L​​earn at Home

Originally published in Lake Simcoe Living Magazine​.

• Bringing Nature Home Crossword Puzzle – Hundreds of invasive species have infiltrated our lakes, rivers and forests, putting our native fish, plants and animals, as well as their habitats at risk. Solve the puzzle and learn more about the environment you live in.​

• Snowflake Catcher – Have you ever tried catching a snowflake, on your tongue or in your hand just to see it melt away? Here’s an easy and fun way to catch snowflakes without them melting away so you can take a closer look!

• ​Invite Pollinators Over​ – You too can play an important role in mitigating climate change by creating inviting places and spaces for pollinators to visit and rest. Gather some items to help pollinators thrive in your garden.

• Hide and Creep​ – Identify, search for and colour the different types of invasive species found around Lake Simcoe. How many will you find?

• Wetlands Word Search​ – It’s true – nothing much seems to happen in swamps, marshes and bogs.  Water just sort of sits there. Even the animals that live in them seem to just loll around, waiting for something to happen. Did you ever hear the expression “still waters run deep”? Lots of activity is going on below a swamp’s surface. It just takes a sharp eye to spot it.​ Learn more about how wetlands function and have fun finding wetland words in this word search activity.​​​

• Wetlands Word Search – With so much happening during the spring season, there is no shortage of sounds to listen for – some familiar and others new. Create your very own Sound Map and take note of the sounds you hear.

• Wetlands Word Search– How many different types of trees can you identify in your neighbourhood? Gather some leaves and use our key to identify how many species you can find.

• ​Backyard Birding – With hundreds of species of birds in Ontario, you can look for birds everywhere – from your window or your backyard, while playing at the park or walking through your local  greenspace. How many different species of birds can you find?

• Go with the Flow – It’s raining! Woohoo – grab your umbrella, map, pencil, notebook, raincoat and rubber boots and go outside to your backyard, park or neighbourhood greenspace and learn how raindrops in your neighbourhood travel to Lake Simcoe.

• 8 Minute Nature Exploration – Grab a pencil and paper and find a place outside to spend the next 8 minutes doing the following “Nature Exploration​​. What can you see, hear, feel and smell? 

• Forest Bathing​​ ​- Forest bathing is a form of nature therapy that incorporates gentle meditative practices, so it can be done virtually anyone.​ Give it a try​ for a simple yet effective way to “unplug” from it all​​. 

• Ephemeral Art – Ephemeral art is made with natural materials that are on hand – this means that you can create your own unique piece of art using natural materials!

• Native Plants – Children learn by doing. They love being part of the process – from planting seeds to daily watering – all in excited anticipation for their seeds to sprout. Create your own garden and watch it grow!

• Animal Tracks​ – Animal tracks in the snow give you clues to identify who made those tracks – the number of toes on each foot, claw marks or no claw marks, the shape of the “pad” of the print, the total length and width of each print, how big the animal was, and amazingly, how the animal moves.

• Snow Art – Dress for the weather and hurry outside to mold, shape,​ pack and create with snow like never before. So many possibilities!