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Children howl with excitement to learn about wolves
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Neighbors | Alexis Bartolomucci.The children and their caregivers watch and listen as Julie Bartolone and Hillary Lenton put on a skit during the Big Bad Wolf program at Ford Nature Center on Jan. 7.
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Neighbors | Alexis Bartolomucci.Bartolone and the children pretended to be a wolf pack to go hunting for different stuffed animals hidden in the trail at Ford Nature Center. The children wore the wolf masks they made so they would look like the wolves.
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Neighbors | Alexis Bartolomucci.The children worked on making their own wolf masks. The eyes were cut out so the children could see through them when they participated in their outdoor activity pretending to be wolves.
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Neighbors | Alexis Bartolomucci.The children had the opportunity to gather around and feel a real wolf's fur. The children learned that the fur keeps the wolves warm and that it is soft.
By ALEXIS BARTOLOMUCCI
Mill Creek Metroparks hosted a Big Bad Wolf event for children ages 3-6 on Jan. 7 at the Ford Nature Center. The focus of this month’s program was wolves.
The class was led by Mill Creek Metroparks naturalists Hillary Lenton and Julie Bartolone.
The children began the event by coloring a picture of a wolf to get them prepared for the class. To give the children more informed on wolves, instead of having a story, Lenton and Bartolone put on a short skit. Bartolone performed with a wolf puppet and Lenton wore a red cape to pretend to be Little Red Riding Hood.
“The kids are going to learn the truth from the fable in stories,” said Bartolone.
The skit was set up as an interview. Lenton, as Little Red Riding Hood, would ask Bartolone, the wolf, questions about wolves. Bartolone would explain what is real about wolves versus what people read in stories. The skit was a fun way for children to learn rather than being told facts from a sheet of paper.
After the skit, the children worked on making their own wolf masks. They colored in a wolf face, cut out the shape and glued it to stick. This allowed the children to hold the mask up to their faces and pretend to be wolves before they went outside for their last activity.
“We are going to take the kids outside and be a pack of wolves. Julie will be the alpha wolf and hunt as a pact. We hid stuffed animals on the trail,” said Lenton.
When the children finished making their masks, they went outside to pretend to be a pack of wolves. Stuffed animals were hidden around the trail at Ford Nature Center and the children had to follow Bartolone to hunt for the stuffed animals that served as their food.
The program finished with the children splitting up into two packs. One pack would try to intimate the other pack of wolves that were trying to move into their homes.
Ford Nature Center hosts different monthly programs to allow children to engage in educational activities about nature and wildlife.