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Children learn about how animals get ready for winter
By Denise Dick
YOUNGSTOWN
One child in the Salvation Army’s after-school program donned pajamas, another strapped on binoculars, a third got a snack and a fourth wore a Hawaiian shirt.
Children age 6 to 12 learned Friday about how animals cope with winter in a presentation by Ray Novotny, Mill Creek MetroParks outdoor education manager.
Just as people prepare for the winter by buying heavier clothes and pulling an extra blanket from the closet, animals make their own preparations.
Squirrels and mice are active in the winter months. Bears and groundhogs hibernate. Birds and whales migrate, and chipmunks are dormant.
Active animals, as the title implies, remain active in the winter. Dormant animals sleep during colder times but emerge on warmer days, Novotny explained.
To illustrate his points, Novotny picked four students from the class.
Germiah Flakes, 8, a third-grader at Youngstown Community School, represented hibernation.
Novotny dressed her in pajamas.
“We want you to wake up in time for spring, so here’s an alarm clock,” Novotny said.
He set the alarm for “10 minutes to spring,” he joked.
Tarie Walker, 10, a fourth-grader from Youngstown Community School, represented active animals. She wore a long coat to prepare for the cold and binoculars to scout for food.
Novotny picked Ki’Sean Hall, 11, a sixth-grader at Discovery at Kirkmere, to model dormant animals.
He wore a robe for sleeping and carried a can of nuts for snacking when he was awake.
Eugene Johnson, 10, a fourth-grader at Southside Academy, portrayed migratory animals.
He wore a Hawaiian shirt for the warm climes of his destination and luggage for his trip.
Ruth Griffis, after-school director, said participants come from schools across Mahoning County. Some of the schools bus them, but most rely on their own transportation.
Nineteen students are enrolled, and attendance is usually 15 children per day. The program started in October and runs five days per week through the school year.
“We’re looking at starting a summer program,” Griffis said.
The program includes academic, physical fitness, social-emotional and spiritual components. It also offers a reading program.
“They each get a snack and a hot meal” each day, Griffis said.