We must acknowledge that this winter was weird. Aside from a cold, snowy couple weeks, it hardly seemed like winter at all. Aaaaaand it’s not over yet. There’s still a chance winter will try to do its job. But today feels, smells, and looks like the awakening of spring, so we’re going to enjoy it!
Antler Time
One of our favorite springtime activities is hunting for deer antlers, aka “sheds.” Male deer, or bucks, grow antlers to fight with other bucks and impress the females, or does. Bucks grow new antlers each year. In fact, antlers are the fastest growing animal tissue! When the mating season ends in late winter, the antlers loosen and fall off. After the snow melts and before the grass and plants grow tall is a great time to find these beautiful nature treasures. You might find an antler any place deer go. In Iowa City these days, that’s everywhere! But you can improve your chances by focusing on the places deer spend the most time. Where have you seen big groups of deer hanging out over the winter? Those gathering areas and the trails that connect them are good places to search.
We find antlers often enough to know that it’s actually possible, but rarely enough that it’s super special! It definitely doesn’t happen each time we search. An antler is truly a gift from Nature, and when we find one, we take time to savor the experience. When we first spot it–if we can contain our excitement–we gaze at it lying on the ground and call the others over to see. We pass it around for all to feel and examine the smooth tines, the knobbly burr, and the rough and sometimes bloody pedicle, where the antler meets the skull. We send feelings of gratitude and recognition to the earth and congratulate the kid who found it. Then we keep searching! Bucks’ antlers usually fall off within minutes of each other, so the other one might be nearby!
Slowly following a deer path winding through woods and prairie is a wonderful way to spend an early spring afternoon, and you just might find an antler!
Ela’s Plastic Bag Project
We have long used plastic bags to make our famous Taproot diaper balls, and Taproot Foundations member Ela Pierce, an 11th grader at City High, recently taught the Founders another ingenious use for this problematic human invention. She has figured out how to upcycle a bunch of flimsy, single-use bags into a sturdy, useful, and cool looking tote! Ela says, “The bags are a project I’m really proud of. I always use mine to carry library books.”
On a recent Sunday afternoon, the Foundations group met at Elesa’s house for one of our twice monthly gatherings. First, we had a lively discussion on the Fear of People’s Opinions, aka FOPO, and how it can rob us of opportunities for learning, fun, and self-expression. Then we shifted to the activity, with Ela leading us through the steps of slicing the bags into long plastic strips, crocheting the strips into panels, and assembling the panels into the finished tote bag. It was very fun! If you’d like to try this project yourself, Ela has written up some directions!
Design the Taproot T-Shirt!
Taproot Kids and Parents can submit their artwork for a chance to design this year’s Taproot t-shirt! Parent/Child collaborations are welcome, and you may submit a design you’ve made in the past. There have been so many beautiful drawings in addition to the ones that have made it onto a shirt!
We’ll hold an on-line community vote to choose which drawing will go on this year’s Taproot t-shirt.
Please get your design to Zac by Friday, March 22
T-Shirt designs should:
• Be hand-made: Drawn, painted, carved/printed, etc. (not made on a computer)
• Prominently feature the word “Taproot,” or the Taproot leaf logo, or both
• Depict a nature or kids-in-nature theme
• Relate to Iowa nature or something that Taproot Kids commonly do or see
• Be single-color, not multi-colored
Spring ASP and Sprouts
Spring After-School Program begins Monday, March 18–prime time for shed antlers and ephemeral wildflowers, catching the first bluegills of the season, climbing trees, and reveling in the soft grass, warm sunshine, and mild breezes. Pretty soon, we’ll be hunting morel mushrooms, catching crayfish, building sand structures on the beach, and even swimming!
For Spring ASP, we’ll pick up children at the following schools:
Monday –Lincoln, Longfellow, Hoover, Lucas, Willowwind
Tuesday –Lincoln, Mann, Lemme, Horn
Wednesday –Lincoln, Weber, Montessori, Longfellow, Wickham
Thursday –Twain, Lincoln, Mann, Hoover, Lucas, Willowwind
Friday –Lincoln, Longfellow, Regina
If your child’s school is not listed on the day that works for you, contact us! It may be possible to add. It’s also an option for parents to deliver kids to Taproot after school.
Spring Sprouts also begins on March 18! Sprouts is a morning nature program for little kids ages 3-5 years. Sprouts gives young children fun, quality time in Nature with gentle, loving guidance. This spring, Sprouts is offered on Monday mornings.
Taproot does not turn away children if their families cannot pay the tuition. If finances are a barrier to your child participating in Taproot, please contact Zac to work out an affordable solution.
If you are able to contribute, please donate to the Taproot Scholarship Fund!
