Piney Ridge - Kids Animal Stories

Today in Piney Ridge, Clover, Bev, Edgar, and Tutu threw a surprise hero party for Lilly, Dougie, and Otto.

Parents, feel free to engage with your kiddos using some pf the prompts from below.

• What are acorn caps?
  • The tops of acorns that attach them to the tree
• What did the friends use to make a banner?
  • Slough Sedge (tall thick grass) made into strips and leaves
• How did Clover make paint?
  • By crushing berries and boiling flower petals and adding sap
• What did Clover use to make pink paint?
  • Pink petals (from a rhododendron)
• Why did the friends through a hero party?
  • To say welcome home to their brave friends who helped a little bird get home
• What did the friends use as a bowl?
  • Acorn Caps

For an activity, let’s make our own watercolors. You are going to need leaves and/of flower petals, Alum powder, Soda Ash/Washing Soda, tall glass cups/mugs, small glass cup, strainer, and coffee filters. First take your leaves and rip them into little pieces or grind them up in a mortar and pestle. If you are using petals, remove all the petals from the flower(s). Next either boil your leaves/petals on the stove for 10-20 minutes or place you plant material in a mug and pour boiled water over them and let it steep like tea for 30 minutes. Afterwards pour you liquid through a strainer into a tall glass. Once the liquid has been poured into the glass, make sure it is still warm. Add 2 teaspoons of alum into the liquid and stir it until completely dissolved. In small cup add 1 teaspoon of the soda ash and add just enough hot water to dissolve it. While stirring the liquid with the alum, slowly pour in the soda ash mixture. It will bubble and effervesce like when you add baking soda to vinegar. If you used red leaves, the red liquid will turn dark green when the soda ash is added in. After the 2 liquids have been mixed, place a coffee filter in the strainer and place that over you smaller cup and then slowly pour your mixture through. After the liquid is done straining (may take an hour or so) place your coffee filter with the gooey “gunk” and place on a flat surface to dry (can take up to 48 hours). I put mine on a large plate to be able to move it around as needed. After it has fully dried, scrap off the remaining stuff off the filter and into a sealable container. This hardened stuff is called lake pigment, and it is what you will mix with a little bit of water to make your own water color. Make sure to mix the water with the lake pigment in a ramekin or some kind of small smooth glass container and using a smooth metal or glass object grind the powder into the water until smooth. And now you have made your own watercolor!

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Today in Piney Ridge, Lilly, Otto, and Dougie found an injured Marbled Murrelet named Missy and decided to help take her to the ocean to reunite with her family.

Parents, feel free to engage with your kiddos using some pf the prompts from below.

• What is North?
  • Direction on a map. Usually the direction facing “UP”
• What are some animals you can find on a beach?
  • Crabs, sea stars, sea slugs, seals, birds
• Where do Murrelets live?
  • On the ocean and they lay eggs in nearby forests
• Who is Luna?
  • A harbor seal who is friends with Dom the sea otter

For today’s activity, we are going to look at maps. Using your map app, or a picture of an app either from your phone or from a book, find a few recognizable landmarks. Have your child tell you the position of the secondary location compared to their home. Is the location above/North their home on map? Is it East/Right of their home. This will help you child build spatial awareness and give the building blocks for learning understanding 3D shapes later on.

Today in Piney Ridge, Lilly, Otto, and Dougie found an injured Marbled Murlett named Missy and decided to help take her to the ocean to reunite with her family.

Parents, feel free to engage with your kiddos using some pf the prompts from below.

• What are herbivores?
  • Animals that only eat plants
• What do you call animals that eat mostly meat?
  • Carnivores
• Are people carnivores, herbivores, or omnivores?
  • Omnivores because we eat both plants and meat
• Which of the Piney Ridge villagers are carnivores?
  • Lilly the cat, Otto the otter, Tec the owl, Sally the salamander, Humpy the salmon, Puma the mountain lion
• Which of the Piney Ridge villagers are omnivores?
  • Dougy the squirrel, Rico the raccoon, Posie the opossum, Tutu the turtle
• Which of the Piney Ridge villagers are herbivores?
  • Bev the beaver and Clover the bunny

For today’s activity, let’s make a list of herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores! Grab 3 sheets of paper and at the top of each one write an animal category. Next find old workbooks or magazines with pictures of animals, or print out pictures, then have your child cut out the pictures. Lastly, have them glue the picture onto the correct page

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Today in Piney Ridge, Lilly, Otto, and Dougie found an injured Marbled Murlett named Missy and decided to help take her to the ocean to reunite with her family.

Parents, feel free to engage with your kiddos using some pf the prompts from below.

• Where do mushrooms like to grow?
  • In shady and moist places like forest floors or even in meadows and lawns with healthy soil
• Which type of poisonous mushroom does the shrimp russula look like?
  • Toadstool (Specifically Fly agaric)
• Which famous mushroom is modeled after a fly agaric toadstool?
  • The super mushroom from Super Mario
• Where do you think Missy lives?
  • On the ocean
• Why was Missy a long way from home?
  • She was with her family looking for a place to nest.

For an activity, let’s make spore prints! Grab a basket or container of some kind and go outside to a nearby meadow or woods and go mushroom hunting. Look for a variety of different ones. Carefully pick the mushroom by making sure the cap stays intact. Once you have found a few different ones, head back home. Once you’re home, carefully remove the stem of the mushroom from the cap and then grab different colors of construction paper. Place the cap of the mushroom down on a piece of construction paper, stem side down, and carefully cover the cap with a glass bowl and leave it alone for 12 to 24 hours. After the time has passed remove the bowl and the cap and you will see how the spores dropped from the cap and left a beautiful print on the paper. MAKE SURE TO DISCARD EVERY PIECE OF MUSHROOM AND DO NOT EAT ANY OF IT IF YOU ARE NOT 1000% WHAT KIND IT IS.

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Today in Piney Ridge, Dougie became a super squirrel and helped some of the critters. Even Clover helped after receiving some help herself.

Parents, feel free to engage with your kiddos using some pf the prompts from below.

• What did Dougie pretend to be?
  • A super hero!
• What do maple tree leaves look like?
  • Big and shaped like a hand
• What do red alder leaves look like?
  • Smaller and oval shaped with serrated edges.
• What is a “blade” of grass?
  • One single piece of grass
• What is a worry stone?
  • Something like a good luck charm that you keep with you. You can play with it in your hands to help you calm down if you are feeling a little nervous
• Do you have something that keeps you calm?
  • It can be a special blanky, a stuffy/toy, or even a worry stone

For an activity, let’s become super heroes! Using a bath towel or maybe an old swaddle, tie it around your neck to make a cape. Have your “super” child help your household with tasks around the home. You can also go to your nearest park and pretend that you are someone who needs a super hero to save them.

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Today in Piney Ridge, Lilly and Bev help Otto find a new home.

Parents, feel free to engage with your kiddos using some pf the prompts from below.

• What kind of foods do Otters eat?
  • Fish, crustaceans, birds, eggs, amphibians, small mammals
• Where do river otters sleep?
  • Caves, hollow logs, abandoned burrows, abandoned dams, near a body of water
• What is freshwater?
  • In land water that isn’t salty (lakes, rivers, creeks)
• What is salt water?
  • Water that isn’t inland and is salty (The Ocean)
• What are crawfish?
  • A freshwater crustacean like shrimp and crabs that look like a mini lobster\
• Which plant smells stinky, skunk cabbage or wild ginger?
  • Skunk cabbage, it emits a strong stinky odor to attract pollinators like flies and beetles.

For this week’s activity, ask you child what makes their home feel like home. Are there any smells that make them feel at home, specific decorations they may like? Maybe any colors that make them feel comfortable, I have always liked having light colors like teal and lavender in my home.

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Today in Piney Ridge, Lilly and friends escaped the heat by having a fun day in the water!

Parents, feel free to engage with your kiddos using some pf the prompts from below.

• What do you like to do when it is really hot outside?
• What do you like to do when at a pool/lake/river?
• Why do you think Clover doesn’t like getting wet??
  • Bunnies are sensitive creatures and it takes them a long time to dry which can make them really really sick
• What is buoyancy?
  • An invisible force that pushes objects upwards inside water, helping it float
• What do you like to do after a day in the water?
• Do you like to be pushed/pulled around in the water, on a board, or even on a blanket on the floor?

For an activity, go and play Marco Polo. Usually, it is played in the water, but it can be played outside of the water too. This game will help your child learn to trust and follow their ears and sense of touch like they would trust their eyes.

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Today in Piney Ridge, the nocturnal friends decided to have a campout where they roasted food and played games!

Parents, feel free to engage with your kiddos using some pf the prompts from below.

• What do you like to do when camping/relaxing around a fire?
• What did Rico do to keep the fire from spreading?
  • He made a ring of rocks around the area where the fire was
• What are cattails?
  • A tall grass/reed with a brown furry spike at the top
• Which of the snacks the friends ate sounds the yummiest?
  • Insects, fish, nuts, popped seeds (like mini popcorn)
• How did Rico start a fire?
  • By rubbing a few sticks together until black soot/ash sparked and placed that on the fluffy cattails
• What did the friends do before they went home to sleep?
  • Put out the fire using water and dirt.
• What did the big plant say to the little plant?
  • What’s Up Bud!

For an activity, do some campfire activities! Make s’mores in the microwave and make some popcorn then gather around a light source like a candle or flashlight. Make a blanket fort and pretend it is a tent, share stories, play games. Play charades by having your kiddo pretend to be someone or something.

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Today in Piney Ridge, the diurnal friends made soccer equipment and had a few matches. Unfortunately Edgar hurt his wing and sat out and Clover mended his wing and kept him company.

Parents, feel free to engage with your kiddos using some pf the prompts from below.

• What do you do when you get bored?
  • Make a new game?
  • Go find cool things to collect?
• What does “vertical” mean and what are examples?
  • Vertical: Straight up and down
  • Trees, poles, someone standing
• What does “horizontal” mean and what are examples?
  • Horizontal: Going side to side/flat
  • Table top, the floor, someone laying down
• What does Otto eat?
  • Fish, crustaceans (crayfish and crabs), amphibians, & reptiles
• What did Clover make for Edgar?
  • A sling
• What is the sling used for?
  • To keep someone from moving their arm so it can heal

For an activity, using some household objects make some posts. Depending on your child, you can use a doorway indoors or set something up outside. Then have yourselves a little soccer game!

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Today in Piney Ridge, Lilly and Clover relaxed in the meadow and made some flower crowns.

Parents, feel free to engage with your kiddos using some pf the prompts from below.

• Do cat eat greens?
  • Yes, the fiber helps them digest their food, especially if that ate to much hair and/or bones
• What is your favorite flower?
• Can you describe what it looks like?
• What do you think Clover was feeling when the stem of a flower ripped while she was making her flower crown?
• How do you feel when you do something for the first time and it is not quit right?
• What do we do if something we make dose not turn out how we want?
  • Practice, Practice, Practice!

For an activity, let’s make a flower crown! Like described in the story, go pick some flowers from your lawn or a public park. Dandelions, daisies, and clovers will most likely be the easiest to find. When you have the flower, using your nail make a little slit one or two finger widths from the bottom of the stem. Grab the next flower and slide its stem through the slit. Then make a slit in the second stem. Repeat this process until the crown is long enough to go around your child’s head. In the finally stem, make the slit slightly bigger, just enough to pass the blossom through, to close the loop.

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