Elementary
Sensing the Season (Fall and Winter)
Kindergarten
Each Sensing the Season walk involves four to six participatory activities designed to put your students in touch with nature. Using their sense of touch, smell, sight and hearing students explore a prairie and/or woodland to understand and appreciate seasonal changes and the wonders of the natural world. This program was designed by The Institute for Earth Education.
Fall and Winter, 1 hour - $3.50 per child
McLaughlin Meadow
Insect Discovery (Fall)
1st Grade
Take a close look at the diversity of insect life on the prairie. Students learn about insect life stages and body parts and then search for a beauty and a beast.
1 hour - $3.50 per child
McLaughlin Meadow
Roots, Stems, Leaves and Seeds (Fall)
1st Grade
After building a six-foot tall "human" plant, students will search for real plant parts by playing plant tag. Then, it is off to visit a special plant friend while discovering the four needs of plants along the way. Students end with a stop at the forest grocery store to sample some real plant parts and a quick round of the "Plant Pokey".
1 hour 15 minutes - $4.75 per child
Mellody Preserve
Wetland Exploration (Spring)
1st and 2nd Grade
Explore the underwater world of aquatic insects and amphibians. With dip nets in hand, students investigate wetland animals and learn about their life stages and the process of metamorphosis. Students gain a greater appreciation of the importance of wetland habitats and their biodiversity.
1 hour and 30 minutes - $4.50
Mellody Preserve
Prairie Habitats
2nd Grade
A habitat makes a good home. All animals need food, water, shelter and space in order to survive. Investigate the habitat requirements for four prairie animals: the vole, rabbit, crayfish and goldfinch.
1 hour and 15 minutes - $5.50 per child
Haffner Meadow
Introduction to the Prairie (Fall)
3rd Grade
After learning the secrets of the prairie in the "Prairie Essence Box", students explore native grasslands searching for plant and insect biodiversity. Next, each child will sketch and describe a prairie plant in writing. Students also discover the importance of stewardship in maintaining the health and biodiversity of the prairie by collecting native seed and removing invasive plants.
1 hour and 15 minutes - $4.75 per child
West Skokie Preserve
Keys to Life (Fall and Spring)
3rd Grade
Life as we know it would not exist without four "key" elements. Through fun, hands-on discovery, students learn how air, water, soil and sunlight combine to make life possible on our planet. After earning real keys, students unlock the life box and discover…?
1 hour and 15 minutes - $5.00 per child
Mellody Preserve
Ravine Adventure (Fall and Spring)
3rd Grade
Imagine what it must have been like when glaciers covered Lake Forest. Hiking atop a moraine down to the shore of Lake Michigan, students discover evidence from this ancient time. They also gain a greater understanding of the forces of nature that shaped Lake Michigan and the unique ravine community.
2 hours - $5.00 per child
McCormick Ravine
Earthkeepers (Fall)
4th Grade
This dynamic three day Earth Education program pulls the learner into an exciting adventure. A mysterious, unseen character, known only as E.M., guides the students through the important tasks that need to be completed to become Earthkeepers. This program is designed to teach four basic ecological concepts: the flow of energy; the cycling of materials; the interrelationships of life and the process of change over time. Students also experience the wonders of the natural world through exploration and discovery. Our dependence upon and connection to the earth is a major theme running throughout the program. This program was designed by The Institute for Earth Education.
6 hours per day, 3 days - $40.00 per child
Mellody Preserve
Earth Quest (Fall and Winter)
4th Grade
An old map leads students on a special one-day learning adventure at Mellody Preserve, where they discover the incredible connections and interrelationships in the web of life. Students take on the roles of different plants and animals to create an actual web and discover how humans are also connected and dependent on these same systems that support life. Participants gain an awareness of the importance of humans watching over and nurturing the connections in this web of life. Students also learn how all life on earth is powered by the energy of the sun by searching for evidence of actual food chains. At the end of the day, they are invited to become official earth stewards, setting out on a lifelong adventure of discovery and earth stewardship. Components of this program were designed by The Institute of Earth Education.
6 hours - $18.00 per child
Mellody Preserve
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elementary
