MUSHROOM FUN

There's still time to find mushrooms in southern New England. We had to search a little harder, but then that's half the fun!

Do you know what you can do with mushrooms?

-Bring some inside and look at them with magnifying glasses, 

**But always with the notion that ALL of them are poisonous.** 

Stay safe!

-Look at it closely. 

Do you know where the gills are?

Look at the cap and the stem.

How tall is it? Measure and record it.

(more activities below)

Here are some more mushrooms we found on our search :

 -Notice where each mushroom grew from when you collect it.
Was it growing from a rotted log, some moss, leaves,  tree bark, earth, etc ?   Was it in dampness or dryness?  Was it in a field,woodlands or lawn?

-Categorize each one according to the shape of its top ( the cap or Pileus).
Cone-shaped, Bell-shaped, Convex, Plane, Raised at center, Depressed, Funnel form

-Draw a mushroom in your nature journal.

-Use one at the entrance to your faerie house.

-Make spore prints
Spores are dust-like particles that come from the gills and they "create new individuals after being carried away on the wind and landing in a good place for growth".

Cut the stem off the mushroom and place the cap of the mushroom, gill side down, on a piece of paper. Use white paper for darker gills and darker paper for lighter gills.
Cover with glass jar or bowl and leave overnight.

 Spray the prints with acrylic fixative ( or hairspray) and mount them on colored cardstock.

          THE GALLERY of SPORE PRINTS 

Above all, enJOY your discoveries . . . 

and your connection with the natural world.

happy day!

BIG UMBRELLAS, LITTLE UMBRELLAS

Rain never keeps her from going outdoors.

Sometimes you even *see* more on rainy days . . .

 like little umbrellas

Can you just imagine faeries dancing around and keeping dry under them?

There were others nearby

We love discovering the different mushrooms that grow here!
Another exciting project is to identify each one and enter it in our Mushroom Book.

This is DAY 5 of the Great Outdoor Challenge

VISIT the others who are playing !

Children and Nature

April is Children and Nature Awareness month .

Children need to be *personally involved* with the earth…making that real *connection* with nature in order for it to have real meaning to them ... for them to truly UNDERSTAND....and CARE about the environment and our natural world forever. And one can begin in their own backyard!



Head on over to 5 Orange Potatoes to take part in her Children and Nature challenge for April... post a picture every day of April with a child in nature.

"As children observe, reflect, record, and share nature’s patterns and rhythms, they are participating in a process that promotes scientific and ecological awareness, problem solving, and creativity."

                      ~Deb Matthews Hensley