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by Peg Prag

The Caterpillar’s fall program, “I Can, (Toucan,) We ALL Can,” has just begun. “Global warming” is a topic that involves every one and every thing and upon which everyone has an effect.

The decisions we (soon to include today’s students) make about how we use our resources, energy, etc., will be very important ones. Though a complex subject, students need to develop an understanding of some of the science behind it, as well as a positive feeling that they (we) can each make a difference.

The 2009 Caterpillar curriculum is introducing this subject in constructive and engaging ways. The program has four main stations. One is Alternative Energy with several hands-on experiments with wind mills, solar cars, solar houses and solar collectors. The second is Endangered Animals. The K-2 students will each “adopt” an endangered animal puppet and put on a show. The third, fourth and fifth grade groups will each pick an endangered animal file with information and photos about the animals and write facts about it. The third is Reduce-Reuse-Recycle, and the difference that eating local food can make. The students will each make a “We-Can Bird”: one of the fortune-teller/catchers that kids have been making for years with things WE CAN do. And, the fourth is Plants: the carbon cycle (with a bit about global warming and the importance of plants), the plant cycle, and plant parts. In addition, the kids will each make a seed stick to take home and plant.

The program is exciting, with a lot of good information. To set up a Caterpillar visit for your group please call Vanessa at (541) 621-6278.

The Caterpillar crew will be selling food at the Winter Fest. It’s a wonderful event so come on by December 6, enjoy yourself…and buy some soup! We will also have a variety of re-made, re-cycled things for sale (kids nature kits out of old jeans, trugs and mason bee homes out of old pallets, and lots more). We’ll have several activities for kids, too: making bird feeders, making caterpillar draft-stoppers, and planting gift plants in yogurt containers. And, the fourth is Plants: the carbon cycle, the plant cycle, and plant parts. In addition, the kids will each make a seed stick to take home and plant.

A Special Thank You to:
Larry Jones for his wonderful creations for the Caterpillar, Bill and Mary Ann Kennedy for the circuit boards and woodworking and Rodger Miller and his friends for the vinyl installation work.