Happy New Year! Well, winter is in full swing with the meadows covered with frost in the morning, gray skies, and the occasional rainstorm. The tree my son chose for our “tree book” (see September’s Nature Activity idea: http://naturetots.com/2008/09) has lost all of its leaves by now and the fantastic spider web we discovered in October is long gone too. If you haven’t made a tree book with your child, January is a great time to start, so you can chart the whole year through, January through December.

Another new Nature Tots class I will be offering next year will be called Pebbles and Plants. Every child loves collecting rocks and stopping to smell the flowers. In this session, covering both rocks and various vegetation, children will be encouraged to stop and look at different types of rocks and plants species, while learning about how rocks are formed, and how to identify different types of plant life. If you have any other ideas based on what interests your child(ren), please feel free to pass on any ideas!

Also, as some of you may already be aware of, I am in the process of establishing Nature Tots as a non-profit, in hopes of one day being able to offer these classes for free! I will keep you informed of my progress…

Hope you have a very happy New Year and hope to see you outdoors!

Stephanie Derammelaere

Even though we don’t live in an area that has snow, we can still enjoy some beautiful snowflakes! Have your children create their own snowflakes that you can decorate windows with or hang from thread. Fold white paper circles (trace around a plate) in half, then in thirds, and then in half again (vertically). Snip little circles, triangles, and other shapes on both sides of the folded up paper. When you unfold the paper, the resulting snowflakes will have the requisite six sides. By altering the little cuts from one snowflake to the next, your snowflakes will be as varied as those found in nature!

January is also a great month to see migrating Gray Whales off the coast heading south for the winter. Point Reyes Lighthouse is an excellent viewpoint. This is also the time the elephant seals return to the Point Reyes Headlands. Point Reyes National Park will have shuttle buses from now through mid-April, 2009 on holidays and weekends to ease congestion for visitors. Visit www.nps.gov/pore/planyourvisit/shuttle.htm to get more information about times, costs, and pick up and drop off locations for the shuttles.

While Ziploc baggies are convenient for kids’ snacks, they are not a good environmental choice, as landfills increasingly overflow with disposable products. Non-disposable plastic containers, while being a better choice than disposables, are also not the most eco-friendly since the making of plastic requires highly toxic chemicals, plastic does not decompose when it finally is (inevitably) thrown out, and because of health concerns found in a lot of plastic products produced with PVC (polyvinyl chloride), or BPA (bisphenol A), which have been linked to everything from developmental disorders to cancer. So what is a mother on the go with hungry kids to do? Luckily, there are more and more unbreakable, non-plastic, and affordable products coming on the market. One of my favorites are the little stainless steel or aluminum containers actually meant for spices. They are lightweight, have clear tops so you can see what’s inside, and are the perfect size for small snacks like raisins, nuts, or pretzels. They can be found at stores such as Bed, Bath & Beyond and even at IKEA. A few other options include:

www.kidskonserve.com

www.kleankanteen.com

www.laken.es

www.sigg.com