ANIMALS OF THE NORTHWEST (Substitute your own area here)

A Mixed Age Waldorf Nature Block (ages six to thirteen)

(GOALS: to acquaint and awaken children to animals living around them in their local
geographic area, to find similarities between animals in ‘families’ and to recognize the
interwoven truth between habitat, habits, and form of the living being)

Block’s Song: For the Beauty of the Earth (at the end of this document)
Block’s Poem: All Creatures Bright and Beautiful—at the end

WEEK ONE: In The Vicinity of the HOME: Domesticated Pets

1. Begin with talking over family pets. Bring out photos of pets, bring pets into the
room, enjoy this family story-telling time of the various pets and their antics,
stories, and more. If you have no pets, recall childhood ones, neighbor’s pets,
pets that belong to grandmas and grandpas, etc. etc. Use a MLB and create a page
with a title, Our Pets, or Pets, and after drawing with block crayons a border of
one color, and an inside of another, write down the names of these pets and their
breed, i.e., Sam—Black Labrador, older children can write, perhaps, 1972-1982
and you can also send them off to read up on the breed in the encyclopedia or
elsewhere if they like, later be sure to take your dog to the park or for a long walk
or give a bath, etc., brush the cat, clean the box, etc as this will generate renewed
interest in our beautiful animal friends! Care for your pets!
2. The next day, enjoy remembering the work, read over the list, and begin drawing
some pictures of these pets…..Use sticks and blocks to draw the whole animal not
just a head or part, but draw the whole animal in its favorite place….kitty on
dad’s chair, doggy on the porch, older children can draw more complex pictures
with colored pencils, take their time, shade, and so on, little ones can use sticks
and blocks and will not maybe even look at the pet but draw an archetypal cat or
dog, which is fine. Do 1-3 pictures if you are able on this day. The older children
can then look up and write definitions for the words: FELINE and CANINE.
Later, make and bake some home-made dog or cat snacks and either use them or
give them to friends as presents for their pets!
3. The next day, look over the work, finish any details, admire the drawings, there
may be more to do, and begin writing up some sentences on these pets. What is it
about the dog that is unique to him? What does the cat do most of the time? By
now the children will have followed the pets around much more than usual,
perhaps, and may notice things that surprise you. Help the younger ones to
construct some sentences into a paragraph and copy into the MLB, the older ones
can write up a nice story about How Bekka Came To Live With Us or What Do
Black Labs Do? Or even a little poem…….

Finish the week after the writing with the story of Saint Francis, emphasis on his love of
animals, nature, and his ability to talk with them….his kindnesses….and this poem:
 Our Humble Brethren

Not to hurt our humble brethren (the animals)

Is our first duty to them, but to stop there is not enough.
We have a higher mission:
To be of service to them whenever they require it.

Saint Francis

4. On Thursday, have the older children copy the Poem of St. Francis in their MLBs,
make a nice border, and the younger children can draw of picture of him, brown
robe, arms lifted, with birds flying all about, one landing on his hand…..
5. On FRIDAY, all can paint ….young ones, brown St. Francis or a bird shape, older
ones can try a cat or dog or bird….or do the St. Francis picture, too!

WEEK TWO: Expanding the Horizons

FIRST DAY:

Begin the week by reviewing last week’s work. Create a space in your home to hang the
paintings of each week so you can admire them and enjoy their color and form (…always
put the name and date on the painting for each child so later, they can be stored in order
and enjoyed from time to time).

Talk over the idea of Domestic Animals with the children, have an older one look this up
in the dictionary and write it on the blackboard. Having animals that live with us is such
an interesting idea, isn’t it? We can see that the habits of dogs and cats, though, are quite
different! Always contrast their habits with the human being, for example, we need to eat
every day, how do dog and cat do this? What about cleaning ourselves? Moving
around? And doing things, how do dogs and cats respond to us? Dogs can learn, we can
learn, do cats learn? We can obey and follow directions, can dogs? Can cats? Expand
on this for a while, allowing stories and then begin to make a list of the attributes of cats
and dogs on the board…>DOGS good noses, good hearing, warning animals, like to
chase, etc, mix up physical attributes with habits…CATS sleep a lot, big eyes and ears,
independent, cuddly, purring animals, creep in silence, and so on….Create a page in the
MLB and make a list of these words underneath CAT and DOG, on the same page or
different pages….now begin by asking the children, what other animals live around here
that have dog-like or cat-like behaviors? Who lives in this area that might be a cousin to
the dog or cat? Work your way through this idea, outside wild animals that are related to
our pets. In the NW we have cougar and lynx, wolf, coyote, and fox. Discuss these
animals, and write their names on the board and begin analyzing a bit on how they are
similar to our dog and cat, and how they are unalike. If there is time today, take a long
walk out to a nature area at dusk and sit silently for thirty minutes if possible to see if you
can spot any wild animals near you, ducks, birds, other winged creatures like bats are
most commonly seen.

THE NEXT DAY: Review the work, read a few books or look at pictures of local wild
animals, catlike and doglike. Label some pages with CAT FAMILY (FELINES) and let
the children begin drawing from photographs or pictures, several of these animals that
live in your region. Do the same for DOG FAMILY (CANINES). Include a page that
has some line drawings of teeth…..shown from the front and side perhaps, for older
children, (ages 9 and up) of the teeth structure of cats and dogs. Include a drawing of
human primary teeth and secondary (adult teeth) with the canines present. Talk over how
these animals meet their needs for food, shelter, social, and parenting….emphasize the
fact that the animal AND the habitat are one whole world…..can they move to a new one
easily? How do humans move about? Can we adapt to our environment or must we stay
in one place on the earth? Show the children with discussion that domestic animals are
able to live in many different places, with human friends, while wild animals need to stay
with their familiar habitat to survive and be comfortable.

*Resources at the end has a strong poem for older children about wolves…..9 years and
up may enjoy reading this forceful accurate picture of the Wolf.

THE NEXT DAY: Review the work, and begin to write up information about cougars,
wolves, whatever you are focusing on, from your reading or trips to the zoo, or wildlife
observations, or stories from family members, my grandpa was swatted by a big bear in
the early 1900s and this story has been passed down, you could ask the children to write
it up in their MLB. Older children should prepare a lengthier set of facts, even draw a
map of the territory of the animal, their latin name, and much more for their MLB.
Create a border of paw prints of the animal you are writing about, and enjoy both the art
of penmanship and the beauty of using adjectives and adverbs to spice up the writing.
Today finish up by reading about the story of Noe and the Ark, and his struggles to gather
in all the animals of the world, two by two, into the Ark……there are many great
versions of this story to either read or tell. This is also a good time to have older children
read aloud to the younger ones, snuggle up, light a candle, finish with snack and play
time.

Thursday: Copy this poem into the Main Lesson Book

ALL THINGS BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL

ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL
ALL THINGS WISE AND WONDERFUL
THE LORD GOD MADE THEM ALL.
Friday: Paint pictures from the local cat or dog family….younger ones can use colors to
show yellow cougar hiding in green and brown brush, or red fox resting on green grass…
paint emotion or feelings more than form, older ones can enjoy looking at many photos
and capturing the feeling of the fine sharp fox head and body!

THE THIRD and FOURTH WEEKS: Other Local Wildlife

Begin by reading over the first two weeks in the MLB. This is very good work for any
block, if you can review what was done before, for one simple reason, the children will
be encouraged to work on their penmanship so they CAN read their own work! Move on
now from the cat family and the dog family to the other animal families that may be
living in your area. Consider the following list and do some research to discover which
varieties of animals are living in your local area, plan ahead for field trips to try to find or
glimpse these creatures, spend at least two days in these last two weeks with backpack,
tromping in the woods, deserts, wetlands, and more, with ID books, binoculars, snack and
water, emergency supplies like whistles, etc. this is a great opportunity to have the whole
family drive out to a wilderness area and enjoy Mother Nature. Tadpoles and bugs under
rocks are just as exciting as dinosaurs!

Bird Family
Deer Family
Rodent Family
Reptile Family
Insect Family
Mollusc Family (slugs, clams, etc)
Marsupial Family
Bear Family
Fish Family
Amphibian Family

And so on…enjoy and have fun. Try to go to the library and bring home books of
wildlife from your local area. Older children can include maps and photos in their work,
or consider making a Family Main Lesson Book, a compilation of your work, keep in a
large photo album and enjoy it!

Finish each day with reading aloud from a wonderful book about animals: Owls in
the Family or Mr Popper’s Penguins are so funny and great for every age! Also My
Side of the Mountain is a great read aloud book for a family, and there are many
other fine volumes. If you prefer bring small nature stories of any type each day
from your own resources or consider using poems to inspire your children. Help
them to learn to love the spoken and written word by treating this time as sacred,
light the candle, snuggle in, the whole family can spend a half hour listening as
mama and daddy read, this is very important for the children, to see that parents
love literature and can do this wonderful thing: read! I always read aloud during
lunch time to the children so they can digest their food while their minds listen
quietly to the words….we have made our way through marvelous books over the
years and if you are into it, the Redwall series can be excellent for children in grades
3 and older. Also James Herriott’s books are wonderful reads.

*Objective: learn about local animals!

*Afternoon projects could include: building a papier mache animal mask or form as a
family, can use paper plates as base, cups for snouts, egg cartons for eye sockets, cut up
plates as ears, etc. cover with newspaper dipped in flour-water mix, 3 layers, then final
layer is plain white paper towel or napkin…..let dry, paint with watercolors or acrylic
paints, coat with Mod-Podge for shiny look, hang up, fun!
*Other afternoon projects can be modeling in clay or oil clay or beeswax, small animal
figures, let dry if clay and coat with plain white glue, will last for years. (There is a
specific method for forming potter clay with children 9 and older, form a fist sized ball
into small flat patties, stack then, then form into a round ball and slowly pull and pinch
out five extensions for forming the head and four legs of a bear like shape or human
being. Do not pull apart and STICK together the clay! Use a ball and squeeze the ball
into the forms you want to make……this is a whole nother lecture..)
*Other afternoon projects can be making a bird feeder using wood scrap, saws, hammers,
fishing line for hanging it (strong)
*Visit a local ranger station and interview the employees there to find out what they see
in the woods or forests or lakes or oceans. Older children can write a thank you letter
when they come home
*Buy blank cards and create some wildlife greeting cards with small watercolors or
crayon drawings, send one to a loved one
*Find a local watering-hole, and carefully look for animal prints or paw prints, take along
a clean plastic container (big yogurt) and some plaster of Paris, mix some with the water
from the hole, pour onto print in dirt or sand, and let sit until hard, voila, you will have a
real paw print to take home!

Mondays: Above, creating the target list and animals in your area for the week, older
ones work on maps, latin names for these families, younger ones simply write the list,
carefully, on a lovely colored page or copy a poem about the animals into MLB.

Tuesdays to Thursdays:: Choose one family and talk about the animals included, Rodent
could include Possum, Raccoon, Beaver, Nutria, Norwegian Rats, Field mice, etc. you
can see how this is going……choose a couple, talk over their habits, draw a picture,
summarize a few facts about them. Repeat this same pattern for the last two weeks of the
block on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

Fridays: Painting Day: enjoy painting some of the animals you haves studied this week.

Saturdays: Family Field Trip Days to Nature Refuges! Have a great day, take photos for
your memory books,

RESOURCES:
Older Children May Enjoy Reading this Poem (copy and paste it onto another blank
document, then print it out in larger type). For ages 9 and older.:

The Law for the Wolves

Now this is the law of the jungle, as old and as true as the sky,
And the wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the wolf that shall break it must die.

As the creeper that girdles the tree trunk, the law runneth forward and back;
For the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack.

Wash daily from nose tip to tail tip; drink deeply, but never too deep;
And remember the night is for hunting and forget not the day is for sleep.

The jackal may follow the tiger, but, cub, when thy whiskers are grown,
Remember the wolf is a hunter—go forth and get food of thy own.

Keep peace with the lords of the jungle, the tiger, the panther, the bear;
And trouble not Hathi the Silent, and mock not the boar in his lair.

When pack meets with pack in the jungle, and neither will go from the trail,
Lie down till the leaders have spoken; it may be fair words shall prevail.

When ye fight with a wolf of the pack ye must fight him alone and afar,
Lest others take part in the quarrel and the pack is diminished by war.

The lair of the wolf is his refuge, and where he has made him his home,
Not even the head wolf may enter, not even the council may come.

The lair of the wolf is his refuge, but where he has digged it too plain,
The council shall send him a message, and so he shall change it again.

If ye kill before midnight be silent and wake not the woods with your bay,
Lest ye frighten the deer from the crop and thy brothers go empty away.

Ye may kill for yourselves, and your mates, and your cubs as they need and ye can;
But kill not for pleasure of killing, and seven times never kill man.

If ye plunder his kill from a weaker, devour not all in thy pride,
Pack-right is the right of the meanest; so leave him the head and the hide.

The kill of the pack is the meat of the pack. Ye must eat where it lies;
And no one may carry away of that meat to his lair, or he dies.

The kill of the wolf is the meat of the wolf. He may do what he will,
But, till he is given permission, the pack may not eat of that kill.

Lair right is the right of the mother. From all of her years she may claim
One haunch of each kill for her litter, and none may deny her the same.

Cub right is the right of the yearling. From all of his pack he may claim
Full gorge when the killer has eaten; and none may refuse him the same.

Cave right is the right of the father, to hunt by himself for his own;
He is freed from all calls to the pack. He is judged by the council alone.

Because of his age and his cunning, because of his gripe and his paw,
In all that the law leaveth open the word of the head wolf is law.

Now these are the laws of the jungle, and many and mighty are they;
But the head and the hoof of the law and the haunch and the hump is—Obey!

MORE POEMS TO COPY OR MEMORIZE, USE IN CIRCLE WORK

By Marsha Johnson, 2006

Circle Exercise!

Above my head the sun does shine

Upon the earth so fair
Warm upon the creatures below,
In sea, on ground, in air,

Nature’s Bounty!

Nature’s bounty we can see

in all the animals around me
Spots and stripes and shaggy coats
worn by cats, and cows and goats!

Whiskers, tails, and feet with claws

Wagging tails and legs with paws
Flying feathery birds in trees
Fluttering in the gentle breeze

Buzzing, zooming, building web

Spiders and bees above my head
Underneath my barefoot toes
Live the worms and snails and moles!
Outside In Spring

In the morning when I wake

I look outside my window pane
I see the sun behind the clouds
And raindrops falling on the ground

But underneath the dripping bush

Sits a rabbit, hush hush hush!
In a tree just nearby
A saucy bluejay there I spy!

And overhead away up there

Lively squirrels, walk with care
Peeking out from the tulip bed
I see a tiny mousie’s head!

DEER

Shy, brown, gentle face

Sensitive, filled with grace
Slender legs, careful toes
Motionless except for nose

Vanishes in one quick flash

Branches close as it slips past
Not a trace is left behind
Nature’s beauty we can find

GREAT SONG TO SING THIS MONTH:

For the Beauty of the Earth---need the tune?

(http://www.hymnsite.com/lyrics/umh092.sht)

For the beauty of the earth,

for the glory of the skies,
for the love which from our birth
over and around us lies;
Lord of all, to thee we raise
 this our hymn of grateful praise.

2. For the beauty of each hour

of the day and of the night,
hill and vale, and tree and flower,
sun and moon, and stars of light;
Lord of all, to thee we raise
this our hymn of grateful praise.

3. For the joy of ear and eye,

for the heart and mind's delight,
for the mystic harmony,
linking sense to sound and sight;
Lord of all, to thee we raise
this our hymn of grateful praise.

4. For the joy of human love,

brother, sister, parent, child,
friends on earth and friends above,
for all gentle thoughts and mild;
Lord of all, to thee we raise
this our hymn of grateful praise.

5. For thyself, best Gift Divine,

to the world so freely given,
for that great, great love of thine,
peace on earth, and joy in heaven:
Lord of all, to thee we raise
this our hymn of grateful praise.

MONTH”S Song Number Two (http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/a/l/allthing.htm)

All Things Bright and Beautiful

Refrain

All things bright and beautiful,

All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful:
The Lord God made them all.

Each little flower that opens,

Each little bird that sings,
He made their glowing colors,
He made their tiny wings.
Refrain

The rich man in his castle,

The poor man at his gate,
He made them, high or lowly,
And ordered their estate.

Refrain

The purple headed mountains,

The river running by,
The sunset and the morning
That brightens up the sky.

Refrain

The cold wind in the winter,

The pleasant summer sun,
The ripe fruits in the garden,
He made them every one.

Refrain

The tall trees in the greenwood,

The meadows where we play,
The rushes by the water,
To gather every day.

Refrain

He gave us eyes to see them,

And lips that we might tell
How great is God Almighty,
Who has made all things well.

Refrain