"Home in the Sage"

Home in the Sage
Written by Creative Music Circle
April 2007
Inspired by the book, Where the Buffalo roam by Jacqueline Geis
Featuring wildlife of the Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Preserve

Sing to the tune of “Home on the Range”

Oh, give me a home
Where the coyotes roam
Where the mule deers and brush rabbits play
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word,
And the skies are not cloudy all day

CHORUS
Home, home in the sage,
Where the deer and the brush rabbits play
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word,
And the skies are not cloudy all day

Oh, show me a land
Where the tall live oaks stand
And the bobcats and ground squirrels run
Where the rattlesnake lies still
As the horned lizard will
In the warmth of the afternoon sun

Oh, the cottonwoods grow
Where the creeks in Spring flow
And the young golden eagles are seen
Where boulders hold water
For the creatures in summer
When the meadows are no longer green

CHORUS

Oh, give me a place
Where the hummingbirds race
And the red-shouldered hawk flies so high
Where the wild lilacs bloom
And there’s plenty of room
For the quails and woodpeckers to fly


I’m so glad there’s some space
For the chaparral and sage
For the badger and tarantulas to be free
For the diving beetles to swim
And the frog’s life to begin
And the yellow-rumped warblers to sing

CHORUS
Home, home in the sage,
Where the deer and the brush rabbits play
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word,
And the skies are not cloudy all day

Kids Passionate about Nature, Naturally

In April we expanded our Life Science studies to an emphasis on ecology, with special events for Earth Day and National Wildlife Week. I knew we were venturing into passionate territory when we began to talk, read, and sing about endangered species and the rainforest. Once again kids pursued their individual interests within our overall theme with project-based activities. In collaboration with our new Young Naturalist Club, the kids each chose a special topic to work on for their individual projects. We had a beautiful display on litter such as styrofoam and plastic bags and its effects on wildlife, a hands-on display explaining how and why to choose earth-friendly toys with samples to pick up and play with, an anti-litter campaign DVD/habitat/poster exhibit, a poster plea on simple ways each person can save the rainforest, and a tri-fold poster on the relationship between cell phones and loss of gorilla habitat. Phew!!! Did we learn a lot about the interconnectedness of all life on earth! Please read the Earth Fair coverage (http://youngnaturalist.blogspot.com/) to learn about the wonderful community education event sponsored by our little group at the local public library.

In our music circle we were inspired by the book, “Where the Buffalo Roam” by Jacqueline Geis, to write our own song featuring the wildlife, plants, trees, and landforms of our local Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Preserve. Sung to the tune of “Home on the Range,” the kids’ own poetic rendition of this one-of-a-kind ecosystem deserves its own post.

We also learned about fascinating symbiotic relationships through the beautiful book “Friendships in Nature” by James Gary Hines II with paintings by Jan Martin McGuire. We read the picture book “For the Love of Our Earth” by P.K. Hallinan along with “50 Simple Things Kids Can Do to Save the Earth” by The EarthWorks Group to inspire our Earth Day projects. Over the two weeks we read Jean Craighead George’s chapter book “One Day in the Tropical Rainforest” in which a young native boy saves his rainforest home by finding a nameless butterfly. Each time we read some chapters out of the book I’d have kids jumping up from their seats saying things like “We have to do something!” or “It’s just not fair that we have homes and the animals are losing their homes!” and then they’d proceed to draw or paint or work on their Earth Fair projects with renewed resolve and interest.

Celebrate National Wildlife Week!

This week, go on a bird walk, research your favorite wild animal, hike in a nature preserve, hang a bird feeder, fill a bird bath, or plant some flowers to attract butterflies.
Visit the National Wildlife Federation's website for inspiration and ideas for ways your family can get outside and celebrate:

Springtime, Phenology, and Lifelong Learning

This is what I love about learning alongside children: I’m brimming with excitement over learning something new. While thinking about our Spring study of the “life science” of plants and animals, my interest was tempered by a feeling of “been there, done that.” At first, all I could think of were the typical science experiments with sad plants in cups in the classroom window and lifeless drawings of the anatomy of a plant. I also felt like it would be overwhelming to fit together a study of plants, insects, and animals because each is such a huge topic area. I knew I needed some fresh inspiration for a holistic study of this wondrous process.

During an internet search, I stumbled upon the term phenology on a wonderful site for “nature detectives” in the UK. This may be a common term in Great Britain or among climatologists, but I had never heard it, and it’s such a great concept! Bingo! We’ll study the relationship between climate and living things and nothing could be more relevant to these precious kids who will be part of the solution in an era of climate change.

Once the kids and I got going, following our interests in this area and getting dirty with some good hands-on measuring, planning, digging, planting, watering, and observing, we sure covered a lot of intellectual territory in a few short weeks.

As always, a variety of great literature inspired us on our journey. We read a great picture books like “Growing Wild: Inviting Wildlife into Your Yard” by Constance Perenyi and “Sunflower House” by Eve Bunting, both of which inspired us to plant flowers and trees that attract, feed and shelter birds, bees, and butterflies and to hang up seed and nectar bird feeders. We also measured and plotted a bean-pole teepee and planted peas, nasturtium, and passion vines around it. The kids crowded inside to see how many can fit and look forward to being shaded in their home-grown garden retreat once the vines grow big. After reading the hilarious story “Tops & Bottoms” by Janet Stevens, the kids were even more interested in the carrots, broccoli, and corn growing in our kitchen garden. I also used several good reference books [Sunflower Houses by Sharon Lovejoy, Seeds of Change: Learning from the Garden by Mannes & Rehns, and Gardening Wizardry for Kids by L. Patricia Kite] to guide us in experimenting with seedlings and watching how plants respond to temperature, light, soil, wind, and also practical gardening outdoors.

Of course the kids needed no encouragement to dive into learning about a variety of animals too. We read some fun poetry about animals and a great chapter book, “Funny Frank,” by Dick King-Smith (author of Babe: The Gallant Pig). The kids delighted in hearing the story of a chick who wants to swim with the ducks and the inventive way his human family helps him to follow this seemingly absurd dream. We also read several Aesop’s Fables about animals that each kid had identified an interest in, and it was fun to hear some of the “morals” being brought up later to resolve conflict during outdoor play.

Our month ended with fabulous presentations of the projects each child pursued at home and during Circle Days. We had a poster teaching all about wild mustangs, a diorama with facts about the endangered Pacific Pocket Mouse, a fan book and diorama about the life cycle and habitat of frogs, a beautiful diorama and lapbook about dolphins, and a creative picture book about a pet bunny with accompanying poster featuring cottontail rabbits. The kids presented their projects individually and loved sharing all that they had learned together with the group.

And all of this enriched with songs, rhymes, music & movement renditions, paintings, drawings, and poetry writing. The colors of Spring, along with scientific exploration and discovery, reflected in a colorful array of learning and celebrating together. I'm so glad to be learning along with these children for my own lifelong learning adventure!