Four Winds Leaves

Today our class was fortunate enough to have our very first Four Winds lesson.  Four Winds is a nature program that is taught by volunteers.  This year's theme is ecosystems and nearly once a month our class will have a visit from our volunteer, Jen.  The lesson she taught today was called Signs of Leaf Eaters.  Each lesson usually begins with a short puppet show in which the students learn much of the content.  In this case, they learned how various insects use leaves and how to look for signs of use on the leaves.  After the puppet show, students sorted cards with photos of actual leaves with signs of leaf eaters.

Then we created a giant food web.  Each child held a card with a plant or animal on it.  We sorted ourselves into chains with a plant closest to the sun, then an herbivore followed by one or more carnivores.

Then the class went outside to find leaves with signs of leaf eaters.

Finally, we came inside so the class could write about what they learned and saw outside.  They had collected leaves with signs of leaf eaters and you probably saw them come home along with the Four Winds sheet.  Next time you're outside, ask your child to look for leaves with signs of leaf eaters!