Root & Trail

09/12/2026

Adding to our poison ivy ID practice!

09/12/2026

You guys!!! How did I not know about this? The classroom sponsorship is only $20 right now. Look at the critters at the bottom of this page 😍 https://wildlifecenter.org/shop

Have a teacher or class you want to support? For a limited time, we're offering a special back-to-school discount on all academic-year Caring for Critter sponsorships!

These sponsorships give a classroom a way to connect with one of the Center's animal ambassadors throughout the school year. Teachers receive a special Caring for Critters packet featuring:

📸 A photo of their sponsored animal

🐾 The story of that ambassador

📖 Detailed natural history of the ambassador’s species

Throughout the school year, the class will also receive email updates about their sponsored animal, giving students the chance to follow along, learn more, and see what’s happening in the life of their animal ambassador!

Sponsorships can be purchased as gifts for individual teachers or classrooms. To purchase one, visit the Center's online shop, select an ambassador under "Caring for Critters," and use the order comments to tell us who the sponsorship is for (e.g. Mrs. Smith's First-grade Class). Our team will take care of the rest!

Don't have a teacher in mind? We’ll be happy to match your sponsorship with a classroom! Just let us know in the order comments that you’d like us to find a classroom for you.

09/10/2026

One of my favorite things to witness is when children are out in nature and experience the “lens change” in their awareness.

In an instant, the blurry background to their play one moment...

suddenly becomes clear.

The “green and brown” sharpen into shapes and textures.

Trees no longer look “all the same.”

And observers are filled with wonder and excitement

as they notice little things they have never noticed before.

It’s beautiful, whether a child has the habit of being in nature and routinely makes that attention shift...

or sees through that lens for the very first time.

Picking a tree (or shrub) to study as a group throughout the school year is one step toward that lens change. 🌳🌲🌴

09/07/2026

Does our group have loud days? Muddy days? Amateur field work? Active, shouting play?

Yes.

We also have chances to just be.

To lie in a hammock, or tuck away behind some shrubbery, or enjoy the den we built.

To listen to the birds and crickets.

To crochet bracelets, braid cording, or whittle.

To draw or read.

And just, be.

The world can feel heavy. The woods remind us to notice what is still growing.

09/04/2026

On Fridays, we make art 🎨

So, we will sometimes deviate from our nature-based posts to reveal the awesomeness of a choice-based approach to art 🙌🔥

Kids in R&T Art Club don't make cookie cutter pieces chosen for them, they learn and practice skills, then follow their own ideas, so every piece is unique.

Google "Teaching for Artistic Behavior" to learn more about this approach and access resources.

(Also, shout out to Moriah Elizabeth for inspiring hours and hours and hours of drawing, painting, and squishy makeovers. On slide 3 you can see my daughter has a binder she's using to compile a guidebook of her own characters. 💗 Moriah Elizabeth | Art/Crafts )

09/03/2026

"When something frightening happens, children look to the adults around them to learn how to react. Here's how to be that steady presence — even when you don't feel steady yourself."

When something frightening happens, children look to adults to learn how to react. Practical guidance for parents and teachers from Treasure Coast Hospice.

09/03/2026

Our hearts go out to everyone affected by yesterday's events at Westwood Hills Elementary School. We are so, so thankful that students and staff are safe, authorities responded swiftly, and that the situation was not worse. ❤️

08/31/2026

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DcuA5cbP6Qg/?igsi=d2hoOHUxMXRyeWx2

08/27/2026

Nature study? ✔️check
Nature connection? ✔️check
Exploration? ✔️check
Play? ✔️check
Mud? ✔️check
Community, with all its beautiful and messy challenges, lessons, joys, and belonging? ✔️✔️✔️ triple check

We wouldn't have it any other way 💗

08/25/2026

It's me. I'm the one who needs it 🙃