During the last week of May, I had programs at the Mill Trail Property with the Stowe Elementary School 2nd graders! The 2nd graders have recently been learning about habitats, and are so knowledgeable about the different types of habitats we have around the world, and what animals/plants need in their habitat to survive!
We started off with visiting in the cabin, where we played a game of “Find the Plastic Insect”. I hid plastic insects inside and around the cabin for the students to find. Once the students found them, I asked what they noticed about where the insects were hiding, and how they found the insects. Students noticed that some of the insects are camouflaged, while others noticed that the insects were hiding in dark/cold areas – possibly having to do with their habitat preference!
We then moved on to three stations about different types of habitats. The first station was a Cellar Hole scavenger hunt. There are cellar holes at the Mill Trail Property that are perfect habitat for bugs and amphibians! The second station was a Plant Pursuit scavenger hunt. This scavenger hunt required students to look at plant habitats instead of animal habitats, and they found a ton of interested plants and made some great observations! The last station was the water scavenger hunt, where students used nets, lifted rocks, and looked under fallen logs to find interesting bugs and animals.
The students had a great time, and afterwards we had a wonderful packed lunch on the lawn of the cabin! It was fun having the 2nd graders visit!