk Story.
- · Participate in leaf threading provocation.
- · Engage in tree hugs and song trail walk.
- · Practice forming values, kindness and self-awareness by relationship building with trees.
March 19 - Signs of Spring
What do you think of when you think of Spring? Tots will investigate the signs of spring and learn how each living being responds to more daylight warmth that introduces the season.
Tots will:
- · Begin with Welcoming Song and a Tree Trunk Story.
- · Participate in shadow drawing provocation.
- · Engage in "Busy Creatures" trail walk.
- · Practice language and literacy by interpreting signs and signals of seasonal change.
March 24 - Pollinating Bees
There is an invisible force that supports the relationship between flowers and bees called static electricity! Tots will explore different bees of South Texas, and how they fly with a positive charge that helps them collect pollen.
Tots will:
- · Begin with Welcoming Song and a Tree Trunk Story.
- · Participate in magnetic play provocation.
- · Engage in bee hive print making.
- · Practice noticing and creating patterns through observing pollinating bees and investigating the science behind magnetic force.
March 26 - World of Wildflowers
It's not a weed its a wildflower! Bring your tot to appreciate Spring blooms this season and learn the importance of their appearance to supporting healthy ecosystems.
Tots will:
- · Begin with Welcoming Song and a Tree Trunk Story.
- · Participate in Wild Color Hunt.
- · Engage in day and night blooming movement game.
- · Practice proprioception through imaginal play and sensory integration of observing bright flower blooms.
March 31 - No Program
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