math at Cedar Ridge Preserve, Dallas

I'm all about hands on teaching with my children,

and I love this activity we did with my five year old

 during a hike at Cedar Ridge Preserve in Dallas. 

It started with a bright metal "1" at the trail head. 

 

Nearby, I spotted a black caterpillar, of which there are many in this area.  

My son picked it up, and we counted one caterpillar and took their picture next to the number one....

And our hike evolved into a math activity.....

What I love about it is that at each number on the trail,

we searched for items unique to the area of that number. 

He found these three pieces of bark with holes in them, from perhaps an insect or maybe a woodpecker before the bark fell from the nearby tree.  We took time to visually locate the tree, and talked about what we thought might have made the holes.  Of course, his suggestion was zombie ninjas...  but it's still a great way to make those connection to nature.   

These are little acorns caps, surrounded by fallen oak leaves. 

We found these old shells under a nearby walnut tree. 

He found these six sticks, and we sang the rhyme..... "This old man, he played 6, he played knick knack on my sticks."   I know, but it's important that the activity is child led. 

Juniper trees are found throughout Cedar Ridge preserve.

We collected these Juniper berries from around number 7. 

I love his dirty little hands!

And acorns from around Number 8.

 

I love the little snail shells we found for Number 9. 

They weren't in the rocks, but in a patch of thick mulch nearby. 
 

 

Not sure what kind of leaves these were, which is okay, as long as you remind yourself

 and your little one of the Poison Ivy rule;

Leaves of Three, let them be.....

Number 11 was my absolute favorite, Possumhaw Berries,

because we were walking along the Possumhaw trail!  

The Possumhaw is a deciduous holly, which means it loses it's leaves each year,

and is left with nothing but these attractive red berries. 

Watch your little ones, because they are mildly poisonous to humans if consumed,

but a winter staples to wild birds. 

They also make a wonderful, native addition to your landscaping!

Oak Leaves

 

Sticks from a Juniper tree

We found many little fossils hidden in the limestone.   

 

and 15 beautiful reminders that it is Fall in Texas! 

 

 We even snuck in a little Language Arts lesson, too! 

My little Leo loves to write his name. 

 

Cedar Ridge Preserve, referred to as "one of the best kept secrets in Dallas" by one of my facebook followers, is maintained by Audubon Dallas, and has over 600 acres, and numerous trails for hikers, runners and nature enthusiast. 

Keep Having Fun in the Texas Sun!

Michelle