The Growing Tree Children’s Center

SUMMER 2023: DIVING INTO ADVENTURE

Hold onto your bobsleds! Before we slide into the New Year, we would like to reflect on the successful implementation of our Early Education Center’s Nature-based Summer Program.

Taking root in the month of May, our friends focused on botany as we began planting the seeds that would grow our summer program over the course of the next few months; each session taking our learning experiences to new heights. We learned about the importance of plant life and what we can do to contribute to the cycle of life. Most days of the week, we would tend Rooted & Rising’s Community Garden where we intentionally planted a vegetable garden and a butterfly garden, to utilize for later purposes.

As we impatiently awaited our fresh blooms, along crept the month of June where we made the biggest splash! Diving into hydrology, we held mini sessions about the water around us. We began with the water cycle, learning about the effect our actions have on such an important factor in everyone’s lives. “No polluting!” is what our friends took away from this lesson. We created our own mini model water cycles using Zip loc bags, water, blue dye and a sharpie. Watching the continuous process of condensation, precipitation, transpiration and evaporation take place in our very own classroom was exhilarating to our friends, awakening a new sense of wonder. 

But wait! There’s more. Our well of activities had yet to run dry as we explored different bodies of water, sculpting our very own clay models of rivers, ponds, swamps and streams. As we discovered different bodies of water, we zoomed in on the creatures who live under the sea, except Mermaids. As a wraparound event, we visited Milwaukee Public Museum’s Living Oceans exhibit where we gazed through portholes housing sea creatures’ habitats, ranging from shallow waters of the Caribbean Seas way down into the Atlantic deep Ocean where the sunshine does not reach. Upon returning to our center, we created density jars portraying the different ocean zones and the animals living within them.

There was an overflow of Arts, Crafts, and STEM projects happening this month as we created a waterwall for our garden beds and drifted homemade popsicle and aluminum boats across a small pool as we assessed the stability and buoyancy of our creations. Sailing into the next week, we learned about H.O.M.E.S, which we exuberantly witnessed live in action at Discovery World’s Great Lakes Exhibit. We shuffled down the stairs to the Reiman Aquarium, and tiptoed over a tempered glass floor where we found ourselves under the sea as we trekked through the Caribbean Tunnel! Once we made it to the other side, we were welcome to touch real life habitants of Lake Michigan, such as the Sturgeon. Some of our fearless friends took on the challenge to two-finger touch an Atlantic Stingray, recalling the feeling as “flubbery”. Last, we made our way up the elevator to board their repurposed ship, The Challenger. Using our imaginations, we sat at a breakfast nook, jumped on bunk beds and peered out of windows below deck while two of our friends prepared a delicious meal as we began the voyage into the unknown.

After riding the waves of our Hydrology unit, we adventured into July’s Ecology theme - The Great Outdoors, where we revisited our Flowers, Trees and Everything Green session that took place in May. Our first stop was the Mitchell Park Domes, where we hung out with Mr. Pete who hosted, “Who’s Your Pollinator?” - a game-show styled learning session about flowering plants and their pollinators—before taking a tour of all three domes. Throughout the remainder of the month, we continued to be stewards of our gardens as we began our metamorphosis projects. 

Over the next few weeks, we observed insects in their natural habitats before creating our very own terrariums to raise twelve butterflies and six ladybugs. While our ladybug larvae did not make it past the pupa stage, we successfully set 12 Painted Lady Butterflies free in the Washington Park Prairie. 

To celebrate our progress over the program, we took a day off to visit Betty Brinn Children’s Museum, where we were able to engage in purposeful play through science, arts and drama. When we weren’t busy in the garden, we engaged in oodles of Water Wednesdays throughout the month of August. We ended the final month with a fun-filled Fishing and Prairie Prowl trip, hosted by our friends at Lakeshore State Park. Doing our best to stay cool on the sunny day, we wrapped up our summer program with loads of free play before departing with a super sweet ice cream social. We are excited for more years of fun in the sun and are hoping to add more smiling faces to take on our next adventure!