Animals in winter - children's program

 

For this month's Children's Program, we shared our experiences of the natural world in winter, such as the increasing daylight, fluffy snow, barred owl sightings, and animal tracks. We then read and acted out the book Bear Has a Story to Tell by Philip and Erin Stead. The book starts in the autumn, as various animals are preparing for winter. A sleepy Bear is excited to tell his story to his animal friends, all of whom are busy with their winter preparation tasks, and thus don't have time to hear Bear's story. In each instance Bear quietly helps them with their task before moving on. Finally Bear succumbs to winter torpor and falls asleep. In the springtime Bear once again is reunited with his animal friends, who are now ready to hear Bear's story, which he has now forgotten. With the help of his friends, Bear then recollects the story of his adventures. While we all have many good stories to tell, perhaps we can learn from Bear to live our stories through acts of kindness. We ended our time together with a "hibernation meditation" and the ringing of the Big Bell.

Bear helping frog 

Each participant shared something they've noticed about nature lately