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Our day dawned bright, sunny, and perfect for a picnic! During our morning routine, I shared the story of the origin of one of the most universal and comforting soft toys children enjoy. Just in case you've never heard the story behind teddy bears, here's a short (and true) story about how teddy bears came to be so popular.
In 1902, president Theodore Roosevelt went on a hunting trip. Near the end of the trip, a black bear was captured. Roosevelt would not shoot it. Later, a man named Clifford Berryman drew a famous cartoon of the president and the bear, and from that day forward, everyone thought about bears when they thought about the president. A while later a toymaker was inspired to make a stuffed animal in the shape of a bear and because of president "Teddy" Roosevelt, he wanted to name it "Teddy Bear." It was sent to the White House, and Roosevelt approved the first teddy bear.
Soon after, we began to prepare for our picnic. Before long our basket was packed, and with teddy bears tucked under our arms, we walked to our picnic spot. The children helped spread the blanket and we passed our plates as we listened to the Garcia/Grisman version of "Teddy Bear's Picnic." It was a lovely time, and we liked thinking about teddy bears having a fun picnic with food and games just for them.
After the children and I were done eating, I blew bubbles for the children to chase. It was lovely watching the children joyfully run after the bubbles that sped along on the light breeze!
Once the children were out of breath from chasing bubbles, we slowed down and took a walk around the edge of the field where we chose to picnic. The children and I were treated to lots of lovely flowers, plus we spotted some wildlife.
A flock of tiny birds chirped in the trees...
A frog waited in the shallow water...
... and a ladybug crept along a leaf.
We also saw some beautiful and interesting flowers and noted the fluff from a large cottonwood tree on the ground near several cottonwood saplings. We talked about how the breeze blew the fluffy seeds from the "mother" tree to the ground and when the seeds landed on the moist, marshy ground, the conditions were just right for growing new "baby" trees.
On our way home, we saw a lovely Painted Lady butterfly stop to sip nectar from some thistles.
We also noticed a strange mass of fur on the ground near a wooded area. We pondered what animal might have left so much fur- could it be a dog, a deer, a raccoon, or a coyote? Was the fur left there by someone brushing a dog, or was it picked off by a coyote eating another animal? We may never know, but it was interesting for us to think about!
The last interesting thing we found was a seed one of the children caught blowing by. We wondered what plant it came from. The children and I looked for a match nearby, but could find none. Perhaps we'll plant it and find out what comes up in the spring!
In the afternoon, we enjoyed several stories from the Tiptoes Lightly series.
See you on Monday!