In the forest: Who's been here?

Each Friday we visit the school forest during our science time. Each time, we begin by sitting in our Sit Spots (each kindergartener has his/her own spot that s/he returns to) and observing our surroundings. We also keep a different question in mind each time. Last week, we answered the question "What has changed in your Sit Spot since last time?" Autumn was coming to a close, most of the leaves had fallen, and lots of bushes had also been cut back, so a lot had changed!

This week our question was "Who's been here?" We read the book In the Woods: Who's Been Here? by Lindsay Barrett George, in which two children go for a walk through the woods and find clues everywhere of animals who have been there before them, such as tracks in the mud, nut casings on a stump, and an empty nest. We then talked about the word "evidence," which one of our kindergarteners brought up, and talked about how scientists look for evidence, or clues, to see what animals have been to different places.

Then we went to the forest to look for our own evidence of animals! We sat in our Sit Spots for several minutes (it was too cold to bring our notebooks outside), and then walked around the forest. Then we came back in and sketched what we saw. Below are some pictures of what the students discovered, as well as a few samples from what they recorded in their science journals.