CRESTLINE—The Crawford Park District’s new pre-kindergarten program, Forest Friends, is underway and is going well.
Led by new naturalist Chelsea Gottfried, four and five-year-olds are immersing themselves in the outdoors. From exploring the creeks and woodlands to playing in leaves and learning about everything nature, the Forest Friends – and Chelsea – are having a grand time!
Developing the Forest Friends program was spearheaded by Chelsea to offer a “natural” alternative to typical classroom setting pre-schools. Interaction with nature is essential in meeting the social, physical, emotional, and cognitive needs of children. This program combines early childhood and environmental education to foster curiosity, inspire confidence and independence, encourage problem-solving and reflection, and strengthen balance, coordination and concentration.
Learning takes place at Lowe-Volk Park and is inquiry-based and student-centered. Kindergarten readiness skills, such as letter recognition, counting and writing are also incorporated.
Forest Friends meets three days a week from September through April, with morning and afternoon sessions available. While this year’s sessions are underway, there still is availability. For more information about Forest Friends and how to register your four or five-year-old, contact the park office at 419-683-9000. Look for registration information for next year’s classes in the spring newsletter.
Other programs and events happening at the Crawford Park District include:
Birds on Saturday, Nov. 28 at 9 a.m. at Sears Woods, 1486 Mt. Zion Road
Meet Crawford Park District Naturalist Warren Uxley at Sears Woods and go looking for birds. A walk through the woods at Sears in search of the winter birds that are present this year. Each year can bring a new species of bird to our area and hopefully we will find whatever is new this year. Please call the Crawford Park District at 419-683-9000 to reserve a spot as all programs offered by the Crawford Park District are by registration only! Sears Woods is located west of Bucyrus on Mt. Zion Road.
Viewing the Night Sky on Saturday, Nov. 28 at 6 p.m. at Lowe-Volk Park, 2401 State Route 598
Join members of the Crawford Park Astronomy Club as they share their knowledge and telescope skills with all who are interested in the celestial sights.
Some of the targets for fall are: Jupiter – the largest planet in our solar system is ½ billion miles away, has 4 Galilean moons and over 60 other moons
Saturn – is 1 billion miles away, known for its beautiful rings, and has several moons
Mars – also known as the “Red Planet” will be rising in the west
m-13 – was discovered in 1714, is a Globular cluster 22000 light-years away, is 160 light-years across, and has a ½ million solar mass
m-51 – a Whirlpool Galaxy with a grand spiral design, can be found 37,000,000 light-years away, and was discovered in 1773 by Charles Messier
m-44 – discovered by Galileo in 1609, is a Beehive cluster, and only 500 light-years away
m-81 – also known as Bode’s Galaxy, is a spiral galaxy 11,000,000 light-years away and contains more than 200 globular clusters.
Please call the Crawford Park District at 419-683-9000 to reserve a spot. All programs offered by the Crawford Park District are by registration only!
Lowe-Volk Park is located three miles north of US Route 30. Look for information on other programs offered by the Crawford Park District by visiting their website or Facebook page.