Toes in the Sand

Kids are always intrigued by animal tracks and they are quick to identify our most common tracks of deer and dogs, but can they determine the other critters that travel through our area leaving only a track behind?

The K-2 Program presented the book "Whose Tracks are These? A Clue Book of Familiar Forest Animals" by Jim Nail. In this story, the reader is given clues to the description of an animal and its tracks. The clues lead you to guess "who am I?" with the answer given on the following page. The students in Grayson County Public Schools loved this book and loudly expressed Whose tracks these were! 

After the completion of the story, the students were asked to take off a sock and shoe and step into the tray of sand. They observed and described the characteristics of their tracks as a "hands-on" (using their feet) tool to aid in understanding the parts of a track. Afterward, track casts of animals found in the Blue Ridge were pressed into the sand and the students tried to guess which animal they belonged to. They were finally asked to do a homework assignment for BRDC; to go on a hike with their family and see how many animal tracks they could discover and identify. They are to report back to us in March. 

We want to thank the teachers and staff at all the schools for allowing us to come into their classrooms.....and apologize for leaving behind sandy tracks on the carpet circles all over the county!