Happy Earth Week! Earth Day was on Wednesday.
 
Through songs, stories and personal experiences, we learned about the sorts of things that help the Earth and those that are not good for the Earth.
 
We made Earth Day Oobleck, which is a Non-Newtonian substance. Non-Newtonian substances are fun to play with because they are both a liquid and a solid. I definitely saw some puzzled looks as they tried to pick it up in its solid type state, only to have it seemingly melt in their hands.
 
We spent a couple of days finding bits of nature on the ground from surrounding green spaces to make nature sculptures, which all turned out pretty neat. The kids were pretty excited about scavenging for pinecones, leaves, long grasses, etc. I think we ended up with 20 times the amount we needed! This was a great time to talk about what we can and shouldn’t take from nature.
 
We continue to go on adventures throughout the community. With Calgary Spring comes puddles, mud, ice and snow, all at the same time! This makes for some great outdoor play. Also, all the birds are out so we have been spending time spotting them and figuring out what type of bird they are. We were lucky enough to have a woodpecker only a metre or so from us before it flew to the tree.
 
We were finally able to have a picnic snack, so naturally we had to bake muffins for the occasion. The also brought their books out and we laid on our backs looking for pictures in the clouds.
 
Our letters this week were M and N. We used our Big Lines and our letter construction kit to practice building these letters.

I hope everyone had a good “physically distanced” Easter and were able to virtually see or hear from their loved ones. Things have definitely been a little different here at Blooming Butterflies lately; we are missing many of our friends, we cannot go to places we normally would and although we are able to say “hi” to others we widely pass, it is not quite the same. The few little ones here are doing a good job trying to understand and follow the new rules around what is considered safe for us in our current situation. This is not easy adults and children alike. We are staying as positive as we can, knowing that this will not last forever.
 
On a happier note! The Easter Bunny also came to Blooming Butterflies! The kids were so excited to see a little homemade bunny stuffy and chocolates waiting for them. 
 
We also did a few more Easter crafts this week, including the use of a cardboard tube to stamp paint to make bunnies, made paper chicks that “hatched” out of a paper egg, made a little bunny face and made Easter colour patterns.
 
Our letters this week were K and A. We spent multiple days hunting for Easter eggs that had mystery letters in them. The kids would find an egg, run it back to me and tell me what it was called. It was a fun way to practice letter identification.
 
How many people can say that they go sledding in mid-April?! We sure can! The kids and I are taking advantage of the snow while it’s still here, but we are also hoping that more Spring like weather will stay so we can have picnics.
 
We also spent a couple of days exploring NoseHill Park. We did a lot of playing in the mud and explored water displacement with the little stream that was running down the hill. We also played "musical instruments" of various sorts using dead branches. We came up with Cellos, Violins and Drums. We even explored the variation in sounds that come from whacking differently sized trees.

Happy Easter!
I hope that everyone is staying safe and healthy. I have been fortunate to have 3 little ones remain with me at this uncertain time. It has been great to have them here!
 
This week was full of adventures, as we cannot visit the playgrounds. We are so fortunate to have a big field and the ravine right next to us. The kids had a great time climbing and exploring there, and the weather was great for learning how to test ice to see if it will be safe to step on. 
 
We also made it up to the top of a less populated hill at NoseHill Park, where we watched and listened to a variety of birds. The kids and I found dead branches to build a tipi, that was once there last summer. What great teamwork and building! On the end of this adventure we found a little stone egg that was part of a community Easter Egg Hunt!
 
Toward the end of the week we went on a walking adventure to parts of the community we do not frequent, only to find the biggest ice puddle we have ever seen!
 
We all had fun decorating and making crafts for Easter! The kids put together a paper bunny where they practiced writing their names, they painted paper Easter eggs with a paintbrush and painted other paper eggs by rolling marbles around their paint tray.
 
The kids practiced making colour patterns with eggs they hunted for, they worked on their fine motor skills by picking up and sorting little coloured blocks with what they call "clippers", and they counted and matched cards with bunny numbers and egg quantities. 
 
Our letters this week were B and R. They practiced building these letters using our magnet pieces.